The operators of Brooklyn Bridge Park have announced the four concessionaires who will be serving food and drink on Pier 1 — and two of them are from Manhattan!
Yes, Blue Marble Ice Cream — with locations already in Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Prospect Heights — and Calexico Carne Asada from Columbia Street were awarded the primo location in the new greenspace on the East River waterfront, but the two other food purveyors are members of the bridge and tunnel crowd.
The glass-half-full concession approach is completely contrary to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation’s original snack mantra.
“Brooklyn Bridge Park will not only capture the energy of the burgeoning Brooklyn food scene, but provide a platform from which to showcase the best of Brooklyn to the rest of the world,” Corporation President Regina Myer said in February.
Myer and company never specifically denied that Manhattan-based food would creep into the pier at the foot of Old Fulton Street, but their press releases certainly suggested otherwise, with promises of “local fare” and the continuation of “strong Brooklyn culinary traditions.”
Instead, outer-borough eateries Ditch Plains will sell hot dogs and French fries, and Pier 66 Maritime will serve drinks at an outdoor, cordoned-off bar.
What’s worse, those two concessions beat out some Brooklyn classics that were vying for the chance to sell on the pier, including Red Hook’s Lobster Pound.
The good news is that Calexico’s juicy steak tacos and all-around exquisite Mexican fare have already won the hearts and stomachs of Brooklyn. And Blue Marble Ice Cream is as good as it gets.
“We’re so excited — it’s just a beautiful park and we applied for a nice little spot at the end of the walkway on the water,” said Blue Marble co-owner Jennie Dundas, adding that she’s completely happy to saddle up next to the adjacent Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. “It’s going to be double the reward for people who are walking through the park.”
Developers wouldn’t release an exact date to expect food and booze on Pier 1, but Dundas said she hopes to open sometime next month.
