We finally made it to Brooklyn Granary and Mill on Huntington Street this weekend, and we need to talk about it. Everything is baked with grain milled right there. The biscone with ham from Ends Meat (another favorite of ours!) made the New York Times' top-25 pastries list, and after trying one, we get it. More on Granary in Now Open below.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s professional soccer teams are playing their first home matches this weekend. One of our favorite Gowanus breweries made them a beer. That's your Big Story.

Now Open / Coming Soon — A working flour mill, an all-day café, a luxury menswear shop, and a bike shop for spring

The Big Story — Brooklyn has a soccer team, and Gowanus made them a beer

Things to Do — John Hodgman, Jerrod Carmichael, a pretzel-stacking competition, The Moth, and Powerhouse Arts

The Local — Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club: a voiceover actress, a piñata maker, and a $76 million bet

Development Watch — Gowanus Green files its first building, and a $105 million canal-front sale

Quick Hits — Bar Ferdinando gets a date and Paulie Gee's files for a liquor license

Brooklyn Granary and Mill Is Baking With Flour From Upstairs
240 Huntington Street, near Columbia St
Now Open · Mon–Sat 7:30 AM–3:30 PM
Patrick Shaw-Kitch, former head baker at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, built a working flour mill and bakery right here in Gowanus. Two 40-inch Vermont granite stone mills on the second floor grind regional grains daily. The bakery downstairs sells 100% whole grain breads, focaccia, baguettes, pastries, kouign-amanns, and custard buns, all made with their own fresh-milled flour. They also sell flour retail and wholesale, supplying restaurants like Miolin, Little Honey, and Runner & Stone. The detail worth knowing: the biscone topped with ham from Ends Meat made the New York Times' "25 Essential Pastries to Eat in New York City" list. A NYT top-25 pastry, baked one block from the canal with flour milled upstairs. brooklyngranaryandmill.com

Mister Cheeks Is the New All-Day Spot on Court Street
347 Court Street, between President and Union
Now Open
Hilary and Lindsay Rappaport opened Mister Cheeks in the former Enoteca space last fall, and it's quickly becoming a neighborhood anchor. Coffee and pastries from the takeout window in the morning, sandwiches and rotisserie chicken all day, chicken schnitzel and seasonal sides for dinner. There's also homemade soft serve from the window and a small provisions section with local packaged goods. About 30 seats indoor and outdoor. The half-chicken with two sides ($28) is the move.

Ven Space: Luxury Menswear Lands on Court Street
369 Court Street, across from Carroll Park
Now Open · Daily 12–6 PM
Chris Green, formerly the general merchandise manager at Need Supply Co. and Totokaelo, opened this luxury menswear boutique across from Carroll Park in 2024. The roster includes Comme des Garçons Homme, Dries Van Noten, Lemaire, Maison Margiela, Our Legacy, The Row, and Auralee, plus an in-house line called "VEN 11231." Green chose Carroll Gardens over Williamsburg intentionally. No website, no online store. In-person only. Instagram: @ven.space

Tuned: Your Spring Bike Shop
291 Nevins Street, between Union and Sackett
Tue–Fri 11 AM–7 PM · Sat 12–5:00 PM
Warmer days are coming, and if your bike has been hibernating since November, Tuned is where you take it. Tijon Randall, Joy Liu, and Vincent Cabrera run this boutique shop on Nevins with a vibe unlike any typical bike shop: incense, free coffee, art on the walls, and a community feel that makes you want to hang around. They specialize in custom builds and high-end road bike servicing, but welcome all bikes. BIPOC-owned, 5-star Google rating. Spring is tune-up season. tuned.com

333 Douglass Street, between 3rd and 4th Ave
Brooklyn FC home openers this weekend

Brooklyn FC has been Brooklyn's professional soccer franchise since 2024, when the women's team launched in the USL Super League's inaugural season. But this weekend, the club adds a second squad: the men's team makes its USL Championship debut at Maimonides Park in Coney Island. The women kick off their spring season against DC Power FC on Saturday at 2 PM, and the men take the field for the very first time against Indy Eleven on Sunday at 3 PM.

