Robicelli's Bakery Makes Headlines, SoHo Pop-up Shop

Rarely do we talk about local businesses unless they've just opened or otherwise but this one was prompted by it's impact in the media. If you haven't been living under a rock (we assume you haven't, but it's ok your secret is safe with us) you've at least heard about Robicelli's Bakery and/or the "Nutelasagna" making headline across the Internet the last two weeks.  If you're a foodie like us, chances are you've laid hands on this latest mashup over the summer.

Empire State Bank Opens on 3rd Ave

Empire State Bank [8701 3rd Ave] opened it's fourth branch earlier last week along 3rd Ave, in a nod to the growing number of small businesses opening in the communities along Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights.

Holiday Cheer With South Brooklyn Beer Book

Beer Book 7: South Brooklyn

At BRB, we look for the things you may have missed, especially if it's about supporting and community-building in Bay Ridge, you can best be sure we're all over it.  In the spirit of giving, we figured Brokelyn's recently announced gift-able deal is one you'd be silly to pass up (unless you don't drink beer). 🍻

Cricket Wireless Opens on 86th St

Cricket Wireless [471 86th St] soft-opened on Sunday after a quick renovation as mentioned earlier last month and joins national wireless providers Verizon, AT&T Sprint along the busy 86th St. shopping district.

Bombay Grill Opens on 3rd Ave

Bombay Grill [8716 3rd Ave] opened its doors last month 11/3 (Mon) to Restaurant Row and to the lunch crowd along 3rd Ave.  As we previously mentioned in late October, their opening was stymied by NYCDOB red tape but they're finally up and running.  We sat down with them earlier last week to talk about their opening.

Donut Stop on 3rd Ave Closes

(Courtesy of Google Maps)

DNAinfo first broke the news on the closing of Donut Stop [9406 Third Ave] on Sunday (11/29). The owners took to Facebook to thank their customers for their years of patronage.

Cream Doughnuts Opens on 3rd Ave

Courtesy of Martin R. On Yelp

Cream Coffee Shop & Doughnuts [7210 B 3rd Ave] opened earlier last week on 11/11 to the delight of Bay Ridge residents, offering wonderfully crafted doughnuts to the masses. If you recall, 7210 used to be occupied by Farah's Hair Studio for several years before moving last year to 8120 3rd Ave.

Cricket Wireless Coming to 86th St

This storefront [471 86th St] was once home to Donna World, which sold "kitschy stuff" will be renovated and brought to life once again with the arrival of national provider, Cricket Wireless, the pre-paid arm relaunched by AT&T. They will be flanked by The Vitamin Shoppe and mere feet away from Sprint, Verizon Wireless and parent AT&T.  No ETA has been provided.

Awesome Ramen Comes to Bay Ridge

Over the weekend of Oct 25-26th, Awesome Ramen opened it's doors to the customers of 86th St B.i.D.  As you may already know, we covered Mori Sushi's abrupt closure merely weeks earlier.  It does look promising as Bay Ridge is lacking ramen.  We wish this new ramen house well!

2014 Dine In Brooklyn

Dine in Brooklyn, the 11-year old
food fest spearheaded by the
office of Brooklyn borough president
Eric Adams, kicks off today.

Updates From 3rd Ave Restaurant Row

Grotto Italian Table [8901 3rd Ave.], the Italian restaurant we last reported in early September gave us quite a pleasant surprise by opening over the weekend (Fri/Sat). Please welcome them to the neighborhood if you have a chance and let us know what you think!

Bombay Grill, the Indian restaurant [8716 3rd Ave] we last reported awhile ago between 87/88th St. finally shows progress.

Set Sail or Tour This October With Pioneer, Shearwater, and Clearwater

This weekend and coming week at the Bay Ridge Community Eco-Dock!
Details for the signup are at http://waterfrontalliance.org/bayridge

Killarney Pub To Close

(Source: Brooklyn Paper)

Killarney Pub [6911 5th Ave], Say it ain't so! It's been a great run but as Brooklyn Paper first reported, this Bay Ridge institution of 90 years is closing according to owner, Paddy Finn. We wish him well on his future endeavors.

Mori Sushi is No More

Mori Sushi [8619 5th Ave] was found to be closed earlier last week and continues to be this week. We believe it didn't help to advertise 50% off sushi from the start, or offer up All-You-Can-Eat sushi when it opened last year, when the previous beleaguered occupants were also Asian buffet-style concept restaurants: Wild Ginger and Century before that. Just saying.

