On its last weekend in July, customers filled All in One Deli Mart at 79 Henry Street. They loaded up their carts and said goodbye to owner Minki Lee, his family and the staff they knew by name. Estela Johannesen, who owns James Weir Florist on Montague Street, came over to say goodbye in person. Dalila Gomez had worked the morning register for about 12 years. She told the Brooklyn Eagle she started when her daughter was in middle school, and that daughter has now been out of college for two years.
Most of the neighborhood still called it Peas N' Pickles. It changed names in 2012 when it expanded into the storefront next door on Pineapple Walk, and the awning out front read "79 Green Apple Corp." It was the second Henry Street institution to go this summer. Plymouth Cafe, at 90 Henry, served its last sandwich on June 15 after 42 years.
Both corners are being filled differently, and the neighborhood's next grocery is going somewhere else. Alison Roman's First Bloom café-grocery is moving into a Montague Street storefront four steps below the sidewalk. Atlantic Avenue now has the late-night tables. The new map follows the rent.
What the Lee Family Said About the Math
The family's statement gave the reasons directly. "We would like to thank everyone for their kindness and support. We're sorry that we could not stay," they said. They named rising costs for goods, which hurt sales, along with higher property taxes and rent after COVID-19. Those costs had made the business "unsustainable" for several years.
"We're very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve Brooklyn Heights and have interacted with many wonderful people all these years."
The Lees helped some of their workers find new jobs. One now works at Han's market on Clark Street. Minki Lee told the Eagle he had no future plans yet.
A corner grocery lives on high volume and thin margins, so rising costs and rising rent hit it from both sides. That pressure shapes what the next tenants look like and where they choose to open.
The Stairs Set the Rent
An August 2026 Brooklyn Eagle report put numbers on how Montague Street prices its storefronts. Street-level shops can rent for $35,000 a month. Spaces up or down a short flight of stairs often rent for about a third of that, though square footage can push the price either way. The same report describes how mixed the street's levels are. The dance studio is one flight up. The coffee shop is three steps down. The bookstore is at sidewalk level, the French bakery uses both levels, and the hardware store sits below the street.
First Bloom is going into one of those lower spaces. Roman opened the first First Bloom in the Catskills in 2023. The Brooklyn store will take the large garden-level space at 144 Montague that was Bentley's Shoes for more than 40 years. It will have a coffee shop, a small café serving prepared food and a grocery section. Narni Sumerall, Roman's chief of staff, told the Eagle the team picked the space for its feel, even though it sits four steps below street level. "For a café-grocery concept, we found that the space was ideal for the kind of store we're hoping to open."
That puts the neighborhood's next place to buy groceries in a space that rents at a discount, and it pays for itself partly with coffee and prepared food. Peas N' Pickles had a street-level corner and sold mostly groceries. In August, the Eagle expected First Bloom to open this fall. The most recent local update, from late September, said permits for the work had been approved and still called it an "upcoming" store. No opening date has been announced.
Henry Street's Two Corners Are Headed Different Ways
At 90 Henry, the former Plymouth Deli has a new tenant lined up. Doubles, a Caribbean restaurant from the Hamptons, is taking the space. Brooklyn Bridge Parents lists the menu as roti, doubles (curried chickpeas on fried dough), fried chicken, smash burgers, salads and smoothies. The site's late-September roundup still had Doubles as "Coming soon" with "No opening date yet."
That replaces a deli with a counter restaurant. A neighbor who used to stop at Plymouth for a sandwich will still be able to get lunch on that corner. The menu will be built around one cuisine, with burgers and smoothies alongside it.
At 79 Henry, there is no new tenant yet. As of Eater's September closures list, the former All in One Deli Mart is still listed as closed, with no successor named. The two-storefront space on Henry and Pineapple Walk is the bigger open question on the street. It is also a street-level corner, the kind of space the Montague rent figures put at the top of the range.
