Gothamist: Curses: Brooklyn Heights Restaurant Closes

buffy

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 12:06:20 -0500

howabout the space on the corner of henry/cranberry @ 80 cranberry street? i lived in that building for 6 years and every single year there was a new restaurant..jinxed!...i have since moved to cobble hill, so haven't checked up on what's there or how it's doing.....

jack oneil

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 10:22:42 -0500

25k a week?? You must have that wrong.

joe

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 20:25:18 -0500

Whenever I went there I had horrible service, I knew people who worked there after and they said the kitchen wasn't the cleanest. That combined with the horrible location its understandable.

Gil Hodges

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:41:47 -0500

I read about this on Brooklyn Heights Blog over the weekend. Terrible news, that place was great. Brooklyn Heights Blog

Tim N.

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:31:48 -0500

Correction... I should have said $25 grand *a week*.

Tim N.

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:27:44 -0500

I think the former Rocco's was known as a jinxed joint for a while... small wonder. I'll miss Palmira's. My wife and daughter and I have been going there regularly since it opened and we never had a bad meal there. Always treated well. Had family events and gatherings there. Sad. And I think in the three or so years before Roger moved in there, there were three or four different places (Cafe 41, Slade's, a couple of others) so actually we all thought Palmira's had staying power. Not to be, especially when you've got a $25,000 nut to make every month. Of course, their genius landlords at 111 Hicks may have outsmarted themselves, since now they've got a big dark empty space which is bringing in zip-a-dee-doo-dah every month, and the nabe is down one good red-sauce joint. Nice job, guys.

Gari N. Corp

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 16:39:01 -0500

131 Sixth Avenue, also in Park Slope. It's had a Japanese place called Yakitori Canteen, which was then shortened to Y Canteen and turned into a sushi place. It then closed and became Sadie Mae's Cafe, and indifferent soul food place, which now seems to be closed too. this all in the space of maybe three years.

amanda

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 16:38:08 -0500

Palmira's was always a weird place.. it was advertised heavily in those free circulars like "Clip 'n Save", which gave it an air of le cheap. I'm all for cheap & cheerful, but it just felt like a tourist trap to me. Coupled with an inconvenient location (it's slightly above street level, so you have to climb some stairs to enter.. not so great for multi-generational family dinners), and the fact that it was hidden under scaffolding for years, it was bound to fail. Most restaurants in that area (around the Clark St. 2/3 stop), with the exception of the delicious Iron Chef House sushi, seem to be cursed. There's a location further up Clark St. that's housed three different restaurants in four years.

dP

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 16:28:34 -0500

Tazza has undoubtledy beat the odds on Henry Street.

null

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 16:04:07 -0500

I think many Park Sloper's agree that the location once occupied by Bar Minnow, now some kind of hamburger joint, is cursed, not because of any ghosts, but because of poor management. But, in general, I shudder at the notion of a restaurant deathwatch. It takes great courage and great capital to open an eating establishment these days and most who make the effort have good intentions and a great deal of talent. I'd like to see most succeed. Of course if one is foolish enough to borrow heavily to open a restaurant, one would hope they would take care of details like cleanliness, quality ingredients, a warm welcome for customers, and good service. Ignoring any or all of these factors is enough to put you on anyone's 'deathwatch list.'

kevin bracken

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:49:54 -0500

It would be a sweet locale for a music venue! We are always looking for massive places to cram 2,000 partygoers into

Peter

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:44:44 -0500

"Kiss of death" locations for restaurants aren't uncommon. Tony Bourdain mentioned this issue in his book Kitchen Confidential. Size may be a factor, foot and/or vehicular traffic patterns also may play a part, and of course some landlords might be particularly difficult.