Saturday, January 14, 2012

Prime 6 Grand-Opening? Not so Much Bar....

A number of news articles and blogs have reported that the controversial Prime 6 establishment near 6th Avenue and Flatbush will be opening either this Sunday, or perhaps not until February 1st , as a restaurant called Woodland, which will focus on providing a "farm-to-table" menu for a not-so-rowdy crowd.  This isn't much of a surprise, as this concept was sort of pitched by the owner of Prime 6 to Community Board 6 once it became clear that the community wasn't crazy about having a massive sports bar/night club at their location. While the owner pitches the current vision as a better fit for the community, which I think it is, it also represents a critical business decision for a large establishment at an intersection that is already surrounded by bars and restaurants.  To keep the business viable it will have to provide high quality food 365 days a year, be perceived as welcoming by all members of the community, and not simply be seen as a place for arena visitors to drink when there are special events. It will be interesting to see, once the arena opens, whether the establishment's vision shifts again to something more sport-bar like.

Here is the scoop from other sources:
Brookyn Eagle: http://brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/2/dtg_prime6opens_2012_1_20_bk.html
Brownstoner: http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2012/01/slopes-prime-6-is-now-woodland-opening-sunday/?stream=true
Park Slope Patch: http://parkslope.patch.com/articles/prime-6-is-now-woodland-opens-sunday
Here's Park Slope: http://www.heresparkslope.com/home/2012/1/11/opening-sunday-prime-six-now-re-named-woodland.html