Atlantic Avenue Has the Late Hours
While Henry Street lost two daytime stops, Atlantic Avenue between Clinton and Henry gained two places to eat at night.
Frenzie opened on Thursday, August 13, at 129 Atlantic Avenue, next to Confidant. It is a pizza and natural wine bar serving 14-inch sourdough pies, and it stays open until 2 a.m. on weekends.
A few doors down, Bebo opened on Wednesday, September 23, at 145 Atlantic, in the former Luzzo's space. Bebo means "grandma" in Georgian. Owners Gio Kopaliani and Gio Lemonjava built the restaurant on their grandmothers' cookbooks, and both men recently lost their grandmothers. They knew each other in Georgia and became close six years ago washing dishes at Kitchen at Cobble Hill, their first jobs in the United States. According to Pineapple Street, the two talked on walks along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade about how much they loved the view and the neighborhood.
The menu includes khachapuri, the boat-shaped cheese bread, plus khinkali dumplings and kubdari, a meat-filled bread. Chef Giorgi Tchulukhadze runs the kitchen. He cooked in Georgia before moving to the U.S. last year. Some ingredients come from Georgia, including Svanuri marili, a salt blend from the Svaneti region, which the owners' mothers ship over. For now Bebo pours Georgian wines and beers. Cocktails will come once the liquor license arrives. Kopaliani has one rule for the kitchen. "You cannot change the recipes."
Where Each Storefront Stands on October 1
- 79 Henry St. / Pineapple Walk: Closed since late July. No new tenant announced.
- 90 Henry St.: Doubles is coming. No opening date announced.
- 144 Montague St.: First Bloom has approved work permits. A fall opening was projected in August, but no date has been set.
- 129 Atlantic Ave.: Frenzie, open since August 13.
- 145 Atlantic Ave.: Bebo, open since September 23. Wine and beer now, cocktails once the license comes through.
October Plans Close to Home
Montague Street is closed to cars between Clinton and Hicks every Sunday through October 25, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with pop-ups, shopping and outdoor dining. The first Sunday of the month makes up for a couple of rainy weekends.
- Sunday, October 4: The rescheduled Neighborhood Tag Sale, plus a New York Blood Center blood drive, GTHR Yoga's Doggie Flow Yoga, the annual Blessing of the Animals at Holy Trinity Church, and Blessed Beats, a dance party for pets and people.
- Sunday, October 11: A hoedown on Montague.
- Sunday, October 18: Pickleball on the street.
- Sunday, October 25: The Montague Diner dog-costume contest closes out the season.
- Saturday, October 31: The Brooklyn Heights Association Halloween Parade, with details still to come.
If you are driving or heading into the park, plan around these dates. The southbound BQE drops to one lane from Sands Street to Vine Street from 1 a.m. Saturday, October 3, until 5 a.m. Monday, October 5, for deck work at Old Fulton Street. The Sands Street entrance ramp will be closed, but exits stay open. From October 6 to 17, the Queens-bound side loses a lane overnight, 1 to 5 a.m., between Atlantic Avenue and Cranberry Street. In Brooklyn Bridge Park, Emily Warren Roebling Plaza and parts of New Dock Street are closed October 4 through 9 for a gala. Pier 2 now closes at 9 p.m. through February. At Pier 6, the Tarzan swings are out of service until replacements arrive this fall.
The longer BQE project is further off. NYC DOT expects the major rehabilitation to run from 2029 to 2040 and says it will keep parts of the Promenade open during construction to the extent feasible. DOT holds virtual Q&As on October 6 and October 22.
For owners, the gap between a $35,000 street-level storefront and a below-grade space at a third of that rent also affects the block around their building. It shapes which businesses can open on a block and how long they last. If you'd like to talk about how changes on Montague, Henry and Atlantic factor into the value of your Brooklyn Heights home, Lena Simpson is glad to go through it with you. Request a Personalized Consultation.
