"Brooklyn SkyBox" Coming to Barclays Area

A new billboard has gone up on top of the building that will next be home to Shake Shack, on the south side of Flatbush Avenue directly across the street from the Barclays Center, advertising Brooklyn SkyBox, "The ultimate sports viewing experience," coming soon.

There's a Twitter handle set up, and the concept already seems to be pretty fleshed out. Looks like it'll be a "stadium inspired restaurant that features sports viewing, roof top lounge, fine dining, food concessions, event rentals, arcades and games," according to the description, and apparently they've already worked out a partnership with Pepsi. It also appears as if it's owned by Drummond & Drummond LLC, a management and holding company. 

This place looks like it's a massive undertaking, but neither the Twitter feed nor Facebook page gives away the exact address. I've called the number on the Twitter page and left a message; I'll update if I receive any more info. 

Beer Table Moving to Larger Space, to Close April 27

Beer Table, one of the South Slope's crown jewels, will be moving out of their home on Seventh Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets and heading into much larger Brooklyn digs, according to Grub Street.

The tiny beer-lover's paradise, run by the husband-and-wife duo of Justin and Tricia Phillips, opened five years ago with a well-curated selection of hard-to-find beers, a focused menu of perfect accompaniments (that quickly expanded to showcase the duo's culinary prowess), and the pair themselves were always around to explain each beer in detail. Recently, Beer Table Pantry opened in Grand Central, further cementing the duo's image as the city's leading beer authorities.

Size was obviously always an issue, though, and now they're moving into a "much larger" Brooklyn location with a full kitchen, even though there's not much in the way of details. I've reached out to Justin, who replied that "it's too early to talk about the new one," but I will let you know if any new information emerges. The space has also apparently been rented out to a restaurateur whose name will also emerge soon.

Pierre Loti Wine Bar Coming to Canaille Space

The North Slope certainly has no shortage of wine bars, but it looks like an outpost of Pierre Loti, which has three locations in Manhattan, will be opening up in the space last occupied by Canaille Bistro, on Fifth between St. Marks and Warren. Ironically, Canaille revamped itself as a wine bar shortly before closing earlier this year.

Pierre Loti's three existing locations are on 15th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, Irving Place between 17th and 18th Streets, and 52nd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues.

The descriptions are full of superlatives ("The best wine bar in NYC," "The best cocktails in NYC," and "The best Mediterranean restaurants NYC has to offer"), but a look at the menu should let us know what we can actually expect for this small space. Salads, Greek-style tapas, moderately priced entrees, a fairly straightforward brunch, wines by the glass ranging from $7-13, and bottles ranging from $26-76.

Many thanks to a tipster for sending the above photo, of a sign in the window clearly revealing the next tenant's name and desire to secure a liquor license.

Fornino Park Slope Auctions Itself Off

If we needed any more proof that the Fornino on Fifth Avenue between Garfield and Carroll was closed for good, it presented itself yesterday in the form of an auction.

The restaurant, which opened to great fanfare early in 2010 but was most likely just too big to maintain, closed rather suddenly in the beginning of February and the owners didn't take much with them. According to the auction's web page, on offer were "200 chairs, 50 tables, cooking equipment, refrigerators, work tables, sinks, Hobart mixers, and more."

It really appears as if literally everything in the restaurant was up for grabs; the 80-plus photos on that page show the ice machine, computers, liquor, the sound system, dishes, pots and pans, lighting fixtures, beer taps, canned goods, high chairs, and even chef's whites. The photo up top is from Saturday afternoon, when it was being set up.

There have been plenty of rumors floating around about a potential new tenant lined up for the space, but from what I can gather nothing has yet been set in stone. This is a big, high profile space, though, right in the middle of one of the city's main restaurant rows, and the next occupant could have the potential to alter the character of the whole strip.

Prospect Bar Launches Brunch Menu

Prospect, the spacious pub that opened last July on Fifth Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets, has been working hard since then to get their kitchen up to full speed. The first step has finally been taken, as they began offering brunch on Sunday.

It's a fairly straightforward brunch menu, and $14 gets you your choice of entree and either a Bloody Mary or mimosa.

There are still a few more hurdles that need to be jumped before they begin offering dinner (which is still most likely a couple months off), but this is a pretty good start. Once the full menu is up and running, I have a feeling that this bar will finally cement its reputation as one of the neighborhood's finest.