Update: Heights Coffee Just Getting a Renovation

Thanks to Amy over at Prospect Heights Patch for digging a little deeper into the shuttering of Heights Coffee, on Flatbush Avenue across from Seventh. She was able to get in touch with the owner, Tony Atterbury, who reassured her that the coffee shop isn't closed for good; they're just expanding their kitchen to accommodate a wider menu. 

According to her report, new sandwich offerings will include "grilled vegetable/mozzarella, prosciutto/mozzarella, ham/pepper jack/sun-dried tomato, roast beef/cheddar and mortadella/brie/eggplant/olive tapanade."

Whew!

Harry Boland's Lives!

Since being shut down by the Department of Taxation and Finance on February 23rd, the future of Harry Boland's, the great old pub on Ninth Street just west of Fifth Avenue, had been in limbo. Walking past it today, I noticed that the doors were wide open once again. Harry Boland's is back in action!

Leah, the bartender on duty today, also happened to be the lucky one who was behind the bar when "five people wearing name tags" showed up, demanding all the money in the cash register before shutting the bar down. The owner, Brian, happened to be in Ireland at the time, so needless to say a fair amount of panicking ensued. 

When a business is shut down due to nonpayment of taxes, all the back taxes need to be paid back in full before it can re-open, and according to Leah, it was "a lot" of money. Thankfully Brian was able to scratch the full amount together (with some help from friends and longtime regulars), and they opened back up last Friday, hopefully for good this time. Welcome back!

Closed for Business: Heights Coffee, 335 Flatbush Avenue

The windows at Heights Coffee, on Flatbush Avenue directly across the street from the 7th Avenue B/Q stop, have been papered over, and their phone has been disconnected. All signs point toward it being closed for good.

The coffee itself was unremarkable, but I always liked their low-key atmosphere, tons of outlets, and baked goods (including bagels from Terrace), and it always seemed to be at near-capacity. It was the kind of place where once you spent five bucks for wifi you could sit there all day long and no one would bother you. I'm not sure how long it'd been around for, but it had a decidedly worn-in appearance that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. 

Flickr

Closed for Business: New Style, 58 Fifth Avenue

New Style, the clothing store on Fifth Avenue between St. Marks and Bergen Streets, closed up over the weekend after less than six months in business. 

It never exactly made a splash in the neighborhood, to say the least, and it was most noticeable for its big red sign and Grand Opening banners, which they still haven't taken down. I never saw many customers in there, and there isn't a single mention of it online, including on Yelp. Add that to a probable rent increase due to the arena being built a couple blocks away, and it's a recipe for disaster.

I'm curious to see what it's replaced by, it could be a sign of things to come.

The Park Slope Week in Review: 2/28/11 - 3/4/11

On Monday, the legendary soups of Chef Richard Gussoff said goodbye for the season, as The Soup Bowl, on Seventh Ave just north of Ninth Street, said farewell. Uncle Louie G should be opening back up in that spot pretty soon, and we can most likely look forward to several Soup Bowls come next winter. Fez Salon and its hero, Rudy, also picked up and moved two doors down, into the space last occupied by Under the Pig Collectibles.

Tuesday finally brought March, and with it came the grand opening of Cheeburger Cheeburger, the Florida based chain, in the former Miracle Grill space on Seventh and Third. The burgers are greasy, the onion rings are awesome, and the room is pink. And that's the last time I'll be writing about Cheeburger Cheeburger. Signage also went up in the windows of the former Willie's Dawgs, on Fifth Ave between Fourth and Fifth, for a new Peruvian bistro named Surfish. I also had a chat with the nice lady who'll be running the new artisanal yogurt shop, Culture, coming to the old Serene Rose space on Fifth Ave between Third and Fourth.

Wednesday brought news that - what else? - a burger place will be opening up where Artesana used to be, on Seventh and First. This one actually has some promise, though; it's called Bare Burger and all the meat is organic and hormone-free, and comes in varieties like elk, bison, and ostrich. They've got a couple more outposts in the city, and reviews have been generally glowing. You can wash your burger down with a draft beer, too, unlike Cheeburger (okay, that's the last time I mention it, I promise).

On Thursday the quaint, charming, personality-filled little cafe known as Parkslope Eatery filed for bankruptcy. They apparently owe $95,000 to a bunch of creditors. Oh, and they completely flunked their recent health inspection, ranking up 12 critical violations. Way to go, people who had no idea what kind of food the neighborhood wanted and didn't even know that Park Slope is two words! They're somehow still in business, but probably won't be for long. Word also got around that our Blockbuster Video branch on Fifth and 15th will be closing on the 30th. Independent video stores (and Netflix) win!

On Friday I put in my two cents on the whole Prime 6 mess, sparked by a petition written by one Jennifer McMillen, who may or may not exist, but most likely doesn't. Not only is her petition race-baiting, it's Park Slope hater-baiting, and I don't like one bit of it. It's a good bit of satire, though, and its signers have some of the most elegant names I've ever seen. Who knew that someone named "Jane Youignorantslut" lived in our neighborhood?