Exit Realty In, Cold Stone Out

EXIT Realty Today [8403 3rd Avenue] a full-service franchisor, specializing in residential and commercial real estate, takes over for the former Cold Stone Creamery earlier this month.  EXIT franchisee Michael Afanasyev, whose other Bay Ridge office is 547 92nd St, like many, saw the former ice cream shop idle on the market for months and decided to commit to opening another office to service the community.

(More About Cold Stone follows...)

Shangri-La Vegetarian Coming to Restaurant Row

Former Carvel on 3rd and 74th

Besides the Nature's Grill, Brooklyn Beet Co, Mediterranean (ie. Tanoreen), Indian restaurants and even Kathy's dumplings, your choices for vegetarian options is still severely limited, in once heavily Irish/Italian/Norwegian populated Bay Ridge. Of course, that's changing with the times.

Here's what we know. Last week, CB10 granted wine/beer approval for a new vegetarian restaurant, Shangri-La Vegetarian [7400 3rd Ave], which we mentioned last week, located at the former Carvel corner location (The new Carvel is over at 75/76th). We'll have more for you as they start breaking ground and announce an opening.

Club Cats is Set to Reopen Right Meow

Club Cats, 100th St & 4th Ave

Club Cats [10007 4th Ave], the Russian-owned nightclub, is set to reopen today/tonight after a month-long renovation.  As some of you remember or forgot, the club it replaced Amnesia, had frequent brush-ins with residents and CB10.  Club Cats was supposed to alter that vibe, but still found a way to cause quite a stir when they first opened in 2012. They were originally displaced by superstorm Sandy when New Cats Cafe in Sheepshead Bay got demolished, but have since situated permanently near the southern tip of Bay Ridge.

Feature: Xin Restaurant and Bar

XIN Restaurant & Bar

Xin Restaurant [8320 3rd Ave] first opened to lunch-seekers on April 1st as we mentioned earlier, offering both a new lunch and dinner option to Restaurant Row.

MetroPCS Opens on 3rd Ave

MetroPCS Store (on 3rd bet 83rd/84th)

MetroPCS [8313 3rd Ave], the prepaid arm of T-Mobile has a new authorized dealer operating on 3rd Ave as of last week or so. They let us know that not only do they offer their existing $40, $50, $60 plans, but also debuted a new $30/mo unlimited talk, text, data (w/ 1GB at up to 4G LTE speeds). Additionally, they have some grand opening offers available to them to entice subscribers to switch.

Parkway Express Deli & Grill Opens on 3rd Ave

Parkway Express [7502 3rd Ave] opened on Tues Apr 21, at the corner of Bay Ridge Pkwy. and 3rd Ave bringing a new convenience store to the busy intersection.

Monaco's Bakery Closes After Five Years

Monaco's Bakery

Monaco's Bakery and Cafe [8511 3rd Ave], the family-owned and operated business of Joe and Elizabeth Monaco closed its doors for the last time in April 2015 after an amazing 5 year run.