Mekelburg’s Eyes Expansion As It Celebrates Its First Anniversary

“We’re aggressively looking to expand,” said Alicia Mekelburg, co-owner of Mekelburg’s, as her grocery/bar/restaurant celebrated its first anniversary over the weekend.

Mekelburg’s opened in June of 2015 at 293 Grand Avenue (between Greene Avenue and Clifton Place) and there was an anniversary party on June 11 that marked the occasion with doo wop, raffles, and most importantly, babka ice cream made in partnership with Ample Hills.

Mekelburg named potential expansion locations as Fort Greene, Crown Heights, and Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Prior to opening their brick and mortar location, Alicia and her husband ran an underground supper club for a decade. Today, they are co-owners of Mekelburg’s. With a year under their belt, Mekelburg reflected on the lessons she’s learned in her first year at the helm.

“Hire great staff, treat them well. Don’t micromanage if you have good people,” said Mekelburg, who added “if we’ve done anything right, it’s hiring people who are better than us within their fields.”

She credits that approach and the talent of her beer and cheese curators, respectively, creating a selection that she’s very proud of and that customers keep coming back for. Of course, not everything can be a hit.

“No one likes champagne. I ordered a case of champagne on New Year’s Eve and nobody ordered a drop of it,” said Mekelburg with a laugh.

The party featured a doo wop performance out front, raffles, and special menu items like the babka ice cream, made in conjunction with Ample Hills.

As Mekelburg’s heads into their second year with an eye towards expansion, they keep adding events. There are beer dinners are once a month. The next is on June 29 and tickets are on sale now.

See below for more photos from Saturday: