A Tea Lounge in Brooklyn Heights!

By on March 2, 2009 3:49 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Commercial Real Estate, Fun, Kids, News, Nightlife, Real Estate

glassrightThe hip café and music venue Tea Lounge could come to Brooklyn Heights later this year, pending building permit and liquor license approval, its owner told the Brooklyn Heights Blog today.

Jonathan Spiel, who also owns Tea Lounge cafés in Park Slope and Cobble Hill, has his eye on a 4,000-square-foot hotspot at in the St. George Tower building, and hopes to bring in his concoction of a daytime café-turned-full bar and music venue at night to the neighborhood.

The Brooklyn Heights location is at 111 Hicks Street at the corner of Clark Street (in the old Palmira’s spot), and would be similar in size and event listings to the Park Slope one at 837 Union Street, but the space is divided into three rooms and can host private parties and multiple events simultaneously, Spiel explained.

The setting will also be kid-friendly, with blackboard paint on the walls and afterschool events featuring cartoons and milk and cookies, he added. There would be live music at night and a full bar for adults. And, of course, the spot will offer its famous free WiFi and big comfy couches for the area’s writers and readers.

Spiel said he is still trying to gauge neighborhood interest in a place like the Tea Lounge — so, what do you think? Would you want to see the Tea Lounge move into Brooklyn Heights?

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  • Anonymous

    Yes, please come! I had hope Taza would be a good place to linger, but they allow no computers/no wifi, and it’s freakin’ expensive too!

  • DB

    YES! YES! YES! Anything that offers additional options to the dismal Heights nightlife is welcome. Ever since Magnetic Fields closed there has been no where in the nabe to see music. Granted the jazz-centric Tea Lounge artists will be decidedly more staid than those that appeared that The Fields. But a nice jazz club is certainly a step in the right direction.

    My only question. Is there some law that says any restaurant opening in the heights has to be “Kid friendly”? It would be nice if there was some where to go have brunch that wasn’t overflowing with kiddies.

  • Anonymous

    YES! That is exactly what we need and the space is perfect. And couldn’t be more convenient for me. Agree about the kid-friendly — maybe that could be a separate part of the place?

  • http://www.tealoungeNY.com jonathan

    hi, this is jonathan the owner of Tea Lounge. I glad to see some responses already.

    as far as the music (2-3 times/week), it wont be limited to jazz, i’m looking for a wide variety of acts.

    also, as far as kid friendly, the place is big enough for everyone. there will be storytelling, after school cartoons/movies. and movies at night for the adults.

    after doing my ressearch in the hood, i’m looking for feedback on the night time business. Not just for the bar but for the entire place.

    lots of yummy food and baked goods, the best fair trade organic coffee around and over 70 loose teas (and yes, fresh chai. not mixes or concentrates).

    the way i see the place is as a community lounge with lots to offer. i would love to hear any feedback. if you’re curious check out my location at 837 union st. in park slope.

    i look forward to your comments and serving your community.

  • Publius

    Jonathan:

    I’ve seen attempts at each of the components you’re thinking about putting together under one roof.

    If you do it right and make it a coffee/tea house, bar, music venue with a separate (and I can’t stress that enough) separate area for kids (and I love kids), I think it would work. If it had the right vibe.

  • http://brooklyncomplex.net jd

    is this the space where Palmira’s use to be?

  • http://instaputz.blogspot.com ts

    sounds like a good plan, though the idea of another kid-friendly place makes me cringe. the little bastards already have their own spa…

  • http://brooklynheightsblog.com Qfwfq

    I think it’s a good location, but I never felt that the building was open enough to the street for a business there, if that makes any sense. It always seemed too closed off, and you could never tell what was going on in there. I dunno

    That said, I would love a nice, comfy local coffee/tea house, preferably open late, in the neighborhood. Tazza is great, but sometimes not so comfy. I imagine it would go over well with the students in the area, particularly the WiFi.

    And hey, live BHB Radio remotes would be an option…

  • Andrew

    Hell yes. I think that’s a great fit for the space (assuming that this is the old Palmira’s space, yes?)

    And live jazz (and other music) here in the ‘hood is long overdue.

  • Andrew

    er, I read good. Or not. Sarah not only noted that it’s in fact the old Palmira’s space, but did that with a link.

  • cv

    I would be there in a heartbeat, and I would be there very, very often — sometimes with my kid, doing mom things, and sometimes without my kid, doing child-free, grownup things. I believe that we in the Heights would support this in all ways; it would be welcome, and quite transformative for our neighborhood.

