Bed-Stuy Gateway and the Fulton-Nostrand Revitalization Project

Profile a Business: Super Foodtown of Bedford-Stuyvesant

Super Foodtown of Bedford-Stuyvesant
1420 Fulton Street (at Restoration Plaza)
Brooklyn, NY 11216
(718) 623-1831
Official Website:

Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 7am - Midnight
Sunday: 7am - 10pm

Parking: Garage located underneath Super Foodtown, enter on Brooklyn Avenue south of Fulton Street.

Super Foodtown of Bedford-Stuyvesant, located at 1420 Fulton Street in Restoration Plaza is a 31,000 square foot multi-department, full-service supermarket, owned and operated by PSK Supermarkets, Inc.

Since its grand opening in late 2004, Super Foodtown of Bedford-Stuyvesant has won the hearts, or more appropriately the stomachs, of thousands of Bedford-Stuyvesant residents. Noah Katz, co-owner of Super Foodtown with his brother Daniel and father Sydney says, “We have pledged to earn the business of the Bedford-Stuyvesant community every single day,” and from the numerous satisfied residents that frequent the store, Super Foodtown looks to be doing just that. 

“We can totally tailor the product offerings to the unique needs of each community we serve,” says Katz. Super Foodtown has a full complement of departments, including a fresh bakery, a floral department, a fresh service deli, a service “over the counter” butcher department, a service “over the counter” seafood department and expanded perishables fresh food. With all of these amenities, plus the store’s commitment to first-class service, store cleanliness and competitive prices, Super Foodtown has attracted tens of thousands of customers a week. As a reward for customer loyalty, Foodtown offers S&H Greenstamps, a customer rewards program in which shoppers earn points that they can redeem for free and discounted groceries, as well as gifts in an 80-page rewards catalog.

“Traditionally, we reach out to every non-profit organization in every community we serve,” says Katz, “offering everything from product for fundraising events to loaned staff members for community restoration efforts. We’ve helped restore playgrounds, rebuild libraries and serve up strawberry shortcake at community festivals. Whatever each community wants and needs in the way of support, we’re there to help get it done.” Since arriving in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Super Foodtown has demonstrated this commitment to the community: It signed up as a corporate leader of the Fulton-Nostrand United Merchants Association, and Noah Katz serves as co-chairman of the Bed Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District Steering Committee.

By shopping at Super Foodtown, residents get fresh food at great prices and at the same time make an investment in the improvement of the Bedford-Stuyvesant. Through the rent paid by Super Foodtown for its space, Foodtown shoppers’ dollars directly support the community-based social, educational and economic development initiatives of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. “Our participation in communities is never limited to selling products and paying the rent,” said Katz. “We expect to be a resource for the neighborhood, a place that will bring people together.”

Profile a Business: Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar® of Bedford-Stuyvesant

Citing a lack of casual dining restaurants in the neighborhood, Apple-Metro, Inc., the New York Metro Area franchisee for Applebee's International, made a commitment to provide this service to Bedford-Stuyvesant and opened in February 2006.

Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar®

Bed-Stuy
1360 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11216
(718) 943-8005

www.applebeesny.com

Hours:
Monday–Thursday: 11a.m.–Midnight
Friday–Saturday: 11a.m.-1 a.m.
Sunday: 11a.m.-11p.m.

 

General Manager Oscar Rodriguez and his service staff views customers as guests who they are welcoming into their family home. Each guest is greeted with the door held open by one of the host. Being guest driven, Oscar wants to ensure that each and every person that enters to dine leaves satisfied and happy.

Applebee’s attention to customer satisfaction goes beyond service. Their unique menu includes Applebee's signature favorites accented by a constantly changing special feature, including a variety of seasonal appetizers and entrees, perfect for those diners looking for variety. The current menu includes dishes created by Food Network celebrity chef Tyler Florence.

Happy Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 4-7p.m.
(Summer, Fall) 10p.m.-midnight          
(Serving both top shelf and well liquors)

 

Profile a Business: Thriftway Pharmacy of Bedford-Stuyvesant

Located at 524 Nostrand Avenue (between Fulton Street and Macon Street), Thriftway Pharmacy of Bedford-Stuyvesant provides quality products and personal service in the style of the old-time neighborhood pharmacy.

