Our friends at Theater 2020 are taking the weekend off, but they’ll be back next Thursday through Sunday and the following weekend with their production of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors. Bard buffs need not feel dismay, though, as Random Access Theater will present free performances of Twelfth Night at the Granite Prospect on Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park starting at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20. More details are here. And don’t forget the Willowtown Fair on Willow Place, Saturday from noon until 5:00.

Opera fans can delight in a performance of Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana in the Plymouth Church sanctuary, 57 Orange Street, on Sunday beginning at 4:00 p.m. Admission is $25. The performance features Jason Stearns as Alfio.

There is a wealth of musical offerings this weekend. This evening (Friday, May 18), Grace and Spiritus Chorale will present “Brooklyn–a Garden of Song”, a concert of songs by composers either native to or at some time resident in Brooklyn, at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, Clinton and Montague streets (enter from Clinton), starting at 7:00. Admission is $15; $12 for seniors or students. Also at St. Ann, on Saturday evening starting at 8:00, the Metro Chamber Orchestra will present “The Glory of Venice”, a concert featuring works by Offenbach, Salieri, Mozart, and Vivaldi. Tickets are $25; more details are here. Tonight at the First Unitarian Church, Pierrepont Street at Monroe Place, starting at 8:00, the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society will present a concert of works by Robert Fuchs, Beethoven, and Brahms. Admission is $30; or $20 for students.

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention that my building, 57 Montague Street (corner of Pierrepont Place) will hold a sidewalk sale on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Trust me; these are always good. Come early for the best stuff.

Call it what you will… resurrection, revitalization, renaissance or even recovery. The Montague Street retail corridor is healthier than it has been since the economic collapse of 2009… Over the past year or so, a dozen or so new businesses have gained traction, including restaurants, spas, bodegas, bakeries and clothiers. Let’s take a walk up Montague, shall we?

* Around the corner from 84 Montague Street’s Heights Cafe, at 214 & 216 Hicks Street, Della Rocco’s of Brooklyn is coming in June, a brick-oven pizzeria and bar, operated by Brooklyn-bred brothers Greg and Glenn Markman and Joseph Secondino.

* Across the street, the three narrow retail spaces are all filled for the first time in years: At 89 Montague is bodega Heights Deli & Convenience, which opened in April 2010 in space that once housed an upscale clothing boutique and then temporarily served as a political office for Doug Biviano… At 91 Montague is Jeffrey Stein Concept Salon, which opened in January 2011 in the former space of Dimples Kids Spa… And at 93 Montague is February 2012 new kid on the block, VIP Nails & Salon.

* Crumbs Bake Shop rescued the space that was sadly vacated by beloved Heights Books—which departed in July 2008—opening in August 2010.

* Le Pain Quotidien at 121 Montague opened in mid-April 2012, after previous Jennifer Convertibles closed in April 2010, leaving the space empty for two years. Despite some complaints that sit-down service prices are steep, the joint is an instant hit.

* Women’s apparel boutique Ruby and Jenna opened this week at 130 Montague, above beauty salon Dashing Diva and previously occupied by Migita Sushi (see post below).

* Starbucks opened May 12, 2012, at 134 Montague in the former location of Nine West Shoes, which closed in July 2010—moving up the street from 112 Montague. That leaves a primary retail space at its shuttered locale, which at one point last decade was a swanky Italian restaurant.

* Irish pub Custom House will soon be opening at 139 Montague in the former space of La Traviata, which closed in November 2011.

* In September 2011, Indian restaurant Ghandi Palace opened at 140 Montague, in the previous space of same-cuisine Amin, which shuttered a month before.

* Oh My Pasta! opened in September 2011 at 142 Montague, site of the former Taze Turkish restaurant (and Kapadokya before that). The 100% local eatery is owned and operated by Marco Lasala, a Brooklyn Heights resident. Despite a lot of cat-calling from BHB readers about the restaurant’s name, it is thriving.

* Last week, Area Yoga & Spa Center‘s second location (the original is in Carroll Gardens) opened on the second floor of 144 Montague, above Bentley’s shoes, in the former location of Spring Thyme spa.

* Eight months ago Vietnamese “Bubble Tea & Vietnamese Sandwich” shop Hanco’s opened at 147 Montague. Not only is it a runaway favorite on Yelp, but the destination finally made good out of a retail space that was dark for more than a decade.

