Second St. Cafe: Shuttering or ?

[famdoc]

Noted paper covering the windows of the Second St. Cafe today and a few passersby saying it had closed? Truth or fiction?

[francesb]

five or six years ago, my husband and i ate brunch there every weekend. pancakes were great, and there was a cute busser that i had a mild crush on. the last few times we went, we walked out because we sat for 7-8 minutes (long time, in restaurant terms) waiting for someone to ask us if we wanted a cup of coffee while we watched (and listened to) hordes of overprivileged park slope children run amok. i'm a fan of purity diner for breakfast now.

[acemdin]

The new Brooklyn Paper quotes one of the former owners attributing the closing to declining business and, yes, higher rent.

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/...

[josh L]

Good Riddance. Another candidate for Gordon Ramsey bites the dust.

[famdoc]

josh...harsh words. It may not have been your favorite, but it was kid-friendly, had a decent prix-fixe, apparently a good brunch, etc. I ate there less than once a year, but I don't understand the "good riddance." There are hard-working people in the restaurant business who invest lots of their time and money without tremendous financial rewards. 2nd Ave. Cafe was there for 10 years...longer than most PS restaurants. I think they were the victims of greedy landlords (just look at how many other shuttered businesses there are on Seventh Ave. between 2nd and 3rd: Tempo Presto, the bookstore, etc.).

[sam1]

im with famdoc...it wasnt amazing but it wasnt the worst by any stretch...solid burger and brunch options especially when i lived a block away on 8th ave.

what i dont get is why did they renovate? shouldnt they have had some inkling that their business was in jeopardy?

[jen kalb]

lookit, this is Chowhound you have to expect some passion about food.
this was a useful neighborhood utility place, right, but no more. We can always hope that something better will open there.

[josh L]

thanks jen. we can always hope, right?

[acemdin]

I second famdoc's kinder, gentler approach. The only time I ate there it was better than anticipated. But I too don't understand why a business would invest in renovating without knowing they are secure for several years. Maybe it wasn't about a rent increase. For example, perhaps they were offered a good price for their lease. Perhaps some day we'll know.

[famdoc]

At least one Brooklyn-based blog said the renovation was done to move the entrance further from 321...something having to do with serving alcohol too close to a school.

While I suggested the closure had something to do with rent, it may be something more ominous: sudden restaurant closures often have more to do with conflicts between owners, unusual debt, shady deals, etc.

[redgirl]

i know that they recently signed a long new lease which is another reason for the renovation so it's odd why they just closed. i think it might be more about taxes or something. sad because they were hard working owners.

[josh L]

While I am no fan of greedy landlords, I will not mourn the closing of the 2nd street cafe which churned out mediocre to terrible food for ten years plus. The owners should have invested in a decent chef. That location is a gold mine.

[sadarami]

definitely closed, heard it from one of the owners

[elecsheep9]

Wow...and they just recently renovated the place. Bummer, but I had noticed a drop in quality over the past few recent years.

[sam1]

if this is true, that would be insane since they just renovated.

i was never a huge fan but it was a solid casual joint at times. horrible crowd though.

[jen kalb]

not my kind of place but they were one of the older restaurants on that strip - Id chance the view that their rent went up.

[flo]

Sad to hear. Very nice, hard working people, and an institution in PS, albeit not a foodie destination. I also heard from the owner that his lease had recently gotten renewed. Strange story, indeed.