Thriftway Pharmacy
524 Nostrand Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11216
(718) 230-3009

www.thriftwaypharmacy.com

Hours:
Monday- Friday: 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 

Originally housed in nearby St. Mary’s Hospital since 1982, Thriftway Pharmacy was forced to relocate when that hospital closed. Wanting to remain in the Bed-Stuy area to service its existing customers, Thriftway was excited to open its doors at the present Nostrand Avenue location on December 7, 2005.

During the move, Thriftway was able to keep most of its customers and doctors due to the aid of dedicated employees such as Miriam who is the Pharmacy Manager and who has been working for the company for the past twenty-five years. She supervised the transition process and set up a post at another Thriftway location so as to not disrupt service to regular customers prior to the move.

Profile a Business: Shaping Bed-Stuy's Curves

For a woman, a walk into any fitness center typically means an encounter with complicated machines being used by body builder types with bulging muscles - an intimidating sight. The atmosphere is quite different when one enters the Curves Fitness Center for Women of Bed-Stuy, located at 1542 Fulton Street, 2nd Floor (Between Throop Avenue and Albany Avenue).

Here, the owner Sandra or one of her employees greets you by name with a smile on her face and an enthusiastic tone, ready to encourage you through your workout. After working as a public health nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital for over thirty years, Sandra had a knowledge of the health conditions (obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol, depression, low self-esteem, stress) that particularly affect the Bed-Stuy community and wanted to open a business where she could continue change the health and lives of her former patients.

As a member of Curves herself, Sandra opened the Curves of Bed-Stuy fitness center in April 2004 as the perfect extension to her previous occupation and way of life. 

Curves of Bed-Stuy is here to service the needs of the women of Bed-Stuy and surrounding areas who want to stay fit and healthy.  For an introduction to Curves of Bed-Stuy and a free Figure Analysis, come in or call 718-771-0097.

Curves of Bed-Stuy
1542 Fulton Street, 2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 112163
(718) 771-0097

Hours:
Monday & Wednesday: 6am - 8pm
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 7am - 7pm
Saturday: 9am - 7pm

Profile a Business: TaJasia Soul Food at 1489 Fulton Street

Tajasia Soul Food opened it's doors at 1489 Fulton Street (between Tompkins and Throop) close to three months ago, (right around the time Applebee's opened) and it is a very welcome entry to the scene here in the Bed-Stuy Gateway business district. We are very happy to see a new independent and minority-owned retail offering that is in a category this district actually needs more of: in this case a restaurant with table service, a welcoming interior design, presumably good food (we haven't had the fortune of actually trying it yet, but we'll get around to that) AND live entertainment - hooooray! Tajasia boasts of "Homemade Soul Food" and offers live music starting at 6:00pm on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. We would love to hear what you think of Tajasia Soul Food. Please send us an email with your comments!

What: Tajasia Soul Food
Where: 1489 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11216 (between Tompkins Ave and Throop Ave)
When: Open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. 6:00am to 10:00pm Monday - Thursday; 6:00am-midnight riday; 8:00am to midnight Saturday; 8:00am to 9:00pm Sunday3

Contact: (718)773-0093

We have your first cyberspace look inside Tajasia Soul Food after the jump.

Bed-Stuy Customers FIRST Excellent Service Award Winner - Birdel's Tapes and Records

    In an age where one can buy and illegally download music off the Internet, get fake CDs from bootleg producers and shop for music at big box chains, it would seem that there really isn’t any more room for the independent record store. But on Bed-Stuy’s Nostrand Avenue, one independent record store is still going strong after sixty-two, yes 62 years - Birdel’s Tapes and Records at 535 Nostrand Avenue, and you have voted this business the winner of the first Bed-Stuy Customers FIRST Excellent Service Award.
    Ben and Bertie Steiner first opened the doors of Birdel’s Tapes and Records to Bedford Stuyvesant in 1944. The name Birdel’s is a combination of Ben Steiner’s wife’s name, Bertie, and his daughter Della. In 1957, a local young music enthusiast by the name of Hardy Long started working in Ben Steiner’s record shop. When the Steiner’s retired in 1967, young Hardy bought the shop and has kept it open to this day. Mr. Long, who most in the community now know as Joe, still owns Birdel’s and is also the current president of the Fulton-Nostrand United Merchants Association (FNUMA).