If you made it this far, perhaps it’s a perfect time to take the Montague Street Business Improvement District’s survey on what folks think about programs & services in the neighborhood. Access the questionnaire here. Cheers, BHB compatriots!

(Photo: Lumierefl/Flickr)

As we reported a month ago, women’s apparel boutique Ruby and Jenna has opened at 130 Montague Street, above beauty salon Dashing Diva. The store made its soft opening Thursday. Both owners were present, offering an amiable, “Come back and see us, darling.” Two fun chicks.

According to the store’s website, it offers “trendy, contemporary clothing reasonably priced, without sacrificing style.” Other locations are in Manhattan (a pop-up at 1282 Broadway & 33rd) and in Brooklyn at 1308 Kings Highway, as well as Plainview, N.Y., Greenwich, Conn., Hoboken and Westfield, N.J., with another opening this summer in Southampton.

As we noted in April, the building between Henry & Clinton streets at 130 Montague is also on the market for sale, with a price tag of $5.75 million. It offers the two retail units and nine residential apartments over five stories—all of which are all rent stabilized, averaging $1,200/unit per month. More detail is available from broker Massey Knakal here.

(Photos: Chuck Taylor)

The Montague Street Business Improvement District is calling on all Brooklyn Heights Blog readers and area residents to participate in a survey to collect info on what folks think about programs & services in the nabe’s primary retail destination, as it strategizes future goals.

Four survey respondents will be randomly selected by BID to receive a $50 gift certificate at the Montague Street business of their choice. Housing Works, here I come! What are you waiting for? Access the questionnaire here.

Among the 18 questions:
What business, or types of businesses, would you like to see on Montague Street?
What do you like most about Montague Street?
What is the single most important issue facing Montague Street?

Following Downtown Brooklyn’s gentrification with the recent arrival or soon-to-open Shake Shack, Gap, Panera Bread, H&M and T.J. Maxx along Fulton Mall, the latest retailer committing to the rapidly expanding shopping destination is Century 21 Department Store.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the high-end label discount retailer has signed a deal to open a 125,000 SF store in the City Point development: the first new department store in Downtown BK since the 1970s.

“By landing Century 21, developers said they would be able to break ground this summer on the bulk of the City Point development—675,000 square feet of retail and commercial space and 690 new market-rate and ‘affordable’ apartment units at Dekalb and Flatbush avenues,” WSJ says. Century 21′s store is scheduled to open when construction of the 1.3 million-square-foot City Point’s second phase is completed in fall 2015.

WSJ adds, “The transformation of Fulton Mall from a Downtown Brooklyn den of cheap cellphone outlet and fast-food joints into a more upscale shopping hub is set to take a significant step forward.” See the full story here.

The 1976 Montague Street Revitalization project offered grand plans for the ailing Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, and included numerous photographs of everyday life. Of course, some 36 years later, these casual B&W shots offer a cool triptych to a time gone by: the fashion, hairstyles and simply the way folks gathered back in the day.

We’re featuring Key Food here—nothing overtly dramatic, but entertaining for those very reasons. And below, the view at 106 Montague Street today. Who knows, a few decades from now, we’ll probably be smiling over how “vintage” these millennial images are.

For a campy walk down the aisles of 1960s & 1970s supermarkets, take a look here.

(Current photos: Chuck Taylor)

Numerous Open Thread comments have queried about the future ground-floor retail space at 101 Clinton Street & Joralemon, whose six-story, 40-unit building is nearing completion as a residential rental.

The former Clinton Food Market was a favorite of many residents, and obviously was shuttered when rehab began on the 1930′s building nearly two years ago. A sign appeared in the window this week offering the first-floor retail space for rent… meaning that the market is obviously not being given first dibs at returning.

Meanwhile, the building appears to be testing the waters with one rental on the market via CitiHabitats: Apartment 6B, a top-floor 3 bedroom, 2 bath for $5,200 a month (see interior shots with the listing).

(Photos: Chuck Taylor)

This month’s “First Wednesday” event is starting now (5 p.m.) and continues until 8 p.m. Details on special deals available from merchants and restaurants on Montague Street are here.

The Brooklyn Heights Association also reminds us to please take the Montague Street BID’s survey. By completing the survey, you are entered to win a $50 gift certificate.

