It’s a kinder garden!
The owner of a soon-to-open German restaurant in Boerum Hill promised he won’t put a beer garden in its backyard after learning locals thought it would be a nuisance — and nixing the plan would make their quest for a liquor license go down smooth.
Speaking at liquor license hearing at Community Board 2, Tobias Holler said he would shelve plans to sell brews in the back the second incarnation of his Black Forest restaurant if it will keep neighbors happy.
“We felt it was the right thing to do to not start on a bad foot,” he said.
Boerum Hillers began rallying against the plan in late March when a sign on the storefront at the corner of Smith and Warren streets announced plans to sell booze in its L-shaped backyard that is surrounded by six apartments.
That prompted Holler and his wife, who also run a Black Forest restaurant on Fulton Street in Fort Greene, to consider other, quieter uses for the space, including growing tomatoes or employee parking, he said.
Once residents learned of the new plans, they ended their opposition, and the committee approved the application unanimously.
Of course, it is only a promise, and owners won’t rule out eventually selling hooch there.
But one Fort Greener who frequents the Fulton Street outpost said that locals have nothing to worry about, painting the eatery as a place for people to get a meal and a beer, not spend their entire night wildly chugging Hoegaardens.
“It’s really much more of a restaurant, its very casual,” said the local.
And Holler assured residents that can expect the same G-rated atmosphere in Boerum Hill.
“We’ll run the same family type restaurant as our sister restaurant,” he said.
