An 11-year veteran of Park Slope’s brunch scene has folded, a victim, its owner said, of falling revenue and rising rent.
The 2nd Street Cafe — the popular Sunday morning joint at the corner of Second Street and Seventh Avenue — has joined Laila and Tempo Presto as the latest eatery to close on what was once Main Street for Park Slope foodies.
“You can’t run a restaurant on brunch and lunch alone,” said Ted Gordon, the restaurant’s co-owner.
Gordon said business began to fall off a couple of years ago, so last summer he renovated. And he also started offering an after-9 pm burger and beer special.
It didn’t help.
Nor did it help that his landlord raised the rent to $12,000 a month. When Gordon opened in the go-go 1990s, the rent was just $5,000 a month.
“We said we’ve give it a shot through the holiday season, and that came and went, and it because clear to us we had to close,” said Gordon.
The restaurant’s closure was first reported on the Gowanus Lounge, a local blog.
