4 days ago
This Brooklyn Neighborhood Was a Restaurant Dead Zone — Until Croissants Helped Changed Everything
Montague Street has long been the ugly duckling of Brooklyn Heights, a sad stretch of meh restaurants in one of the city's most attractive neighborhoods. Yet when croissant darling L'Appartement 4F opened in 2022 (115 Montague Street, at Henry Street) to viral lines, this started to change: Since then, Montague Street has slowly come to life, with the opening of stylish revamp, Montague Diner; a new location of Italian mainstay Felice; and a sprawling outpost of the Georgian restaurant, Chama Mama.
A wave of independent, buzzworthy restaurants has helped the neighborhood's momentum. It began with Michelin-starred Clover Hill in 2019, followed by the arrival of bistro favorite Inga's in 2022, , the all-day cafe Poppy's in 2023, and wood-fired pizza spot Jules in 2024. Then, late in April, a chef-driven restaurant landed on Montague when Brendan Spiro opened Café Brume, ushering in compelling wine list and a Alpine-meets-Italian menu from Le Coucou alum Ian Anderson. The latest addition is the Swedish bakery Ferrane, which adds fresh energy and swirled cardamom buns to the area's transformation.
Another big-deal development was announced late May: Once called the Waldorf-Astoria of Brooklyn and the location where the Brooklyn Dodgers celebrated their 1955 World Series win, the Hotel Bossert, at 98 Montague Street at Hicks Street, was acquired by real estate developer SomeraRoad. Their plan is to reopen the building as luxury residences with an anchor restaurant tenant to be determined. All of which is to say that Montague Street is becoming a swan.
Brooklyn Heights is the oldest landmarked neighborhood in New York City, an enclave of centuries-old brownstones, antebellum-era townhouses, cobblestone streets, and wide stoops. Ironically, Brooklyn Heights' main commercial corridor, Montague Street, which runs four blocks from Court Street to the majestic Promenade, had never been home to an interesting bakery, a chef-driven restaurant, or even an independent coffee shop.
Back in the 1980s, places like Mr. Souvlaki and Armando's were pushed out by landlords looking for higher rents. In their place came a revolving slate of middling restaurants – chains, oddballs, and lots of uninteresting Thai – serving a mostly transient crowd of courthouse workers and students. Residents who'd plunked down multiple millions on brownstones and pre-war apartments left the neighborhood to find dinner.
During the pandemic, something unusual happened: Ashley and Gautier Coiffard began baking croissants and baguettes out of their tiny apartment in Cobble Hill, selling out within hours, creating a frenzy on social media. Around that time, Lara Birnback, the executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, was reviewing the results of a survey she'd sent out to roughly 2000 neighbors asking what businesses they might want to see open on Montague Street. Their top response? A bakery.
Birnback was determined to transform Montague Street and cold-called the Cobble Hill couple. 'I said, we have some vacancies on Montague Street, would you like to come look around?' Birnback recalled. 'They had never run a business before, but I found a landlord who was willing to take a chance on an untested model. It was a chance harmony of an enthusiastic couple and a landlord willing to be flexible.'
That landlord, John M. Tucciarone, helped change the landscape of Montague Street.
'The success of 4F was a big neon sign to the rest of the culinary industry,' said Ravi Kantha, who runs Serhant, a real estate brokerage that focuses on the luxury townhouse market in Brooklyn Heights. 'It's like, 'If you build it they will come.' It sends a signal to other restaurateurs and investors who have a track record to look at Montague Street.'
For decades, Montague Street landlords offered month-to-month leases, charging egregious rents, and were unwilling to partner with restaurant talent. But that changed post-pandemic when dozens of empty storefronts quickly turned Montague into an eyesore.
Tenants like Spiro say landlords are more willing to work with tenants. 'There is change afoot, mostly coming from a softening which happened after the pandemic with so many empty storefronts,' he said. 'Landlords finally started to think about the character of these storefront properties and how it would benefit not only the community but Montague Street.'
Amanda Hesser — founder of Food52 and author of the Substack Homeward— moved to the neighborhood over 20 years ago and says she 'always chalked up the lack of evolution to businesses having long leases and or owning their buildings. I liked its lack of coolness, but you did have to leave the neighborhood to eat well and shop.' She, too, looks to the opening of L'Appartement 4F as the turning point, followed by Books Are Magic, Poppy's, and so on. 'The neighborhood has more of a pulse now, and is shedding its reputation as the place your grandparents live. But let's hope Brooklyn Heights never gets too big for its boots.'
Not everyone believes Montague Street will continue to support independent restaurants. Rob Hebron, who has run Hebron Realty on Montague Street for 20 years, is not convinced.
He says landlords would rather let spaces sit vacant than compromise on rent. 'Nothing would make us happier than landlords working in partnership with mom-and-pop restaurants to increase food options and revitalize the neighborhood, but it's $100 per square foot, and restaurants want to pay $75, and that does not happen,' he said.
Others on the ground are far more optimistic. 'I don't think that having vacant space for an extended period of time does anyone any good – for the street or the neighbors,' said Tucciarone, the landlord who rented the space to L'Appartement 4F. Before the bakery, the space had been left vacant during COVID; it previously housed an Emack & Bolios and a Connecticut Muffin.
Kip Green, a partner in the Montague Diner, expects the evolution to continue. 'This is a pivotal moment and we are going to see more inspiring concepts and landlords that are going to be more flexible with creative concepts.'
The renovation of the Bossert into high-end residences with a restaurant anchor tenant is sure to move the needle even more.
'Change happens slowly; you can't click your heels,' said Ian Ross, founder of SomeraRoad, and a longtime Brooklyn Heights resident. 'When I look down and up the block, I am enthralled with what is going on.'
'I try to get everyone to come to Brooklyn Heights,' said 4F's Ashley Coiffard. 'As long as you are for the neighborhood, you will be successful here.'
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