If you're heading to the match (or just want to celebrate from the neighborhood), Threes Brewing on Douglass Street has you covered. The brewery launched "Golden Goal," a collaboration lager brewed specifically for Brooklyn FC, available in branded cans at Threes locations and local bars across the borough. The beer debuted at a fan event at Threes' Gowanus taproom on February 27.

Whether or not you follow soccer, this weekend is worth paying attention to. Brooklyn FC is building something new here, and Gowanus is already woven into the story. Grab a Golden Goal at Threes before or after the match, or just raise one from the taproom and call it a viewing party of one.

Judge John Hodgman at Bell House
149 7th Street
Fri–Sat, Mar 6–7 · 7:30 PM
We told you about this one last week. You've now been warned twice. The author, humorist, and former Daily Show correspondent does two nights. His live shows are warm, dry, and consistently excellent. Saturday is the better bet.

"What is Lost, What is Held" + Ceramics Pop-Up at Powerhouse Arts
322 3rd Avenue, at 2nd St
Now on view through April 1 · Free
Powerhouse's inaugural artists-in-residence exhibition opened this week, featuring Grace Lynne Haynes, Nazanin Noroozi, and Ngozi Olojede. Each artist collaborated with the building's fabrication shops to explore themes of water, memory, and loss. The ceramics studio is also running a member pop-up sale this weekend (and the next two), 10 AM to 6 PM. Art and pottery shopping on the same trip. The vibes in this building are immaculate.

Connor Wood & Yvette Segan "Work It Out" at Bell House
149 7th Street
Sunday, Mar 8 · 7:30 PM
Two of the sharpest rising comics on the circuit. Worth the Sunday night commitment, which is a thing we almost never say.

The Moth StorySLAM at Bell House
149 7th Street
Monday, Mar 9 · 8 PM
Names in a hat, stories on stage, everyone rooting for everyone. It sounds terrifying until you're there and realize the whole room is on your side. A Bell House staple.

Jo Firestone Presents International Pretzel Stackers Competition at Littlefield
635 Sackett Street
Thursday, Mar 12 · Stacking starts 8 PM
Comedian Jo Firestone hosts a competitive pretzel stacking competition. Teams of 1 to 4 have one hour to build the tallest, most beautiful structure using only pretzels and edible adhesive (BYO both). It's a fundraiser for the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund, and it's exactly as ridiculous as it sounds. If you need more convincing than that, we can't help you.

Jerrod Carmichael "On Stage in Brooklyn" at Bell House
149 7th Street
Saturday, Mar 14 · 8 PM
The Emmy-winning comedian and writer plays Bell House. This is a big get for the neighborhood. Act accordingly.

514 Union Street, between 3rd Ave and Nevins St
Mon–Thu 5–11 PM · Fri 5 PM–1 AM · Sat 12 PM–1 AM · Sun 12–8 PM

Here is the pitch that launched Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club: a voiceover actress and a piñata maker want to open a 17,000-square-foot shuffleboard nightclub in a warehouse next to a polluted canal. They'll drive food trucks through a loading dock, serve tropical cocktails in mason jars, and cover the bathrooms in flamingo wallpaper. The investors, understandably, were not lining up.

Ashley Albert voiced Tiffany and Ms. Barch on MTV's Daria. Jonathan Schnapp built websites and, yes, made piñatas. They met after Schnapp tracked down Albert's email because he was a fan of the show. In December 2011, Albert's holiday gift to Schnapp was a trip to central Florida to get certified as barbecue judges. While they were down there, Schnapp remembered playing shuffleboard with his grandparents in Palm Beach, and they drove three hours to the Mirror Lake Shuffleboard Club in St. Petersburg, the world's largest. They walked in expecting retirees. The crowd was almost entirely in their 20s and 30s.

They looked around and had the same thought: this would be spectacular in Brooklyn.

By mid-2012, they'd found the warehouse at 514 Union Street and signed a lease. They put up their own savings, cobbled together investors willing to take a chance, and brought in Gachot Studios to design the space. On February 19, 2014, Royal Palms opened its doors. Six weeks later, it was a destination.

