Openings and Closings: Tortillas, Tomato Butter, and Toast
Welcome back to another week’s openings and closings. This week we say hello to another (yes, another) crab restaurant, a new sandwich shop, and give a Manhattan bakery a new Brooklyn home. Our goodbyes are a mixed bag this week, with one extreme tragedy and one just a quick change. As always, let us know if we’ve missed anything, and stay safe. You can find the last edition of this series here.
Openings
Aunts et Uncles
1407 Nostrand Avenue, between Linden Boulevard and Martense Street.
Flatbush welcomes this vegan cafe, bar and lifestyle shop. They’ve got plenty of gorgeous seating, Mac and cheese, beers, wines, and tons of artfully curated books and items.
Brooklyn Hero Shop
270 Vanderbilt Avenue, between Dekalb and Lafayette avenues.
A new sandwich shop has opened, courtesy of Graziella’s. The shop offers coffee and pastries in the morning, and salads, hot heros, paninis, soups, and snacks later on.
Cafe Calaca
505 Franklin Avenue, between Hancock and Fulton streets.
Although we had to say a teary goodbye to Calaca, we got to say a joyous hello to the new Cafe Calaca, opened early this month. Right now they’re just offering coffee service, but starting the 27th they’ll be serving brunch. Try the avocado toast with seaweed, sesame, and egg, or the vegan chickpea salad toast.
Crab Bros
770 Washington Avenue, between Park and Sterling places.
Yet another (!!) crab boil restaurant has opened in Brooklyn, this time in Crown Heights. This is the second location to their original Bed Stuy. Try the fried shrimp basket, seafood boil, or fried oyster po’boys.
Gage & Tollner
372 Fulton Street, between Red Hook Lane and Smith Street.
The new iteration of the famous Downtown Brooklyn restaurant Gage & Tollner has opened, for now offering at-home meal kits and drinks from their on-site bar Sunken Harbor Club, courtesy of Fort Defiance’s St. John Frizell. The program started February 17th with a dry aged ribeye dinner, available for two or four people.
Nubleu
315 5th Avenue, between 2nd and 3rd streets.
In the former Habanero corner spot on 5th Avenue comes Nubleu Restaurant, a French – Mediterranean concept. No word yet on the menu or exact opening date, just “coming soon!”
Sweet Generation
1329 Willoughby Avenue, between St. Nicholas Wyckoff avenues.
Sweet Generation, a bakery known for their artful and delicious cupcakes, has moved into a much larger home in Bushwick from their previous East Village shop. The new location opens in three days, and will have an expanded menu that’ll include savory items.
Tortilleria La Malinche
4202 5th Avenue, between 42nd and 43rd streets.
Sunset Park gained their first tortilleria this month. You can buy them wholesale from 8:00 am.
Zaza Lasagna at Shelsky’s
141 Court Street, between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street.
This pop-up, currently at Cobble Hill favorite Shelsky’s, has a rotating menu available for pre-order via Instagram direct message. Dishes include a full rack of Negroni ribs ($35), a loaf of garlic bread with tomato butter ($15), and of course lasagna ($16). They sold out last week, so make sure to get going.
Closings
Mission Dolores
249 4th Avenue, President and Carroll streets.
The tragedy of this loss, summed up extremely well here, comes after a decade-long run, multiple closings and pauses, and a huge regular base. The news, broken on Instagram last week, came with a thank you to the bar’s staff. “See you all down the road,” the bar wrote.
Calaca
139 Putnam Avenue, between Franklin and Classon avenues.
Don’t fret too much here, because this loss comes with a win— the new Cafe Calaca. Calaca closed at the end of last month, but visit them again just down the road.