This Wednesday, April 4, is another “First Wednesday”, presented by the Montague Street Business Improvement District, featuring special shopping and dining deals from merchants and restaurants on Montague. The theme of this month’s event is “Spring is Here” (maybe it will be back by Wednesday). Details on what is available are here.

You’ve got to see it to believe it. Situated over an entire square block, Dekalb Market in Downtown Brooklyn is constructed from recycled shipping containers converted into 60+ food & retail shops that frame a space for outdoor events and programs.

The 2012 season launches Saturday April 7, at 138 Willoughby Street and the Flatbush Avenue Extension, offering a cornucopia of art, music, food & film events, as well as the new Dekalb outdoor performance and event space, a permanent beer & wine garden, “The Dekalb Farm” and 60 stores & food shops and outdoor weekend vendors, all “set against the gritty-cool urban backdrop of downtown Brooklyn.”

For the launch Dekalb Spring Weekender, Saturday and Sunday, April 7-8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., come one and all for a noon Easter Egg Hunt, $1 Mimosas (until 2 p.m.), and live music by Michael Arenella & his Dreamland Orchestra, and Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens. Also: Flower and Garden Market, face painting, woodshop projects and a jewelry workshop, crafting bike maintenance, and circuits & electronics. Cooking, farming and gardening workshops and classes for adults and children will be presented by Family Cooks.

The regular Dekalb Market Hours are seven days a week, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. During the season, events will also include dance parties, free open-air markets, unique foodie events, bike-in movie nights, lobster boils, roller derbies, an ongoing series of special live music performances and 45+ vendors.

Dekalb Market was voted Best New York Architecture in 2011 by the New York Observer.

The sweet red brick building at 156 Henry Street at the intersection of Love Lane in Brooklyn Heights holds a modicum of mystery. Despite hours of research, I could find little info on when it was built or why it stands alone as a quaint two-story structure among so many multi-story apartment buildings on all sides.

What I do know is that throughout its life, the street level has housed at least three businesses: two supermarkets and now, a CVS. First was Bohack, which opened its first family grocery on nearby Fulton Street in Brooklyn in 1887. After going public, the chain expanded into Manhattan and the Bronx until its demise during the recession of the mid-1970s. The last store shuttered in summer 1977.

Next in the location was well-known New York supermarket chain D’Agostino, first opened in 1932 during the Great Depression on the Upper East Side. By 1981, the grocer operated 15 Manhattan locations and one in Brooklyn—at 156 Henry Street. The store was obviously in place long enough to update its logo signage, as seen below.

Within the past decade, D’Agostino departed Brooklyn, making way for CVS to mark its territory in the Heights, competing with drugstore neighbors Duane Reade and Rite Aid.

Above the store, there’s a one-bedroom rental apartment, last listed by Corcoran (date unknown), described as: “Sunny, quiet, beautiful 1BR in the heart of Brooklyn Heights, steps from restaurants, shops, subways. Near Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Kitchen & bathroom totally renovated. Beautiful decorative fireplace & gorgeous wood floors. Pets welcome.” No price was listed on the site. Pics from the listing of the upstairs unit below…

Finally, a little perspective about Love Lane, across from 156 Henry… In pre-Colonial times, it was an Indian trail leading to the nearby East River. When the Dutch arrived in Brooklyn, it became a popular path for romantic walks, thus the name. An 1894 New York Times article hints, “The oldest residents remember a time when there was a cool, shady path leading down ‘Lover’s Lane,’ where plump, rosy-cheeked Dutch maidens, with their sweethearts, meandered on summer evenings out through the turnstile and down the grassy bank to the water’s edge.”

Today, the closest you’re going to that blush get is a flash of your CVS bar code, hoping for bountiful bargains… and a sentimental feeling standing in a space with such robust history in beloved Brooklyn Heights.

The New York Post story that revealed Whole Foods is coming to Williamsburg also had a buried item claiming that make-up and fragrance superstore Sephora is reportedly “close to signing a lease” in the Brooklyn Municipal Building—the first we’ve heard of this.

The location of Brooklyn’s first Sephora: Joralemon and Court Street, right at the border between Brooklyn Heights and Downtown’s Fulton Street Mall. Racked reveals that the space would be a 6,500-square-foot corner spot on the first floor of the Municipal Building, where 37,000 sf are being developed as the Brooklyn Heights Plaza. This follows well-tread rumors over the past year of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s tenacious bid to bring in Apple or Nordstrom to the desirable commercial space.