Italian Restaurant Week

October 8-15

Are you excited for tomorrow? You should be.

Italian Restaurant Week is here in Brooklyn for the next week and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce has a list of participating restaurants.
(Here are the details: PDF)

5th Ave Hair Studio Opens On 5th Ave

Source: Alex Kroke Photography

5th Ave Hair Studio [9013 5th Ave] opened earlier this week on 9/30 (Tues), two doors away from neighborhood favorite, Robicelli's.  They certainly bring something different, and by that we mean something uniquely cool.

Spirit Spooks into October, Ragamuffin, Third Ave Festival

Spirit Halloween  [442 86th St.], the NJ-based seasonal specialty retailer opened Saturday 9/27 to weekend (Saturday) shoppers.  They're still hiring as far as we can tell so, check it out.

Fall is coming, 3rd Ave Festival, Gentile Office Opens

Halloween is coming!

Halloween is almost here!  [442 86th St.] How do we know?  Check out the store that's readying for the special holiday... They're setting up and hiring at the moment but we'll bring you more when they're set to open.

Why does it look familiar? It's the former GNC (relocated to 432 86th St. a few doors over]

3rd Ave Festival Nears

The Merchants of Third Ave would like you to drop in Sept 28 (Sun) 12-6pm for the 41st Annual 3rd Ave Festival. We'll keep you appraised about how it'll affect you but one thing's for sure, it'll be difficult to drive around.  For more on this, check out their page on [Facebook]

Vincent J. Gentile's Office Grand Opening

The Councilman's office [8018 5th Ave] officially opened Sept 20 (Sat). Tons of supporters and local residents streamed in to say Hi.

48th Annual Ragamuffin Parade on 3rd Ave

Credit: Raggamuffin Parade

A Bay Ridge tradition since 1967, the Ragamuffin Parade to be held on Sept. 27 is the only parade focused primarily on children marching in costume.

Little Caesars, Specialized Eye Care Open

Little Caesars [8620 4th Ave], the pizza chain (bearing the familiar toga-wearing Roman) had a soft opening late Tuesday evening with little fanfare but officially opened Wednesday to a bustling lunch crowd with a majority of their menu ready to go. We're curious to know what you think of their $5 Hot-N-Ready lunch combos and pepperoni pizzas. Pizza! Pizza!

 Specialized Eye Care [8723 3rd Ave] optical store opened earlier today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. They took over the former space of Home Reporter/Brooklyn Spectator which moved to 9733 4th Ave).

Victoria's Secret Coming to 86th St

Credit: Google Maps

This is one secret Victoria wasn't meant to keep. The largest American retailer of lingerie, Victoria's Secret [447 86th St.] has plans to occupy the storefront of the former HSBC Bank branch that closed in June 29, 2012.

Little Caesars Coming to 4th Ave

Little Caesars Storefront (Night)

Little Caesars [8620 4th Ave], the iconic pizza chain is making it's very bright orange mark on Tuesday (9/9/14) according to the owners.

Planet Wings Swoops Into 5th Ave

Planet Wings [8612 5th Ave.], the Hudson Valley based wings franchise, surprised us by opening their doors on Sat, Aug 30th next to Pizza Wagon.

New Italian Restaurant Coming to Restaurant Row

New restaurant at [8901 3rd Ave] is taking over for former Huckleberry's N.Y., in what appears to be an Italian bistro named Grotto Italian Table.

New Indian Cuisine Coming to Restaurant Row

Nouvelle Shutters, Indian Restaurant Coming

Remember Nouvelle, the French-Asian fusion restaurant at [8716 3rd Ave.]? There's going to be a new Indian restaurant opening in it's place.  It will be the first Indian fare to appear this far south on restaurant row below 80th (there are two over by 74th).  One of the owners has confirmed an approximate opening date of 9/17, which is subject to change, and no official name has been announced as of yet but we'll keep tabs on it for you.

August Recap

August was pretty huge as far as events go, despite being the biggest vacation month.

Summer Stroll [Courtesy of Summer Stroll on 3rd]

8/8/14, 8/15/14

3rd Ave played host to Summer Stroll [80th-90th St.], attracting thousands to come out to enjoy the live music, sidewalk cafes and local eateries.

8/12, 8/19, 8/26

Senator Marty Golden's Concert in the Park Series [79th & Shore] came to a conclusion with the last remaining concert dates this season.

