A tipster sent this in just now: guys putting up the awning for the falafel joint set to open soon at 43 Bogart in Morgantown. I was by there earlier and noticed a lot of equipment inside all three storefronts. Home stretch, people.

It’s been a long time coming, but Bushwick’s first proper wine shop has finally opened. It’s actually been open for some two weeks now, and is fully stocked with all varieties of wine from every major growing region. Vinos en Wyckoff also sells what seems like hundreds of brands of liquors. I visited with owner Tony Acosta to talk to him about the shop:

more »

From a tipster: the two storefronts in the new retail spots on Bogart will be an LA-style Mexican restaurant and a falafel joint owned by the same guys as Oasis on North 7th and Bedford in Williamsburg. I’m thoroughly unexcited by the prospect of a Mexican place and only lukewarm about falafel, though as falafel goes, Oasis is the best I have had. Despite my personal tastes, with the addition of these businesses and the future CakeWalk vegan bakery, “Downtown” Morgantown is really shaping up!

Here’s some stuff I have inklings and semi-confirmation on:

*A huge warehouse at Knickerbocker and Flushing is right now under renovation into a Bedford Minimall-like retail and art center. The developer has not yet decided on a final layout. A snippet of one possibility is above.

*Two upscale/organic grocery operators are fighting over space at the Wyckoff Exchange. One wants two “bays” of the five available, the other wants three — the third would be so there is room for a wine shop.

*Also at the Wyckoff Exchange, it’s rumored that a rock-climbing gym was sniffing around looking for space — but they may have settled on an armory in Park Slope. Which is fine with me. Can you just imagine the insufferable frat douchebags invading our sensitive arty hipster hub? (Cuz you know they already are).

*The vacant Scaturro block on Knickerbocker and DeKalb is slated to become lofts and nice ground floor retail.

*A creperie and café is in the pipeline for Bushwick within the year, if all goes to plan.

*Jane’s bar now has its building permits, and serious plumbing work is underway. Scheduled opening is pushed back to September.

Last year there were rumors of a wine shop opening on Wyckoff, but there have been no updates since September. Now it seems that yes, a wine shop called Vinos en Wyckoff will be opening possibly in May. I can’t say whether the name reflects the expected client base or if it means they will have Spanish wines — both would be refreshing. A contact peeked inside and says “it looks more like a bar.” We’ll have to wait and see.

Nice storefront, too — I like the iron columns. What, no huge plastic multi-colored umbrella awning?

UPDATE: The owner says “Vinos en Wyckoff will be open probably in June. We will have also liquors, but we want to educate people in the area about wine. We will carry affordable high quality wines. We have a big yard and we will offering free wine tasting and classes.”

UPDATE 2: The store is now open!

Vinos en Wyckoff | 150 Wyckoff

A few weeks ago I heard rumors of a vegan bakery planned for the new storefronts on Bogart and Moore. The other day, I got a tip:

“One of the vans moving things in was from ‘Red Mango Bakery,’ and even the van smelled like a delicious coconut treat. I really hope they’re setting up a shop. I could go for some baked goods RIGHT NOW.”

I saw the van, too, but thought maybe they were delivering to Roberta’s or the Archive. It turns out that a new place called CakeWalk will be opening in the middle storefront. It is billed as a “a vegan pastry bar and vegetarian cafe.” Angela Pickman of Red Mango assures me that all the products taste just like the animal product-packed confections us traditionalists crave. “If you ate it without knowing its vegan, you’d never know!”

The cafe menu will definitely be meatless. It will take an artist to create a selection varied enough for everyone to enjoy, but CakeWalk seems up to the test.

There’s no exact opening date as it depends on completion of renovations. Stay tuned!

CakeWalk, 43 Bogart

My friend Kevin who lives across the street from Long Do at 214 Knickerbocker says that not only is it open as of tonight — it’s owned by friends of his. Ecuadoran friends!

Go eat, you skinny ass hipsters! God knows you need to. Get a little chicken in that pad thai.

Assorted hipsters and such walk past Bushwick’s “future Bedford Avenue.”

I have been thinking that the Northern part of Wyckoff Avenue, with several vacant storefronts and underutilized warehouses, would be the perfect little hipster-yuppie “main street,” if only a few more atmosphere-contributing businesses could open. Several large residential lofts exist within a one-block radius, not to mention the thousands of Bushwick newbies that have moved into all the unglamorous standard apartments in the area over the past year. Northeast Kingdom and the Wyckoff-Starr anchor the block — of course, they’re both owned by the same people. One new storefront has recently been beautifully renovated, but it’s still not certain what is going in that space.

Why won’t someone with a clue buy the big, empty brick warehouse on the interior of the block? Chill out, someone has. And they plan on creating up to five storefronts, with the renovations inside and out to be designed by an architect “practically pro bono,” attracted to the project for its uniqueness.

This weekend I met with David Krieger of the Brooklyn Atlantic Real Estate Co. to talk about it. He and his team are working with the owner to find a “sustainable” mix of tenants, so we won’t just end up with whatever will pay the highest rent.

more »

That’s it, people. We’ve hit a major point in the evolution of modern Bushwick: Bushwick is getting its first Thai restaurant. On the way home from the Associated the other day, we saw for ourselves what Armstrong has been saying for a couple weeks. “Long Do” will open “soon” at 214 Knickerbocker. A peek in the windows displayed several tables and lots of “this place is Thai” decorative touches.

We all know that the Thai restaurant is the ultimate harbinger of Hipsterdom. Soon, we’ll have 7 within a 60 second walk of each other.

You may have noticed, but the big warehouse at the corner of Bogart and Moore — between Ad Hoc gallery and Roberta’s — has been making a lot of noise lately, and filling up a couple dumpsters in the process. I hear that they will be three retail spaces, and one is already taken by a “photography studio/gallery/print shop.” The other two are “waiting for serious tenants.” Please be more food.

I have also heard that the empty lot on Moore now used to store junk cars and other industrial detritus — to the west of Roberta’s — could be recruited to host a possible farmer’s market. That is still very up in the air.

So let’s look at the landscape of this one block of Bogart. There’s a grocery store (which I hear now delivers, btw), a coffee and and DVD rental shop, a large gallery that hosts many events, three new storefronts coming on line, a bar around the corner one way, a wood-oven pizza place around the corner the other way, and one rumored farmer’s market next to that. This is shaping up to be a sort of Main Street for “Morgantown” and those of us in North Bushwick who use the Morgan stop area’s amenities as well as transportation (the Bogart entrance to the L is now open 24/7).

It looks like we’re hitting critical mass for a new retail boom. The Gentrometer bumps up a notch.

UPDATE: The three new storefronts will be a vegan bakery, a felafel joint, and a burrito spot.