Closed for Business: Under the Pig Collectibles

Owner Troy Files clears out last night

Under the Pig, the quirky, kitchy vintage knick-knack shop on Fifth Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets, closed its doors for the final time last night, after eight years in its current location but nearly 20 years in business. Here's their goodbye letter:

Dear customers,

After 18 years in business, Under The Pig Antiques and Collectibles is closing its doors. We want to thank you all for your years of patronage! We have done our best to find those bargains and hopefully pass them on to you. It has been a good ride! Thanks for all your support!

Troy
underthepig@aol.com

As detailed a couple weeks ago, due to family issues owner Troy Files could no longer maintain the busy schedule of running the shop as well as scouring nearby flea markets and estate sales for inventory.

The landlord has no new tenant lined up, so along with Willie's Dawgs just two doors down, there are two new empty storefronts on this block.

What to Expect: Pete's Pizzeria, 289 5th Avenue

Last night, the owners of Pete's Pizzeria had a small gathering for friends and family to sample some pies in advance of opening, and were kind enough to invite me. They'd spent lots of time perfecting their brick-oven skills, and when the restaurant opens in a couple weeks (in the former SP Vino space on Fifth Avenue between 1st and 2nd), the newest addition to Pizza Row will give their competitors a run for their money. 

First, a little backstory. Dominick Servino opened his first pizzeria in 1920 at 289 Hudson Avenue. In the 40s, his son (Pete I) expanded to 328 Myrtle Avenue, near Fort Greene Park. Pete's brothers also opened their own pizzeria by the 69th St. Pier in Bay Ridge, and Pete II ran the Myrtle Ave pizzeria until it closed in the 70s (ironically, the site today is a Domino's). Pete Thristino III (the current Pete) opened Pete's Downtown in 1984, and will be running this restaurant with the help of his brother, Joe. Got all that? 

They built the wood-burning brick oven by hand, and because their previous ovens were coal-powered, this one took some getting used to. It's right out in the open in the middle of the back dining room, and watching Pete make the pies is really a spectacle (brick ovens are notoriously hard to control, so each pie requires a lot of care). It's a simply appointed space, and 40 outdoor seats will certainly be a hit come springtime. 

So how's the pizza? Ridiculously good, and very similar to what you'd find at a local joint in Naples. The pies are smallish with a chewy crust and the sauce is uncooked, sweet, and chunky. Add a little fresh buffalo mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, basil, oregano, and some grated Parm, and you've really got something unlike any of the other pizzerias in the area. They'll also come with toppings like prosciutto, arugula, and balsamic; pesto, roasted vegetables, and Feta; and ricotta with spicy cherry peppers. The pizza will be the centerpiece, but the menu will also include antipasti and wood-fire friendly items like baked clams.

White pie with hot cherry peppers

Don't know about you, but I'm excited for this place to open. When a fourth-generation pizzaman decides to set up shop in my neighborhood and work tirelessly to perfect his brick-oven recipe, I shake his hand. And eat his pizza.

  

Pete's Pizzeria, 289 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215. 

Amy Sohn, Author

Amy Sohn has been contributing editor at New York Magazine, a columnist for the New York Post, and a New York Times bestselling author for a Sex and the City companion guide, but in the past year her celebrity (and notoriety) has increased exponentially with the publishing of Prospect Park West. Chronicling the intertwining paths of four Park Slope "bohemian bourgeois breeders," the novel helped cement the Slope's reputation as a hotbed of mommy angst. Recently we sat down to discuss her thoughts on Park Slope and some of the stigma surrounding it. 

HPS: What was your path from where you grew up in Brooklyn Heights to Park Slope?

Amy: I've lived in Brooklyn my whole life, except for college, which was Brown. So as a single person I lived in Brooklyn Heights (both with my parents and not with my parents), Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and then when I got married in 2003 we thought about buying an apartment. That was when the Slope came into the picture.

HPS: What specific things were you looking for that you found in Park Slope?