Meanwhile, Fulton Mall continues to add one new (chain) store after another, with the recent opening of Gap Factory Store and Shake Shack, with H&M and TJ Maxx soon to follow. Talk also continues about a potential Century 21.

(Photo: CurbedNY)

A surfing website picks up, verbatim, Two Trees’ press release about three new lease deals in DUMBO: one for a “locally sourced restaurant from the team behind Colonie in Brooklyn Heights” to be located at 15 Main Street; another for an outlet for bakery One Girl Cookies at 33 Main; and a third for Aegir Boardworks, a “surf and snow” shop that will occupy what “was formerly a barren loading dock” at 99 Water Street. Video after the jump.

Surfline: “There isn’t a more perfect place for a company like ours to flourish than in DUMBO,” said Peter Frolich, Co-owner of Aegir Boardworks, a surf and snow retail and service business. His partner, Shaun Tangen, agrees. “Two Trees has provided us with a fantastic new home here and we couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this new generation of Brooklyn-based businesses.”

Slated to open in April, Aegir Board Works is a company tailor-made for the Brooklyn waterfront and is poised to become the premier surf/snow shop in New York City.

While we wish the owners of Aegir the best of success, we can’t help but remember the Tradewinds’ hit from the sixties; as for the snow side of the business, we’ll need a return to real winters.

It wasn’t until I worked for the U.S. Census Bureau between February and August 2010 that I truly discovered Brooklyn. While I had lived in Brooklyn Heights for a decade, my compass always seemed to point toward Manhattan, where I worked and played. [See Photo gallery below the jump]

But with the Census gig, I had the opportunity to discover on a block-by-block (if not door-to-door) basis more than I ever realized was just east of the Heights: Sunset Park, Fort Greene, Park Slope, Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and—my favorite—Downtown Brooklyn.

Strolling through Fulton Mall every day on the way to the Census office on Flatbush Avenue as it was just beginning mass renewal, the sidewalks were widened, new bus stands and street lights installed, streets were repaved and repositioned for bus traffic only. The age-old Fulton Mall sign came down… Something big was happening here.

Of course, there are two sides to gentrification. In 2012, Shake Shack opened, while Gap launched a massive Factory Store there, with H&M and TJ Maxx on the way in the historic Offerman Building. While it’s nice to see the once-decaying area return to life, it’s also bittersweet to witness the typical fallout that comes in every neighborhood on the rise: the shuttering of local businesses, which can no longer afford escalating rents.

So before I bid a fond farewell to the fabulous array of wig stores, pawn shops, bodegas and discount vendors, I took another trip with camera in hand to capture what I suspect is going to look very different a year from now. With love to downtown BK.

Got your knickers in a knot? Perhaps Area Yoga Center can help. The popular Carroll Gardens studio and spa is opening a second destination in Brooklyn Heights at 144 Montague Street, between Henry and Clinton streets. Owner Loretta Gendville says the new store is scheduled to open some time in April.

Area Yoga was founded in 2000 by Gendville as a hatha and vinyasa yoga studio, with a focus on balance, strength, awareness and relaxation. Alongside open level and basics classes, it offers restorative, prenatal, power, yin, intermediate/advanced and Forrest yoga. The new location—on the second floor above Bentleys shoes, in the former location of Spring Thyme spa—will also have a treatment room for organic facials and massages.

We’re no yoga expert, but a search of such studios in 11201 reveals little shortage of destinations to wring out stress balls: The Area studio joins Yoga People, 160 Montague Street and Bikram Yoga, 106 Montague, as well as MalaYoga, 162 Court Street; Dahn Yoga, 130 Clinton Street; and Abhaya Yoga, 10 Jay Street.

Area’s other store is at 389 Court Street in Carroll Gardens. Read a piece in The New York Times that includes the studio here.

This coming Wednesday, March 7, is the first in March, so it’s time for another “First Wednesday” on Montague Street, sponsored by the Montague Street BID. Special deals will be available from merchants and restaurants along the street from 5:00 to 8;00 p.m. The theme for this month is “St. Patrick’s Day: Going Green.” Details are here.

