Since it launched last year the Brooklyn Flea food-only offshoot Smorgasburg has been an unqualified success. But you know what would make it (and most things) better? Local booze. Sadly, however, not everyone in the community agrees and co-founder Eric Demby now needs to scramble for signatures if he wants to have local libations on North Sixth Street by the time the outdoor food fun restarts on April 7. more ›

There's a whole lot of fun stuff going on in Williamsburg this weekend, and so far, the L is only planning on making a little bit of your life a living hell, and the sun will be out in full force. Here's how to make the most of everything that's going on, which includes the car-free Williamsburg Walks and our own mini SXSW, Northside Festival. more ›

When Eric Demby and Jonathan Bulter founded the Brooklyn Flea in 2008, it helped usher in a new era of flea markets in New York, with a focus more on high-quality, carefully curated products than the usual tchotchkies and junk. Now, with the success of the Flea, and in particular, the food vendors there, Demby and Butler are launching an all-food market this Saturday at their Williamsburg waterfront site. The cheekily named Smorgasburg, featuring over 100 local vendors selling everything from homemade mustard to banana-ricotta spring rolls (a full lineup can be found in PDF form on the Smorgasburg site), is poised to be a major success. We recently spoke with Demby and Butler a day before their grand opening and chatted about what to expect, why a food market matters, and their deep love of noodles. more ›

The popular weekend market Brooklyn Flea has not exactly endeared itself to all of Fort Greene's residents. Now, even though it only operates in the neighborhood on Saturdays (it's in Williamsburg on Sundays), some car owners are upset yet again with the bustling antique, clothes and food activity, because Flea has asked the city to reserve a loading zone for them...and that would take away precious free parking spaces! more ›

It used to be that if you wanted a taste of of locally cured pickles or bacon caramel popcorn at the Brooklyn Flea, you had to first fight past hordes of bargain hunters diving for refurbished cabinets and vintage jewelry. Until now! The recently expanded Williamsburg Flea is launching a food-only Saturday market, cheekily named "Smorgasburg." more ›

Have you ever met someone whose life you wish you could steal? That's how we feel about Dan Treiber, owner of Crafty Records, purveyor of fine knick knacks at Brooklyn Flea and creator of the Love Letter vending machine. Though the City Island native may argue it's tough work, we can't think of better ways to spend time than hanging out with talented musicians and sifting through attics estate sales for tiny treasures. We talked to the Renaissance man about the state of the music business, looking for anything worth selling, and why there's nowhere else he'd rather come home to. more ›

Well this is simply shocking: Urban Outfitters is allegedly taking original designs, mass producing them, and reselling them for a low, low price at their store. Crazy, right? What next, novelty t-shirts and coffee table books?! more ›

The Brooklyn Flea scored some prime real estate for the winter season; NYMag reports that starting January 9th the market is moving into some nice warm digs at One Hanson Place, aka the Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower (last year they were in DUMBO). They note that the Fort Greene space is perfect for the Flea, and co-founder Eric Demby says, "It's a really amazing space that hasn't been open to the public for a really long time. I think it's one of the most beautiful and historic interior spaces in Brooklyn." They'll be operating there through March, with 100 vendors, including food vendors whose goods Demby hopes guests will be able to enjoy inside the vault. more ›

Yesterday afternoon the Martha Stewart dropped by the Brooklyn Flea, causing a commotion and getting vendors worked up into a tizzy. It was a good thing! Martha says she loves Brooklyn, and it seems like the feeling might be mutual... except for some who sneered, calling her entourage "fucking ridiculous." Can we just file "Martha Stewart is at my designer flea market" as a Hall o' Fame White Whine? more ›

When we first caught wind of Jerry Seinfeld's new reality show, The Marriage Ref, he declared, "This is going to be a comedy show; I’m not interested in the reality of it.” more ›

After tut-tutting the pat predictability of the Obamas' choice to dine at "locavore" restaurant Blue Hill last week, Frank Bruni at the Times has taken the opportunity to revisit Soho's Savoy, where chef/owner Peter Hoffman "began exalting all things organic, sustainable and humanely raised... a full decade before Dan Barber did likewise at Blue Hill." Bruni's two star-review, evocative of a comment-thread "FIRST!", declares that Savoy's still got it after almost two decades: "Raise a glass of wine (from an appealing, varied list) to Mr. Hoffman, an evangelist outpaced by younger adherents but not out of the picture. Not even close." more ›

