Park Slope
Raise your mugs: Leaf and Bean is back. Slopers have had to endure the drought since January of this year when the specialty shop shut the doors on Seventh Avenue. But the beans are back in business and we can all stop and smell the aroma again.
The emporium, which turns 40 this March, started out life in 1973. A satellite store was eventually opened on Montague Street, where Standing O used to get her daily fix of java.
When owner Alan Mehlberg decided to grind Leaf and Bean to a halt and retire his urn, Vikki Cook, manager at the Seventh Avenue location, cast her cup and made a bid with partner Karen Hue. “He [Alan], gave us first option and we, [me and Karen] took advantage of that.”
It’s a new store, but the same fantastic goods. “I am very encouraged that the store will make it here in this new location,” Vikki said. “We have the old customers and we have reached out to new ones too,” she added.
Vikki and Karen stock the shelves with a selection of more than 60 varieties of beans, including fair trade and organics, as well as loose teas, specialty teas, and infused blends, a large assortment of world-class confections, baked goods, and chocolate goods. Now we’re talking.
You can also pick up those hard-toget must-haves that go along with making a great cup of coffee or tea. Unlike the Montague cafe, the new location is strictly retail, (sigh, they had great sandwiches). And as Vikki said, “We don’t have a barista, just a simple coffee bar, and we do offer tastings, too.”
So, who needs a barista when you have the best beans in town, I ask you?
Leaf and Bean is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, 9:30 am to 6:30 pm, Wednesdays 9:30 am to 7:30 pm, and Saturday 10 am to 6 pm. Sorry, no Sundays, but that might change in December, Vikki said.
Standing O can only hope!
Leaf and Bean [176 Lincoln Pl. and Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, (718) 638–5791].