Addendum: The Brooklyn Heights Association has further news:

ALSO, the Montague Street BID has launched a shoppers’ survey, seeking feedback from anyone and everyone who has an interest in Montague Street. The survey invites your comments regarding BID services on Montague Street, shopping options, store quality etc.

If you need an incentive: Everyone who completes the survey is eligible to win a $50 gift certificate to use in any store in the District. To begin the survey, please click here. Thank you!

Thanks to the success of its “$25 Stuff-A-Sack” event last weekend, the Underground Thrift Store at Plymouth Church has extended its Winter Clearance Sale on Sunday, March 4. Hours are 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Location: 65 Hicks Street, between Orange and Cranberry.

Shoppers can purchase as many $25 Underground Thrift Store Totes (a $5 value) as they like and stuff them full with the Thrift’s designer clothing for women, men and children. You can also purchase individual items for 50% off the original price.

Check out the Plymouth Church Underground Thrift Store Facebook page here.

The Plymouth Church Underground Thrift Store, which celebrated its grand opening in October 2011, is holding its First Annual “Stuff-a-Sack” Winter Clearance Sale this Sunday, February 26. The one-day event takes place at 65 Hicks Street, between Orange and Cranberry, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Shoppers can purchase as many $25 Underground Thrift Store Totes (a $5 value) as they like and stuff them with its inventory of winter clothing for women, men and children. The Thrift also offers a heap of bric-a-brac.

Jeannette King, Underground Thrift Store Manager, tells BHB that 25% of all net proceeds are donated to organizations that fight modern-day slavery—a cause that is relevant to Plymouth Church’s long-lived history.

There’s more on the Plymouth Church Underground Thrift Store Facebook page here.

Get those digits and dactyls ready… VIP Nails & Spa at 93 Montague Street (corner of Hicks Street), which BHB first tipped January 21, will open for business Monday, February 27, at 10 a.m., according to a poster that appeared in the window today. Perhaps it’s time to remove the signage above for Love Lane Mews Condo Info Center.

Brooklyn Heights residents may recall that Gap had a store at 125 Montague Street in the late 1990s—the current location of Ann Taylor. If you’re still pining for plaid shorts and plain t-shirts, you only need cross to Fulton Street Mall, where a Gap factory store is opening this week.

Racked reports that the new outlet is launching Friday, February 24, at 400 Fulton Street, between Smith and Hoyt streets (technically the corner of Gallatin Place). A lease was signed last June, joining the soon-to-be parade of new retailers, including H&M and TJ Maxx, as well as rumors of a Century 21.

The beautifully historic but long-suffering Romanesque revival Offerman Building along Fulton Street Mall is at last getting the facelift it so deserves. As H&M continues its new-construction two-story glass modernist build-out next door, TJ Maxx will open a downtown Brooklyn store at 505 Fulton Street, according to signage that appeared within the last week.

Imagine Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani having presence on Fulton Street (albeit last season). This long-promised renaissance may well take hold, after all, as developer United American Land has its eye on fully developing the block at Fulton and Bridge Street, after demolishing the Offerman annex to build H&M.

Meanwhile, downtown Brooklyn’s City Point up the block continues to take shape, first comprising a four-story 50,000 sf retail building on Albee Square across from the landmarked Dime Savings Bank building. In all, that project intends to encompass 1.5 million square feet of retail and residential.

The Offerman Building’s upper floors are rumored to be going residential, so it appears a full reno is forthcoming. The handsome structure was built in 1890 by Henry Offerman, at the time one of the tallest buildings in Brooklyn. It is best known as the location of Martin’s department store, which ushered other major retailers to the area, including A.I. Namm & Son Department Store and Abraham & Straus (today, Macy’s).

Read a full history of the building on The Smoking Nun blog here.

The two narrow retail spaces at 214 and 216 Hicks Street—which housed the recently closed Overtures and Dara Ettinger—have been demolished inside to carve out a single larger space.

A manager at next door neighbor Heights Cafe at 84 Montague Street—which owns the retail building—tells BHB that no one has yet leased the space, but it is believed that the additional square footage will attract more potential vendors.

Dara Ettinger jewelry opened at the beginning of May 2011 and barely lasted eight months at 214 Hicks, while beloved stationery and gift boutique Overtures at 216 Hicks endured for 30 years. Still hanging on: high-end clothier J. McLaughlin at 218 Hicks.