  • Anonymous

    It also needs to a stripper pole and should be pet friendly. After all I want to bring my pet rattlesnake with me while enjoying my tea.

  • another jen

    YES we need more life in the hood. at the risk of sounding insensitive to the stroller-chained — it would be nice when you’re planning the space to keep in mind the mommy groups and writing groups etc that tend to take over fairly central spots and are hard to step over when you’re looking for a seat.

  • DB

    How’s the liquor license coming? Seems like the CB has had those on lock-down in the hood recently. So annoying! Some of our neighbors need to get past the idea that bar = bad.

  • GHB

    Jonathan, this sounds like just what the North Heights needs. We have too many retail spaces sitting vacant. Just don’t make it a bar for the college kids living upstairs! Please…

  • Carol Gardens

    I’m in your Court Street location often. I agree that the Moms with kids contingent often takes the place over, so a special kid-friendly area would be great in a bigger space. The only other thing I don’t like is that your furniture is soft and smushy, old, and super deep, which is really awful for anyone with a bad back, like me!

  • http://www.tealoungeNY.com jonathan

    it will not be a college bar nor will it be for kids only.

    when i say kid friendly, i want people to feel comfortable bringing their kids without hassle.

    grab a beer or coffee if you have the kids.

    we will offer special events. a room for private parties/gatherings. and whatever the community needs within reason.

    thansk again for the comments. keep em coming

  • Mike

    100% Yes!!!

    Bring it!

  • http://mermaidsonparade.blogspot.com melanie hope greenberg

    Yes! It’s right down the road. How lovely. I usually go to Dumbo or Manhattan for music. This would make a nice addition.

  • ABC

    I’m all for kid-friendly. College kids, moms and court house employees keep these places alive. 4,000 sq ft is plenty of room for kids — and the kid-free alike. Don’t the kid-free go to work during the day anyway?

    PS, if anyone did make a bar for the college crowd, I’d be for that too. I think it’s depressing that the college kids seem to have no place to go… ever.

  • http://www.litchfieldjazzfest.com Lindsey

    I think this sounds like a great addition. My husband and I would love somewhere close by to hear good live music. We usually head into Manhattan for that, so it would be a welcome addition. Also, I work from home, so to bring my laptop, grab a coffee and something to eat and get out of the house to work every now and then would be fantastic.

  • mhon

    I think having a place that serves food & drinks with live music would be fantastic for the neighborhood. We really need a cool spot to hangout and chill.

  • Jazz

    Live music? Awesome. Can’t wait for the BHA to start complaining about the “noise”.

  • north heights res

    Oh, Jazz, you beat me to it. I love the idea of this in theory, but as someone who lives near the corner of Clark & Hicks, I don’t relish the idea of crowds standing outside smoking/talking into the wee hours.

    It sounds like a place that I’d love to hang out in, but not have drifting in my bedroom.

  • Jazz

    NHR that’s what Scarsdale is for and it’s a quick train ride to Manhattan!

  • AEB

    Jonathan, yes, oui, si, da and…well, go here:

    http://www.elite.net/~runner/jennifers/yes.htm#A

    The point is to pump some (new) blood into BH, which desperately needs it.

    Can you open tomorrow? Tonight?

  • henry & state

    Good Luck and I hope you get here soon! It sounds like something we need here desperately!! 100+% YES.

  • Jesse

    Jonathan,

    Sounds like a nice idea! Tea Lounge has got a bit of a bad rap around Brooklyn, but I think that’s mainly because of your militant-stroller-mom clientele in Park Slope. As long as you can avoid attracting those people here, you could do well. In any case, I doubt I will have much to do with it, however, just because, given the location, it seems directed mainly towards catering coffee and study-space needs of the college students living in the dorm, and not towards serving local residents. And I’m guessing that’s kind of the point, no? It would be great for you if both groups would go there, but if it becomes a hangout for college kids, you’re going to have a hard time getting locals in there.

    Here’s a suggestion: move into one of those huge storefronts on the corner of Front and Washington Streets in DUMBO (where they’re doing the indoor Bklyn Flea). There’s much more tourist traffic there, and you’d get all the local residents too, because we avoid the Starbucks like plague.

  • Adam G

    YES PLEASE! Tea Lounge is one of the things I miss most from when I lived in Cobble Hill.

  • hoppy

    Have at least one Sixpoint tap. Thank You.

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