Despite the gloomy financial climate, the Brooklyn Flea is thriving and expanding this summer! Time to break those piggy banks, because the press release sent out today states that the market will set up shop under the Brooklyn Bridge on Sundays starting June 14th (and running through October). The Flea will still be at their Fort Greene location on Saturdays (much to some of the locals dismay), and Brooklyn Flea/Brownstoner founder Jonathan Butler notes that the pop-up Flea in DUMBO will also remain open through May. The press release also takes a moment to check in on construction at Brooklyn Bridge Park, and notes that the first phase of development will be complete by the end of the year, when both Pier 1 (adding 9.5 new acres of park) and Pier 6 (adding 7 acres) finally take shape. more ›

Will this site be home to the next wave of cheap outer borough eats? All will be answered later this month when a new flea market debuts in the 25,000 square foot space behind the Al-Noor School on 20th Street in Brooklyn. more ›

Small batch chocolate company Nunu has opened a flagship store on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. As reported last week by the blog Sweet Freak, CEO and CCO (Chief Chocolate Officer) Justine Pringle decided to create a central location to sell her truffles, caramels, chews, crushes, and barks. In time, she said on Tuesday, Pringle hopes to use the long, weathered table that occupies the center of the store for special events like chocolate tastings. She and her husband bought the table at the Brooklyn Flea, where they are vendors on the weekends. Nunu Chocolate also took part in last year’s Unfancy Food Show and is incorporated into Blue Marble Ice Cream for special flavors. more ›

The Brooklyn Flea isn't taking the chilly season off, but they are moving things indoors. Co-founder Jonathan Butler (pictured to the right of Eric Demby) told us that the space will be smaller than the outdoor Flea in Fort Greene, with about 30 vendors housed inside. The winter months will be held in a usually empty space at 76 Front Street in DUMBO, which we went over to check out for ourselves. more ›

The Brooklyn Flea was back in business for another Sunday, and The Daily News reports from the front lines, noting that the clash between "hipsters and old-timers" continued. While the Flea isn't really a hipster thing, the clash between the two sides did continue, even though the two attempted to reconcile at a meeting this past Thursday.

Angry encounters over parking between shoppers and local churchgoers nearly ended in blows yesterday. more ›

Last night the community board meeting concerning The Brooklyn Flea was held, and The Brooklyn Paper reports back that opponents and organizers alike "met in a heated, ethnically charged summit that ended without any solutions to the chasm that separates the sides." Essentially, local churches want the Flea gone, or at least no longer coinciding with services on Sunday (but really they just want it gone); many believe that the long-time residents are leaving no middle ground for compromise and are merely resisting any inevitable change. more ›

For the love of all that is crafty and thrifty: Brooklyn's beloved Flea is in danger! NYMag reports that "the large church on Vanderbilt & Lafayette along with some FG residents are meeting this week to try to shut it down." This is their third meeting addressing the topic, and each meeting has grown in size and support. Yikes! Jonathan Butler, organizer of the Brooklyn Flea, confirmed the problems and told us the following:

At this point, as far as we know, it's a matter of a few residents and church members who feel inconvenienced by some quality of life issues that are the natural by-product of holding an event like this. Councilmember Tish James will be presenting a number of specific steps to address these concerns at the meeting on Thursday and we are optimistic that the community will be able to move forward from there. The Flea is a source of both economic stimulus and community building and the large majority of people in the area--including the Fort Greene Association and the Society for Clinton Hill--are in full support of it.

Yesterday Jonathan Butler unleashed the Brooklyn Flea upon the borough, and even Marty Markowitz showed up (perhaps to find replacement placemats for his wife?). Butler tells us that "While we could have asked for better weather, we couldn't have asked for a better turnout or better vibes from all the visitors and vendors." more ›

Jonathan Butler has been talking real estate and renovation over at his blog, Brownstoner, since 2005. This year he brings his know-how offline with the most massive flea market Brooklyn has seen, aptly called Brooklyn Flea. While honing our haggling skills, we asked him a few questions about what to expect when it opens this weekend. more ›