Retail reshuffles and new additions in Ditmas Park – mostly food edition

Yasser “Max” Habib is opening The Grounds of Brooklyn next door to his popular Milk and Honey Cafe on Newkirk. Max has been quietly working on the space for the last two years, designing and fabricating much of the interior himself – as he did at Milk and Honey, and Qathra before that.

Except, that is, for the massive wood fired oven that sits in the middle of the space and anchors the large room, and where all the food that needs cooking will be cooked. The food, he promised, will be eclectic, inspired by the incredibly diverse neighborhood that surrounds the spot, but no pizza. There will be seating around it as well as outside, and opening is in early July, if all goes well.

Watli, the bar and kitchen, and Liberty Chemists, the new drug store one store over on Newkirk Ave between Marlborough Rd and train tracks are both still not open, but the Marlborough car service spot has signs up for what looks like a modern pawn shop – Perfect Pawn:

The reviews from neighbors of the new Indian spot Falguni on the corner of Rugby and Newkirk are good, though noone seems to have left any on Yelp yet. Rosemary chicken, lentils/ squash side, spicy beef liver, chicken kebabs (more like patties) and  chicken biriyani rice are all recommended to us, though we are yet to try them.

Meanwhile on Cortelyou Road:

Andrew’s Luncheonette by Hard Times Sundaes should be open in a week or two – with ice cream and burgers, right in time for summer.

Looks like both Kings County Wines and Douglas Elliman have outgrown their small storefronts and are moving on.

Kings County is taking over the former Brooklyn Industries spot on the corner of Marlborough and Cortelyou, right by the Q.

Douglas Elliman will be taking over the spot next to San Remo Pizzeria that we had hoped was going to be a restaurant, given the lovely back yard, but instead it will be the Southern Brooklyn headquarters of sorts for the firm that acquired Brooklyn Hearth last year and seems to be aggressively pursuing business south of Prospect Park.

Punta Cana hair salon moved a few blocks east into the old Abacus Realty spot next to Cafe Madeline. Not clear what is coming into their old spot, but it is large and far enough from PS139 to be able to get a liquor license.

The Naan Taco spot, aka Ayurvedic Plate most recently (the name seems to change with some frequency) across from Cafe Madeline and owned by the same folks is open, and offers excellent Indian food by all accounts, in a modern setting.

The latest nail salon, Honey, opened a week or so ago, offering another upscale option for Ditmas Park residents across the street from PS139.

Over on Church Avenue:

Yah Suh Nyce is open next to Alden’s Dance Studio (between Argyle and Westminster), offering West Indian food and smoothies, but we have not had a chance to check it out yet.

Who did we miss?  What have you tried? What do you recommend?