Twelve years in, the place is exactly what they built it to be: 10 regulation-size courts with aqua-blue surfaces, striped cabana booths, old-school Florida souvenirs on the walls, and a rotating lineup of DJs spinning soul 45s. Monday and Tuesday nights are league nights, home to the largest shuffleboard league in the world. Both Albert and Schnapp became internationally ranked players themselves. On Sundays, the club opens to all ages, which means the families pouring into the new buildings along the canal can actually bring their kids.

Then came the part no one predicted: survival. When COVID hit, Royal Palms went dark for about a year. General manager Nick Shields, who had joined right before the shutdown, helped hold things together until they could reopen. They chose to wait it out rather than compromise what makes the place special.

Meanwhile, the building itself became a prize. The warehouse changed hands multiple times. Avery Hall Investments assembled the site. Then, in 2023, the Brodsky Organization paid $76 million for 514 Union and the neighboring lots on President Street. Royal Palms signed a long-term lease. The 350-unit development now rising at 499 President Street is, according to Avery Hall's own marketing, being built around them.

That building will bring Union Market, Paulie Gee's, Corto, and Spear Physical Therapy to the same block. Royal Palms, the weird shuffleboard bar that opened when Gowanus was still mostly warehouses and canal stink, is now the anchor tenant of a $76 million mixed-use development. The old Gowanus and the new Gowanus, meeting on a turquoise court.

If you’ve walked past and never stepped inside, consider this your official invitation. Courts are $60 an hour, and walk-ins are welcome. Closed-toe shoes recommended, but they’ve seen plenty of shufflers in heels.

Gowanus Green Files Its First Building: 302 Affordable Units at 20 Fifth Street
20 Fifth Street, at Smith St, adjacent to the Gowanus Canal
Pre-construction · DOB filing submitted February 24, 2026
Remember in Issue #3, when we told you Gowanus Green got its first real money? Now it has its first DOB filing. Hudson Companies filed plans for a 28-story, 302-unit residential building that would be 100% affordable housing. The project, designed by Marvel Architects, includes a residents' lounge, party room, courtyard, rooftop terrace, and coworking space. This is Phase 1 of the larger Gowanus Green development at Smith and Fifth Streets, which has been in the works since 2008 and will eventually include 950 affordable units, a 1.5-acre park, and a public school site. Shovels aren't in the ground yet, but a DOB filing is the most concrete step this project has ever taken.

130 Second Street Sells for $105 Million
130 Second Street, between Bond St and the Gowanus Canal
Sale completed
The 13-story, 132-unit residential building on the canal's west bank has sold to a partnership of the Carlyle Group and Z+G Property Group for $105 million. That works out to $795,000 per unit. The building was developed by Prospect Developers and completed in 2025, with 99 market-rate apartments and 33 affordable units. Carlyle has been on a Brooklyn buying spree, and this is the latest sign that completed Gowanus developments are attracting major institutional money.

Shania's Max Bet is coming to 3rd Ave. Robin Daily and Mike Brown, who met at Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club (see The Local, above), are taking over the former Dirty Precious space at 317 3rd Avenue for a cocktail bar aiming for a mid-summer opening. Martinis, Midori Sours, and beer-and-shot combos. The Gowanus bar pipeline runs through shuffleboard, apparently.

Bar Ferdinando has a date. April 15, 2026. The Carroll Gardens revival of the 121-year-old Sicilian restaurant and focacceria at 151 Union Street now has a managing partner (Giovanna Cucolo), a bar manager (Ricardo Echeverri), and a first pastry chef (Jackie De La Barrera). The team is preserving roughly half of the original Ferdinando's fixtures and artwork. Mark the calendar.

Paulie Gee's is getting closer. The Gowanus outpost of the Greenpoint pizza institution has filed for a liquor license with Community Board 6. The shop at the corner of Nevins and Union Street (the former Ample Hills Creamery) will be run by brothers Logan and Kyle Driscoll, both longtime Paulie Gee's employees. Two stories, a full bar, a rooftop deck, and a spring 2026 target. Still waiting on the gas meter.

That's Issue #5. Head on over to Huntington Street for some fresh baked goods at Brooklyn Granary and Mill.

If you see something new and interesting out in the neighborhood today, reply to this email or drop us a line at [email protected]. And please forward this to a neighbor: the best tips come from the people who walk these streets every day.

See you out there.

The Gowanaut