This evening from 5:00 to 8:00 the Montague Street Business Improvement District presents the second of its First Wednesday events, this month with the theme “Love Your Valentine” and featuring discounts at local restaurants and merchants. There’s a list of what’s available here. Monthly “First Wednesday” events will continue through June.

This Saturday, February 4, Grace Church, 254 Hicks Street (corner of Hicks and Grace Court) will hold its annual Winterfair. From 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., you may shop for children’s clothes and toys, men’s and women’s clothing, books and CDs, sporting equipment, plants and flowers, furniture, housewares and tchatchkes. From 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the cafe will serve delicious hot luncheon entrees. Starting at 6:30 p.m., there will be a gala cocktail reception and silent auction; the theme of this year’s gala is “Russian Rhapsody.” (Disclosure: your correspondent’s wife is in charge of the auction.) Among the prizes available at auction will be goods and gift certificates from local merchants and restaurants, tickets to cultural and sporting events, antiques and art works. Admission to the Fair is free; tickets for the gala are $25 if purchased in advance from the parish office (718-624-1850), and will be available at the Fair for $30.

If you have items you would like to donate for sale at the Fair, please take them to the Church during the day today through Thursday. Books, CDs, children’s toys and clothing should be left on the stage in the downstairs gym; fleas, clothing, sports equipment, and the like should be put in the back side pews on the left of the Church. If you have items for the silent auction, please contact Martha Foley at 718-624-4306 or foley.martha@gmail.com

After 30 years at 216 Hicks Street, chic stationery and gift boutique Overtures will be closing in mid-January. According to manager and the designer of its lustrous window displays Jerry Morin, owner Michael Davidson decided to shutter the beloved boutique with an eye on retirement amid a testy economy.

Beginning on Boxing Day, December 26, Overtures will begin a “Goodbye Sale,” with markdowns on its fine selection of gifts, candles, home fragrances, bath and body, paper and party goods and jewelry. The store is open most days from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

New York magazine recently offered a tasty write-up about the destination, saying, “Since 1981, this chic stationery and gift shop exudes the same history-steeped elegance as its picturesque Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. Even typical souvenir items retain a degree of understated sophistication.”

There will be a craft fair at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street (corner of Clinton) this Wednesday, December 7 through Sunday, December 11 (11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. weekdays; 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday), presented by BHS and NYCreates. This event will feature items made by a wide variety of local craftspeople, all suitable for holiday gift giving. There’s more information on the NYCreates website.

There will be a fund raising bazzar for Plymouth Church School, where you can “eat, drink, shop, and be merry”, this coming Monday and Tuesday, December 5 and 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. both days, at the Church (enter through the Beecher Garden, Orange Street between Henry and Hicks). Gift items will be on sale from Anais&I, Cayten Design, Erica Tanov, Joe’s Coffee, Gift Shop Brooklyn, Fatima Maria, Lady Handmade, Lotta Jansdotter, Muny Design, Odette Williams, One Girl Cookies, Pinhole Press, Tane Organics, Tata Harper 100% Natural Skincare, and more.

Addendum: It’s a busy weekend for fairs in the neighborhood. See AnnOfOrange’s comment to this post for a list.

To be clear, Five Acre Farms is not a farm at all. There is no pastoral landscape where cows graze, no ever-present smell of manure percolating the air. There is no big red barn, no silo, no wooden sign on an oak tree announcing that Five Acre Farms is two miles down the road to the left. That’s because Dan Horan, the President and CEO of Five Acre Farms, lives on Montague Terrace, right here in Brooklyn Heights.

Around 15 years ago, Horan, who for more than a decade ran Papaya King and for more than two decades has owned Waldingfield Farm in Connecticut, started thinking about a company that would “bring the farmer’s market to the supermarket,” as he puts it, by making available to consumers the farm-fresh foods grown in their region at a reasonable price, 365 days of the year. In the Northeast, that includes items like apples, milk, eggs, and some vegetables. But Horan, who has an MBA, struggled with which of those would be the most marketable.

“It’s very hard to brand lettuce or eggplant,” Horan, whose own farm produces organic vegetables, told me recently after finishing lunch at Teresa’s on Montague Street. “There’s a lot of milk in the Northeast, and milk also economically presented a good option, because the farmers are in such distress.”