Amy: I wanted the good public school district, I liked the idea of being close to the park, I think I was aware of the Co-op. But really, to be honest, it had more to do with inventory. In other words, it seemed like there were more apartments available in the Slope. If you were looking for a two-bedroom apartment there weren't as many you could buy in Cobble Hill or Carrol Gardens. And proximity to the city, of course.

HPS: What do you love about Park Slope?

Amy: I love the open sky, I love how quiet it is when you get off the train, I love the Montauk Club, I love the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. I could say the park, but given how close I live to it it's really embarrassing how little I take advantage of it. And then as a mother, I've really enjoyed things like the wide variety of preschools to choose from, and the library, Botanic Garden, and the Brooklyn Museum are all things I re-discovered through being a mom. 

HPS: What are some of your favorite restaurants in the neighborhood?

Amy: Al Di La is definitely my favorite restaurant. I really like Thistle Hill Tavern on 15th Street, and Istanbul Park on Seventh is really good. Lately we've been eating a lot at Fornino. 

HPS: What would you like to change, or see more of, in Park Slope?

Amy: I think the people in our neighborhood need to be more honest with each other about their resentment. We have all these blogs where people, particularly without children, go off on the people with kids. But I don't see a lot of actual face to face engagement. Something like, "Excuse me, I'm trying to walk here, are you aware that your stroller is taking up the whole street?"

The good thing about our neighborhood is that we have all these different types of people. The bad thing about our neighborhood is that they don't really engage each other. This is New York City! This is a city built on telling other people what you think of them. On people not being afraid to speak their minds. 

First, when you tell someone that what they're doing is bothering you, you get it off your chest, which is a much healthier way than writing about it on an anonymous blog, and second, and more important, you teach them something they didn't know. Because all those ladies taking up the whole sidewalk, I would venture to say are not aware of the effect their behavior is having on other people. They need to be told. The Co-op is the only place I can think of where people are forced to have it out. I love when I get yelled at! It's just a more honest form of engagement.

HPS: How do you respond to people who mock Park Slope? 

Amy: Did you see that article about the people with babies moving to Wiliamsburg? That's a good example. If you go in and flag the article, I believe there are either three or four direct quotes knocking Park Slope, and then one or two paraphrases in the journalist's voice knocking Park Slope. Park Slope has become a kind of shorthand for a gentrified, bourgeois neighborhood with affluent families in it. That's certainly true, but look around Cobble Hill, Carrol Gardens, and Fort Greene! It's not all that different in a lot of other neighborhoods. 

It goes back to my earlier point. Stop stereotyping. Find distinctions between people, don't lump everyone together. Be more honest about your feelings and also try to be more understanding. I'm not saying people should let others walk all over them, but again the mom taking over the whole street with the toddler is completely overwhelmed by her own life. She's not just a mean, self-satisfied person who doesn't care about others. She's just in some hormonal haze, and she just doesn't know.

HPS: Why do you think Park Slope has become almost a punchline?

Amy: Well, part of it is my novel. I think it put it on the map for the people out there in the rest of the country that weren't quite aware of it. My novel, The Squid and the Whale, Paul Auster being known as this longtime Park Slope author, all those things have helped put it on the map. Certainly the New York Times granting an extraordinary amount of coverage to Park Slope as a kind of quintessential New York neighborhood of this type, over the last five years or so, put it on the map. 

HPS: What do you think the most misunderstood or misrepresented thing about Park Slope is? 

Amy: I feel like people think Park Slope has always been like this. I don't think people realize how much more diverse it was only 30 years ago, in terms of political orientation, class, and race. A lot of the coverage ignores that. For example, look at Greenwich Village. Most people know that the Village is very affluent now, and that it wasn't always like that.

Park Slope is a victim of its own success. Because the very people that renovated these houses so that the standard of living gradually went up for everyone, some of these people still live here! Nobody pays any attention to them. I feel like certain groups are invisible, and it's really a shame. People don't realize that the older woman walking down the street in front of you is the reason that there's ten kindergartens in PS 321. So don't be obnoxious to her. 

Now we only hear about the negative consequences of this being such a successful neighborhood. Such as overcrowding in schools, real estate values being too high, people not doing renovations that are respectful of the history of the building, crowded streets, or high prices in cafes. All of this has to do with an extremely successful transformation. 

