Smorgasburg will take a bite of Hudson Square BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
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he operators of Smorgasburg, the popular Brooklyn outdoor food market, plan to start up a version of it in Duarte Square, at Canal St. and Sixth Ave., this summer. The outdoor-food outfit has signed a two-year lease for the space with Trinity Real Estate. The plan is for it to operate seven days a week, starting early this August. They are seeking a full liquor license, and will make a presentation to the Community Board 2 State Liquor Authority Committee on Thurs., April 13, at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 151 Sullivan St., lower hall. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Jonathan Butler — who co-founded Smorgasburg along with Eric Demby — said it won’t be as big an affair as some are fearing. Yes, it will be seven days a week, but the weekdays won’t be as big a production, he said. “Really, we’re talking about four or five food trucks during the weekdays,” he said. “On the weekends, we’ll probably have another 30 or 40 market vendors that pop up. But it’s really not on the scale of our Brooklyn markets. “There’s a desire for more food in that neighborhood,” he added. “The Hudson Square BID did a study two years ago that found that.” He was referring to the Hudson Square Connection business improvement district. Food trucks actually will be a first for Smorgasburg, though Trinity has had them in the Duarte Square lot before. The trucks will have electrical hookups, Butler noted. The food trucks, seating and two 20foot-long bars will be concentrated in the northern portion of the square, along Grand St. Also in that area will be two shipping containers, some shade structures and pavers to create a patio, he said. Meanwhile, on weekends, the southern part of the square will be filled with other food vendors, plus flea-market vendors. Butler and Demby are also the founders of Brooklyn Flea. The weekend vendors will each have a 10-foot-by-10-foot tent with a table out in front. Those vendors typically pay Smorgasburg $250 to $300 a day. On a questionnaire for C.B. 2 that liquor-license applicants fill out, Butler wrote that Smorgasburg’s operating hours at the Hudson Square location would be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Sunday to Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. from Thursday to Saturday. The plan, as described on the questionnaire, is described as “Highly curated outdoor market with food and shopping, plus occasional family-friendly programming and special events.” In the “overall seating information” section, 20 tables with 120 seats are TheVillager.com
PHOTO BY ERIC DEMBY
The Trinit y Real Estate-owned lot at Duar te Square that is slated to get a Smorgasbord outdoor market in August.
listed. “Live” and “amplified” music are checked, as well as “iPod / CD’s.” Asked about emissions from the trucks’ cooking operation, Butler said it would be minimal. “I don’t think four food trucks will generate any negative effects,” he told The Villager. “Occasional special events, such as corporate functions, private parties and community programming will also occur at the site,” another response on the questionnaire reads. According to its Web site, Smorgasburg is America’s largest weekly openair food market, attracting 20,000 to 30,000 people to Brooklyn each week. It has two locations in that borough: on the waterfront in Williamsburg at Kent Ave. on Saturdays and in Prospect Park on Sundays. Smorgasburg started in 2011 as an offshoot of Brooklyn Flea, which started in 2008. There is even a Los Angeles Smorgasburg now, as well as one in Kingston, N.Y. They also operate Berg’n, a beer and food hall in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and ran a pop-up food hall / beer garden in the South St. Seaport from 2013 to 2016. The Kent Ave. / Williamsburg market’s hours are from 11 a.m. to only 6 p.m. Despite the answer on the questionnaire, Butler said he doubted the Duarte Square Smorgasburg would really run as
S’BURG continued on p. 23 April 6, 2017
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