And so Horan, armed with an idea, years of experience in the food service industry (he was also a general manager at Gourmet Garage), and lots of agricultural know-how, started talking to dairy farmers located within 275 miles of New York City. He explained to them his idea, and promised that while Five Acre Farms would be the brand, their name and story would be front and center, too.

“We put the name of the farmer, who we bought it from, right there, so you know—it’s Seth and Don,” he said, fingering the tag attached to the top of the chic bottle indicating that this batch of Five Acre Farms milk, like all others, was produced by Seth and Don at Battenkill Valley Creamery in Salem, NY.

Obviously, Horan is interested in more than being Facebook for farmers. He is a businessman, after all, and one who is keenly aware that paying $3.99 for a half gallon of organic milk is offensive to many people. The milk offered by Five Acre Farms is not organic, but still costs $2.79 for a half gallon, around 80 cents higher than the average price for non-organic milk.

“There are a lot of farmers who aren’t organic, but do a lot of good things, and right now they don’t get any reward in the market,” Horan said, and highlighted the importance of knowing where things are from. “You can say you want fresh food, but that means you actually have to pay the farmer.”

He spent a lot of time meeting farmers and learning about their practices before deciding on Battenkill, whose milk, people tell him, “tastes like home.” It’s Grade A, pasteurized and homogenized, with no artificial or added hormones or antibiotics. Farmer Seth and Farmer Don grow all of their own feed, and last year won Cornell University’s top prize for milk in New York State. Regardless, convincing marketers that it’s worth shelling out the extra dough is an uphill battle.

“We want, when possible, for people to understand the impact they can have on buying local food,” he said, noting that Five Acre Farms milk, while not organic, is going from the farm to your fridge in just 36 hours. “But you can’t just be local for the sake of being local,” he stipulated. “It has to be vetted.”

Horan is willing to do the vetting, but for any skeptics out there, the story of Battenkill Valley Creamery, its farming practices, and why it’s not organic but still progressive is available on the Five Acre Farms website. So are answers to the questions “Why is your milk so inexpensive?” and “Why is your milk so expensive?”

“Transparency is something we talk about everyday,” Horan said, admitting he’s banking on it trumping all else. “We aren’t going to be perfect, and we may not satisfy somebody’s questions, and you have to be able to live with that.”

At present, Five Acre Farms offers milk in five forms: regular; reduced fat; fat free; half and half; and heavy cream. It’s available in more than 30 stores in the tri-state area (including the Key Foods on Montague Street and Union Market on Court Street), and Horan hopes to expand his line of goods soon to include eggs and apple juice from other local farms. Eventually, he believes his approach of taking products piecemeal from regional farms will be successful in other parts of the country too.

In his part of the country, which for the last 12 years has been Brooklyn Heights, Horan enjoys buying provisions at local favorite Sahadi’s, on Atlantic Avenue. “I love—I love—Sahadi’s,” he told me, adding that the raisins at the Oriental Pastry & Grocery across the street are “like olives.” On second thought, “They’re like golf balls.”

Who am I to argue with a professional opinion?

Your correspondent visited the Brooklyn Women’s Exchange, at 55 Pierrepont Street, yesterday afternoon to watch members of Spin City Spinners demonstrating their craft, interview them, and record it all on camera. Video, photos and more text after the jump.

Here are some examples of the finished product, available at the Exchange.

On the way out, your correspondent’s eye was caught by the latest seasonal incarnation of Wendy’s Windows, the Exchange windows artfully designed by Wendy Hooker.

The Brooklyn Women’s Echange, shown in the photo in last year’s holiday garb, is beginning its weekly holiday craft events tomorrow, Sunday, November 13.

We’re feeling very crafty this weekend. Join us tomorrow, Sunday the 13th, for Children’s Crafting from 11 to 1 – we’ll be making nutcracker and holiday fairy peg dolls, using felt and fabric– and for our Artists at Work series the fabulous Spin City Yarn Spinners will be demonstrating the fine art of yarn spinning from 2 to 4!

There will be more events on succeeding sundays through the holiday season. Next Sunday there will be more children’s crafts in the morning and potter Drew Montgomery demonstrating his art on the wheel in the afternoon. And, don’t forget, the Exchange will host silhouette artist Deborah O’Connor this coming Thursday and Friday, November 17 and 18. To make an appointment, come to the shop, 55 Pierrepont Street (between Henry and Hicks) or call 718-624-3435.