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Community Corner

The New Franklin Avenue

Restaurants and Cafes are populating southwestern Bed-Stuy

Franklin Avenue did not look like this 5 years ago.

Near the border of Clinton Hill and a short walk to Pratt Institute, Franklin Avenue and southwestern Bed-Stuy is feeling perhaps the strongest affects of gentrification in the neighborhood, rapidly becoming a home for more and more students and young post-grads who have moved to the city.

The cafes and restaurants sprouting up through the cracks in the concrete reflect the change in the neighborhood. In November and December of last year alone, three new places opened up: Dough, a homemade doughnut shop; Bedford Hill Coffee Bar, a new cafe; and Alcatraz, a Mexican fusion restaurant.

Since 2008, Franklin Avenue has been introduced to Sweet Revenge, Nice Pizza, Heavenly Crumbs, and more. That’s just Franklin Avenue. Less than a block away there is Colador Cafe, Rustik Tavern, Tigerlily, I Like it Like That Bakery, and Nero Doro (to name just a few), all of which have opened in the last three years.

Although the neighborhood has been drastically altered in the last 10 years, housing costs are still incredibly low compared to more affluent neighborhoods nearby, like Clinton Hill and Fort Greene. This combined with the sudden onslaught of 20-somethings looking for a venue, makes Franklin Avenue an ideal location.

Pascale, the owner of Tigerlily on Classon and Greene, knows the neighborhood well since she graduated from Pratt Institute. She was going to have a place on Dekalb, but it was too expensive, and she noticed the influence of Clinton Hill moving east.

“In a way we are less noticed, but in a way we are more noticed,” Pascale said. “You can get lost on a street that’s all restaurants.”

On the other hand, one high-end cafe or restaurant quickly leads to another. Christopher, one of the owners of Alcatraz, has been watching the block for a while now, and finally decided to go for it.

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He said that as more restaurants started appearing on the block, he started to imagine his dream restaurant there as well. Although there's more competition than some less populated areas of Bed-Stuy (the single block between Lexington and Greene on Franklin Ave now has three restaurants, a cafe, two bars, and a cake shop), Franklin Avenue is becoming a street people can walk down to find a place to eat or drink, rather than happening upon an oasis on a street that's largely corner stores and apartment buildings.

Eric, one of the owners of Nice pizza, noted that the other restaurants help each other as well, but he believes that Franklin Avenue is limited by the small amount of commercial space available.

He predicts that Bedford Avenue will eventually have more restaurants, simply because of the commercial space available on that avenue. “All it takes is one great restaurant,” he said.

Terry, one of the owners of Dough, chose the location on the corner of Franklin Avenue and Lafayette merely out of convenience. Choice Market needed a new pastry kitchen, and this was the closest available location. A doughnut shop on the corner for Bed-Stuy residents was an added bonus.

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"It's a different market," he said, comparing Dough to Choice Market located a few blocks over at Lafayette and Grand. "But I think more places will open up in a year or two years."

At this rate, Franklin Avenue could become a miniature Williamsburg by the end of the year.


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