HPS: What specifically inspired you to take a snapshot of this place and time and write Prospect Park West?

Amy: It was this feeling like Park Slope was sort of popping or exploding an a certain way, like it has reached a critical mass in terms of the affluence, the mini baby boom, the presence of all these mothers. It's a novel about the mid-2000s boom even though it came out in 2009. And also my personal motivation was feeling different from other mothers, struggling to make new friends, not sure why it was hard. Even just little things like having a hard time finding the perfect apartment; I had a character obsessed with real estate the way that so many people are. 

So I just felt like the moment was right and that the book needed to be written, and I was the person to do it. It wasn't something I was going to sit on for five years.

HPS: So what's next?

Amy: I have the sequel coming out in 2012. I don't want to say the title, but it works as a companion to Prospect Park West. It takes some of the characters into the next couple years of their life, and also introduces some new characters. Prospect Park West ended with a cliffhanger, with a couple questions that needed to be answered. I'm excited to let readers catch up with these characters a couple years down the line. 

Willie's Says Farewell

Willie's Dawgs, the hole-in-the-wall hot dog stand on Fifth Avenue between Fourth and Fifth, closed as planned last week, after four years in business. Here's the sign they posted on their door:

As well as some cute children's drawings and a little note from Tom, the owner:

Business of the Week: Tarzian Hardware, Celebrating 90 Years

This article originally appeared on Patch.

The story of Tarzian Hardware, like so many other mom and pop shops in this neighborhood and city, is a story of the American Dream. 

Charles and Sophie Tarzian

Charles Tarzian came over from Armenia as an infant, and after growing up in Brooklyn and getting married, he and his brother decided to go into the hardware business. They looked at a couple locations, including a spot on Flatbush Avenue, but finally settled on a storefront at the corner of Seventh Avenue and First Street.  Tarzian Brothers Hardware and Appliances first opened its doors there in 1921 (the site today is a laundromat). 

A turpentine bottle from the 1930s, with the business' original name

In 1929, they moved up the street to 193 Seventh, which today is the northernmost of the three storefronts currently occupied by the store. They expanded into the full space in the 1960s, and in 1976 they opened Tarzian West across the street, which sells housewares and kitchen supplies. They're no longer affiliated with that store, even though they still share a name. 

"The only time we ever came close to closing down was right after the Depression, as World War II was breaking out," John Tarzian, the third-generation owner, told me.

On the verge of shuttering after taking a hit during the 30s, Charles and his wife Sophie were forced to devise a new tactic to bring people to the shop.

"Back during the war it was illegal to keep your lights on at night, so the German bombers wouldn't be able to see the city. Charles got a part-time job giving out tickets to those who left their lights on. There was a way around the ban, though. You could leave your lights on if you had heavy drapes and a fire bucket. So he directed them to Tarzian Hardware, of course," he said, laughing. "Business picked right back up."

View from the entryway. There was originally a large horseshoe-shaped counter at center.

Charles' son, Harry, took over after Charles retired in the 60s, and his son in law, John, runs the business today. In 1996 they underwent a thorough renovation, modernizing the store and installing a new sign. The only remaining relics of the past are the tin ceiling and an old rickety staircase leading down to the basement. 

The ancient basement staircase

Walking into the store today surrounds you with every possible item you can think of that might be useful in your apartment.

It may appear cluttered but if you look closely it's apparent that everything is carefully organized, from paint to showerheads to "granny carts." If you can't find something, the salespeople, many of whom have been working there for well over a decade, can point you in the right direction.

"There were seven hardware stores on Seventh Avenue in the 1960s, and today Tarzian is the only one left," said Tarzian. "We've worked really hard to make sure that we stick around."

Hard work, personalized service, quality merchandise, and maintaining strong ties to the community and its residents have kept the store open for 90 years, and hopefully will for many years to come.

	A view of the block in the 1990s. Tarzian is at left.

Tarzian Hardware, 193 7th Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215. 718-788-4120.