8/4/14

Panera Bread [531 86th St.] opened it's doors on Monday at 6:30am to bleary eyed commuters but did a fantastic job opening their eyes by giving away a free tumbler and coffee for a month!

8/5/14

What a Taco [8612 4th Ave.] is closed. Efforts to reach the owner have gone unanswered but unconfirmed sources say the landlord is considering their options. The sign posted by Dept. of Health however does not give us the sense they're slinging tacos anytime soon.
Edit: They've reopened, after a short hiatus.

8/19/14

Pasticceria Rocco [9402 4th Ave.] Rocco Generoso, Sr. began his eponymous bakery in the heart of West Village some 40 years ago bringing fantastic cannolis and pastries to hungry New Yorkers, and now the Rocco family's homecoming is finally realized.

(Read blogger Real Noo Yawkas Eat hot off the press review here)

8/30/14

Chipotle Mexican Grill [463 86th St.] the oft-heralded grand opening happened just before lunchtime on Saturday, to scores of hungry shoppers and residents. As can be expected, sources on the ground said there's a line straight out the door.

Stay Tuned, there's more!

Lai Yuen Chinese Restaurant Shutters

Lai Yuen Chinese Restaurant (Courtesy of Google)

Lai Yuen [10033 4th Ave], the Chinese fine-dining option near the southern tip of Bay Ridge shuttered Monday morning on Aug 31st, apparently unable to come to terms renegotiating their lease, bringing it's 15 year run to an end.

Facebook Message thanking customers

Management took to Facebook to express their heartfelt thanks to customers for their support.

Go Gold Bay Ridge

#GoGold for childhood cancer awareness month!

We're already seeing businesses doing their part in supporting research funding by either donating time or proceeds this month to further the cause.  Check with your local store to see if they are participating.  You'll soon notice volunteers wrapping gold ribbons and lighting throughout the neighborhood starting Sunday, 9/7/14. For more information and/or to pitch in to help, email bayridgecares@gmail.com

Welcome To the Beat

Introduction/Introduzióne
By now, you're either aware through your friends, neighbors, or Twitter that you wake up to something wholly new (besides that shiny new Chipotle that opened up that you've been hearing about through second-hand knowledge).

BAY RIDGE BEAT will simply be a blog we can proudly call our own, Bay Ridge, and we're going to start by saying the following: Our success largely depends on tips submitted by people like you, and reported on for the people of our neighborhood.

Here are some things you ought to know:
What is our purpose?
To aggregate & highlight local activities within our community, whether it's a store opening, closing, street fair/closures, a MTA re-route of buses & trains. To be fair, we won't report on everything, nor supplant any other organization. Your local newspapers and TV news broadcasts are vital!  We also wont be yet another Brooklyn-based blog, to be all thing to all people.

Why now?
We provide a perspective that ought to be heard, that's unheard presently. These are some of the same questions you ask when your local grocery store closes inexplicably... or that store you've always frequented being boarded up for some sort of construction.

Change is happening everyday, and you have a right to know about it.

Campo Bello II Opens on 5th Ave

Campo Bello II [9128 5th Ave] opened it's doors earlier on Aug 11 with little fanfare and serve authentic Spanish food, related to the Staten Island outpost along Broad St of the same name, this location anchors the corner of 92nd and 5th Avenue, an intersection scorned by drivers coming to or from the Verrazano Bridge.

(Courtesy of Google Maps)

Remember this? It was formerly Bayridge Eatery.

Townhouse 275 Opens Off 3rd Ave

Courtesy of Angela K (Yelp)

Townhouse 275 [275 94th St] is sure to pique your interest even though Bay Ridge is in no shortage of bars. It's quite likely the first speakeasy & craft mixology bar to open in the neighborhood.  This happened last Fri on 7/11.

Hibachi Masters Opens on 5th Ave

Hibachi Masters

Hibachi Masters [8512 5th Ave] Japanese Grill opened on July 1st, right in between fast food chains, Burger King/Popeye's & Five Guys.  They offer an array of sushi/sashimi, bento boxes, and grilled "hibachi" meal options in a casual modern setting.

Hibachi Masters hosts a wide range of Japanese cuisine, with a menu that includes Chicken Teriyaki, Bourbon Chicken, California Combo, Spicy Combo, Veggie Combo, Tuna Sashmi, Octopus Sushi, Shrimp Bento, Unagi Don, Salmon Don, etc.  They also offer party trays for the occasional parties.  As a Japanese restaurant, they also offer a variety of rolls, as well.