On Nostrand Avenue, the Newest Restaurants Often Arrive With Their Regulars Already

"There are so many new restaurants opening, and people get excited…so then they put us in the back of the mind," Gwen Woods told BK Reader on October 2. Woods and Fifi Bell-Clanton own The Crabby Shack at 613 Franklin Avenue, and that day they were asking the neighborhood to help keep it open.

The new restaurants Woods is describing are real, and you can name them. Several of this year's openings in Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts Gardens didn't arrive as strangers. They grew out of a pop-up, a takeout operation or a first location that already worked. Their regulars were waiting when the doors opened. A restaurant that has been on the same corner for 12 years has to win people back one at a time, and that is a different job.

Three new Nostrand storefronts, two with customers already

Eater NY called Bon Pâtés "Brooklyn's acclaimed Haitian patty pop-up" when it opened its first storefront over Labor Day weekend. At launch it sold walk-up patties Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and kept its catering and nationwide shipping. A few weeks later, the Bon Pâtés website lists hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week. The Infatuation describes flaky Haitian patties filled with beef, herring, spinach or cod, served with house-made limeade. The jump from four days to seven fits a business that brought its demand with it.

Sweet Sundays took a similar path. Owners Felix Cesar and Debbie Louis opened the Caribbean-owned, Haitian-rooted restaurant in Flatbush in May 2024, and BK Reader reported in August that they had added a second location at 1034 Nostrand Avenue. Louis already knew the block. BK Reader notes she had worked one block from the space and used to visit the business that was there before. "Opening this location in PLG has been heartwarming. It's really nice to see the community come together to support us," she told the outlet. The new location also adds brunch, a liquor license and community events, according to the same report. That mix matters later in this story.

Brooklyn Surf & Soul is the only one of the three that started fresh. Eater listed it among its October openings, with shrimp po' boys, whiting sandwiches, shrimp and grits, seafood boils and fried chicken. The restaurant's own page says it pairs steamed seafood with Southern soul food classics and chose Nostrand Avenue for Crown Heights' people, energy and culture. The menu goes further, with salmon bites, crab egg rolls, catfish, turkey wings, beef ribs, brunch plates and vegan options.

So the neighborhood now has two seafood boil kitchens, a short walk apart, on different avenues. One opened this month. The other is asking for help to get through the winter.

What a 12-year-old room is working against

The Crabby Shack is known for crab rolls, lobster rolls, lobster mac-and-cheese and honey cornbread. BK Reader reports that its troubles started in early 2025 and came from several directions at once. Food costs are up: the outlet cites a report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli finding that food prices in the New York City metro area have risen more than 25 percent since 2019. Fewer customers are coming in. Delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats charge more, and chargebacks add to the cost. "You can't just shut the doors one day. It doesn't work that way. And we don't want to close," Bell-Clanton told the outlet.

The owners started a GoFundMe on August 30. The appeal is written in their own words:

"Winter has always been our slowest season, and this year we're fighting to make sure we can keep our doors open."

The page says donations will keep the restaurant open through the winter months, support staff and keep vendor accounts current. Donations were still coming in during October, and the restaurant's website still takes online orders and lists weekly hours.

Then there is the owners' read on what diners want now. They told BK Reader that fewer people want fast-casual. People want somewhere to relax, with a bar, community activities and a strong look, and the owners hope to bring more of that into their own space. That is almost exactly what Sweet Sundays built into its Nostrand location: brunch, a liquor license and community events. A restaurant moving into a new space can design all of that from day one. A restaurant that has been in its space since 2014 has to retrofit it while staying open.

Franklin Avenue is changing in the same direction

Franklin has had its own turnover this year. Agi's Counter left the avenue after five years. Its last dinner service was June 14 and its last lunch service was July 5, and the Agi's Counter site now shows the business as closed.

On the other side of the ledger, the Grand Army Gazette reported on September 17 that, just months after opening the vegan cafe Nacha Focaccia, its chef is "doubling down on Franklin Avenue with a new restaurant and a members-only speakeasy." The rest of that story, including the name and opening date, is behind the newsletter's paywall. Like Bon Pâtés and Sweet Sundays, the newest Franklin project is a second step by an operator who already has customers.

Across both avenues this year, most of the new projects in the news grew out of an earlier one. Bon Pâtés grew from a pop-up, Sweet Sundays from a Flatbush first location, and the Franklin speakeasy plan from a cafe that opened this year. The one veteran in the news has 12 years of loyal customers and is trying to remind them it's there.

An October on Nostrand and Franklin, by date

The local calendar is busy this month, and most of it is a short walk from all four kitchens above.

1. Thursday, October 15, 2 to 7 p.m. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Fall Plant Sale is free to enter for shoppers. It runs past 4 p.m., so if you want a patty on the way, check Bon Pâtés' current hours first.
2. Saturday, October 17, noon to 4 p.m. The Brooklyn Museum's free "Feel the Flow(ers): Pocket Gardens" art-making session runs alongside free gallery tours and pop-up talks, per the museum calendar.
3. Thursday, October 22. Lefferts Historic House hosts a free outdoor program with Alfreda's Cinema, according to the Prospect Park Alliance calendar. Sweet Sundays on Nostrand in PLG is the closest of the new openings for dinner beforehand.
4. Saturday, October 24, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The garden's ticketed Fall Harvest Festival has live music, family activities and a costume parade at 3 p.m. The Franklin Avenue Open Street is scheduled for the same day, noon to 6 p.m., from Dean Street to Eastern Parkway, with a marketplace of Black-owned vendors, food, music and community programming. That date comes from a season schedule published in April, so confirm with the organizers before you go. The Crabby Shack at 613 Franklin is on that stretch.
5. Sunday, October 25. Lefferts Historic House holds a free community reading.

Prospect Park's Lakeside Fall Festival appears on the Alliance calendar starting October 13 and is billed as a month-long seasonal event.

The Crabby Shack owners also pointed to one simple change. They asked customers to order through the restaurant's own website instead of the delivery apps, which avoids the extra surcharges and fees. The other places here sell directly too. Bon Pâtés ships nationwide, and Surf & Soul posts its full menu online.

We follow openings and closings on Franklin and Nostrand as closely as we follow sales. If you're thinking about what your Crown Heights or Prospect Lefferts Gardens home is worth as your blocks change around you, JTC Team is glad to walk through it with you. Let's Connect and request a home valuation.