Root Hill Closed For A Break, Unclear When They May Reopen

Root Hill Cafe, one of our favorite places for a muffin (and more) on 4th Avenue, closed yesterday afternoon, and it’s unclear when, or if, they will reopen.

Maria Bowen, who runs the space with Michelle Giancola, confirmed that they’ll be closing for a bit, and says she will update us when there’s any info to add.

“It’s a good time to breathe,” they wrote on Facebook. “And that’s what we need to do. We’re taking a break from the daily grind.”

Root Hill opened at 262 4th Avenue, on the corner of Carroll Street, in 2008, and they’ve been serving up coffee, pastries, sandwiches, and more to folks who live nearby, those headed to the subway at Union, and families in need of a snack after sport practices at nearby Washington Park ever since.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. As 4th Avenue continues to develop, one of the major issues of this particular block has been flooding — following yet another massive deluge last year, Maria told us they’d figured out how to negotiate the water fairly quickly and effectively.

“We’ve learned to live with it because we love the area, and our landlord is a big help,” she said.

Though solutions to the drainage problems are part of a massive project from the Department of Environmental Protection that’s finally about to begin, hopefully it’s not too little, too late for Root Hill, which also hit a bump when they closed a second 4th Avenue spot, Root Hill Burger, just seven months after it opened.

Still, 4th Avenue is ever growing, and a mainstay like Root Hill could continue to attract new customers moving into newly built buildings, while holding on to its existing, and loyal customer base.

“It’s a lovely place run by excellent people, and I hope they are able to recharge and reopen soon,” said neighbor Clare, who alerted us to the closing.

We couldn’t agree more. We’ll keep you posted about their future plans as we hear them.