We recently went on a trip back in time at some of the restaurants in the North Heights. Now it’s time to start doing the same down on Montague Street. What was there before today’s eateries? What do the owners want you to order if you stop by? Let’s find out!

Our first stop will be Teresa’s Restaurant (80 Montague Street – Yelp! profile).

Teresa’s Restaurant. Photo by Evan Bindelglass

According to owner Teresa Brzozowska (yes, there is a Teresa!), it was a dry cleaners before she opened the restaurant in 1989.

80 Montague Street, 1967. Photo courtesy NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Brzozowska is originally from Gdansk, Poland. She came to America in 1980 and settled in Williamsburg, where she has lived ever since. She had what she described as “life experience in the food business.” She worked in delis (German, Jewish, Polish, French, and American) and, in 1985, she opened Teresa’s in the East Village (on 1^st Avenue between 6^th and 7^th). She had some customers and friends who lived in Brooklyn Heights and she found Montague to be a “nice street” and opened the second location. The original bit the dust in 2007, but the second incarnation is still going strong 25 years on. Brzozowska loves the support of the public and said being a “neighborhood place makes business very stable.”

What The Owner Says To Order:
Appetizer: Chicken soup
Entrée: Cheese and blueberry blintzes

ARCHIVE DOCUMENTS: 1988 Certificate of Occupancy | 2000 Certificate of Occupancy (PDFs)

Up next, we don’t have to go far. It’s on to Heights Café (84 Montague Street – website).

Heights Cafe. Photo by Evan Bindelglass

Buildings Department records from 1930 list the first floor as simply “stores.” As of 1940, the second floor was being used as a school. A 1976 document called the “Montague Street Revitalization” listed a York School, as well as an antique store. As of 1967m it was the Plymouth Pharmacy. For the 27 years prior to 1995, the first floor was the Promenade Restaurant, a staple of the area. It even had its own postcards!

84 Montague Street, 1967. Photo courtesy NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Eventually it closed and the space became available. That caught the eye of Greg Markman, who opened Caffe Buon Gusto up the block in 1992 (he sold his interest in it over a decade ago). Markman teamed up with Joe Secondino, who was an accountant at ABC and with whom he’s been friends with since they were seventh graders at JHS 281 (now IS 281) in Bensonhurst, and, on May 15, 1995, opened Heights Café on the corner of Montague and Hicks.
Joe Secondino and Greg Markman. Photo by Evan Bindelglass

While they run the day-to-day, Markman’s father Martin and brother Glenn (the real estate brains) are also partners in the restaurant. Greg Markman always loved the corner and said it needed “something special.” Since then (with the exception of a closure from this January to April for a remodeling and menu sprucing up), they’ve been serving “something for everyone.” “We love our customers,” he said. “[Some of them see the restaurant as] an extension of their living room.” Secondino called them “friends.”

They have had some celebrity customers. Paul Giamatti stops in sometimes, as do Jennifer Connelly and her husband, Paul Bettany. Also spotted have been Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway, Willem Dafoe, and Susan Sarandon. Markman even got a photo with “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” star and Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
Greg Markman with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Photo courtesy Greg Markman.

What The Owners Say To Order:
Fried Chicken at Heights Cafe. Photo by Evan Bindelglass

The Southern Boneless Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and coleslaw. If you are worried about boneless chicken being dry, stop. It isn’t dry and it is full of flavor, as are the mashed potatoes. It is so easy to go wrong with coleslaw, but this was very well-balanced. If you want a little extra creaminess, it’s on the bottom. The  gravy is wonderful, but everything else is so great already that you might forget to make use of it. Try to remember.

Markman and Secondino also own Dellarocco’s Pizza around the corner (214 Hicks Street – website). They opened that in 2012. In 1976, it was listed as a hair stylist and from 1981 to 2011 it was home to the gift shop Overtures.

Dellarocco’s Pizza. Photo by Evan Bindelglass

ARCHIVE DOCUMENTS: 1930 Certificate of Occupancy | 1940 Certificate of Occupancy | 1972 Certificate of Occupancy (PDFs)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/70104

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45690

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45690

The six-story apartment building at 70 Clark Street and Henry is photographed here September 15, 1948. Note the three towering TV antennas along the roofline. The street-level retail gave us Parker Drugs, offering a lunch counter and soda fountain; with “Soda and Lunch,” “Cosmetics and Cigars” advertised along the front signage. (See details below.)

