I was surprised to see that Berg’n, the Prospect Heights food hall run by my former “boss” at Brownstoner Queens Jon Butler, was a Covid casualty. I would stop in whenever I was in the area. In 2020 I was planning an FNY tour in Prospect Heights and we would have had the postgame show there. Brooklyn has no shortage of (overcrowded) food halls that are reopening now, though. Berg’n had a casual vibe since it was in a nontouristy area. I have written about it before.
Berg’n was located on Bergen Street between Classon and Franklin Avenues, located just west of the Franklin Shuttle elevated tracks and a former Heinz 57 factory.
Old time Brooklynites — over 60 years old maybe — recognized the food hall’s logotype from the abbreviation used on signs of the IND F train Bergen Street station. The word “Bergen” was too long to fit on the platform columns, so it was contracted.
I was only in 3 or 4 times, but after a long hot weather hike in Brooklyn, I was ready for a hamburger and a soda or a beer. The vibe at Berg’n was a neighborhood eatery, nothing touristy or overcommercial about it.
Sick transit, Gloria! And feck Covid.
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5/27/21
13 comments
Ummmm….it’s “sic”, not “sick”. Been meaning to mention that for a while now.
I’m making a pun.
OK. I retract my comment.
Some says puns are the lowest form of humor, however, Shakespeare made several thousand of them in his plays, so you are in good company.
I wrote most of my dissertation at Berg’n and will miss it dearly. Wonder what will become of the space? It would be nice to see it stay/become a venue for community in some fashion.
What a shame, loved going there when I lived nearby. We rented one of their rooms for my wife’s baby shower back in May 2019, hard to believe it’s only been 2 years because it feels like ancient history.
It might seem like a prime location for another restaurant or club, especially since the landlord may be willing to cut rent deals, but in reality it would be a very poor spot. Berg’n was so popular and well regarded that any new establishment will suffer from not-good-enough comparisons.
“The building Berg’n is in got bought out last summer by a business partner of Jared Kushner, who refused to negotiate rents or back payments with Bergn (or anyone else in the building).” from Reddit
I’msure we will be seeing lawsuits soon.
If anyone knows who the new landlord and or their contact info I am interested in doing something with the space. Been looking for well over a month and cannot seems to get any real answers. My email is 3177150@gmail.com
Now I feel bad about not having the opportunity to come to this place.
Does anybody know the history of this building before it was a food hall. I know that the one next door used to be a Heinz factory and a brewery but am curious about this building.
One pungent update, they finally removed the cold-wether vestibule that sat in front of the main entrance and the trash “hutch” that still had locked inside the waste bins last operating nights food waste from back in 2020. You can see the marks where the sanitation crew dragged the bins, structure, and waste to the curb and the truck to haul it away. Every newly exposed surface smells like you’d expect 2 year old restaurant waste to smell. A sad coda to a great neighborhood place.