South Slope Style: The Schulzes

Andy & Tina Schulz opened De Luxe two years ago during what they call their “maiden voyage to Brooklyn.” After having lived in Soho for a decade, they decided to move to Brooklyn Heights for the accessibility to their former jobs, yet decided to open up shop in South Slope because “many of our friends lived here, and still do with good reason.

“When we would visit them,” they said, “we were really drawn to the variety of people in the neighborhood. It has a friendlier vibe than any of the other neighborhoods in Brooklyn, including ours. We wanted to spend our days here.”

Tina is an accomplished graphic designer, and naturally designed the logo for the cafe, along with creating the look for all featured items- from the coffee bags and the cups, to the cafe itself.

When asked about their personal style, their music choices, along with the cafe’s motto- “High Class, Low Brow”- speak volumes. “Blues in the morning, heavy metal in the afternoon. Our style is all in the details.” And definitely their tattoos (locally done at Hand of Glory).

While chatting, we noticed their familiarity with nearly all the customers.

“We don’t have wifi for a reason,” explained Andy and Tina. “We want the people who come here to interact with us and the other patrons. It helps to preserve the neighborly vibe that we loved so much about this location. We don’t want passersby coming here solely for internet connectivity. We want friends coming in for good conversation and really good coffee.”

Some of their favorite places around Park Slope include the eclectic Homebody Boutique, Austrian restaurant and bar Cafe Steinhof, and mechanic shop-turned-beer garden Greenwood Park.

De Luxe is located on 7th Avenue, between 13th and 14th Street. Open Tuesday-Friday 7 am to 4 pm, and weekends 8 am to 4 pm. Closed Mondays. Call them at 718-369-0601