Today, 70 Clark, across the street from the St. George Hotel, is the location of Clark’s Restaurant and Ozu Japanese, while the residential coop has changed precious little over the past 50+ years. According to a recent Prudential Douglas Elliman listing, many of the building’s units feature 9-foot ceilings, along with a common garden between its twin structures.

(Historic Photo: Wurtz Brothers, Museum of the City of New York/Current: Chuck Taylor)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45694

After going back in time to 1902 last month, we’ve given the Brooklyn Daily Eagle archives another spin into the past. This time we transport back to July 10, 1880, 132 years ago today…

What a deal! The Hotel St. George is offering special summer rates, for $10 a week. Your offer includes a bedroom, parlor and private bath, plus the option for a four-course breakfast (40 cents), four-course lunch (35 cents) and five-course dinner (50 cents).

Perhaps you’re looking for accommodations that are a bit more permanent. Sure enough, bargains abound. How about a nicely furnished room at 98 Henry Street, with running water, heat and gas: $5-$6 a week. Only five minutes to the Brooklyn Bridge and ferries to Manhattan.

Interested in first-class accommodations for gentlemen and families “at very moderate rates”? There’s the Pierrepont House on Montague Street [which today is the Bossert Hotel at 98], with your option of American or Europeans meal plans. There’s also a large front room with running water at 73 Henry Street, at the corner of Orange Street: $10 for two. A smaller room is also available that’s suitable for two ladies (as long as they’re employed during the day).

Here’s one that’s hard to resist: Alcove, square and single rooms to let with or without board, at 62 Columbia Heights. Includes hot & cold water, ample closets and furnishings—connected to a private park with an “extensive view” of the harbor. Or perhaps you’d prefer a nicely furnished room on the second or third floor of 99 Hicks Street, perfect for a “gentleman & wife” or single gent. And at 151 Pierrepont Street, you have a choice of one or two “handsomely furnished” rooms on the second floors of a private home. Sorry, gentlemen only and no meals.

And finally, a curiosity that’s not in Brooklyn Heights, but was so packed with prejudice, we’re including it as a sign of the times in 1880. Two floors are available to families, four rooms per floor in a three-story house, for $8 a month. The address is 37 Bartlett Street [in Williamsburg]: with a provision that the space is available only to “English, Irish or French; no Dutch or Afghanistans.” Is it ironic that in 2012, that address is an empty lot?

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43939

With summer just around the corner, this is the ideal time to reserve your summer space here in Brooklyn Heights. And have I got a deal for you: 204 Columbia Heights, The Berkshire. Overlooking the Harbor. “Why put up with country inconveniences when you can find all the comforts and coolest of sea breezes at home? Unobstructed view of entire bay, elevator, electric light, telephone, one minute from Wall St. Ferry, 5 minutes from Bridge or Fulton Ferry, second & fourth floor suites, single & double rooms, including superior board & attendance.” The price: $7 and up: per week.

Of course, you would have to transport yourself back 110 years, as per an advert in today’s Brooklyn Eagle… from June 13, 1903. In addition, the Berkshire of the early 20th Century unfortunately no longer exists. The current six-story 204 Columbia Heights (pictured above & below) was built in 1925, which today, as a coop, maintains 16 units. Looks like it’s too late, after all. Sigh…

(Advert: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 13, 1902/Photos: Chuck Taylor)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42256

Recently, your BHB scribe was allowed to take pictures inside the majestic Othmer Library. Photos are below. If you’ve never seen it for yourself, this is truly a site to behold. BHS hours are as follows: Wednesday-Friday 12-5 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 12-5 p.m.; closed Monday/Tuesday. The library is open Wednesday through Friday 1-5 p.m.

BHS members free, adults $6, seniors 62 & over $4, teachers and students 12 & over $4, children -12 are free.

(Photos: Chuck Taylor/Ingalls pic courtesy of the BHS Blog)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42034

See original full-size photo on Flickr here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/41256