Old Business, New Business BROOKLYN-USA.ORG
Celebrate the old and taste the new with businesses
representing the very best Kings County has to offer
Brooklyn’s unique mainstay businesses
and its blossoming new
ventures are confi rmation that
the County of Kings is a breeding
ground for inspiration when it comes
to commercial opportunity.
The borough’s diverse mom-andpop
shops are a nod to the melting
pot of residents that inhabit its vast,
urban terrain.
Nurturing those operations are
of signifi cant importance to Borough
President Adams, who opened
a small-business mentoring center
at Brooklyn Borough Hall two years
ago that he said has helped local entrepreneurs
achieve their dreams
ever since.
“Brooklyn Borough Hall has become
a true hub for small business
development in my administration,”
Borough President Adams said. “I
will continue to leverage my offi ce’s
resources, including capital dollars
targeted at improving workforce development
and neighborhood infrastructure,
to ensure the mom-andpop
business always have a bright
future to look forward to in our borough.”
Read on to learn about two such
businesses, one recently opened and
the other serving Brooklyn for decades:
GLEASON’S GYM, CA. 1937
Long live the King!
The historic Kings Theatre in Flatbush
prepped for its 90th birthday in
September with a series of new renovations
designed to make the Jazz
Age venue bigger and better.
The theater— which fi rst opened
as the Loews Theatre on Sept. 7, 1929
— recently added space to it 3,000-seat
auditorium, reworking the orchestra
pit so that it can accommodate 500 extra
audience members, with an adaptive
setup to allow room for standing
or seating, said the theater’s director
of marketing.
“We were looking for more fl exibility
in the way that we can use the
space,” said Sarah Weiss. “We’re now
able to have more diverse musical
programming, where people want to
be on their feet, and more ways that
we can use the space.”
In addition to expanding the main
theater, the venue has also found
room in its expansive lobby for a new
performance space: the newly opened
Kings Comedy Lounge.
“It’s a great space in that we can
continue to grow and provide a performance
area for new, developing
artists — especially if they’re from
the neighborhood,” said Weiss. “It
30 ONE BROOKLYN | FALL 2019
gives us the ability to showcase artists
who are up-and-coming.”
Early-bird patrons and after-show
stragglers can also visit the theater’s
outdoor courtyard, which opened
late last year, she added.
“We host vendors that set up carts
and tents — and we try and focus on
businesses that are in the neighborhood,”
said Weiss.
The newly-remodeled space is perfect
for the upcoming class of A-listers
visiting the theater in the coming
months, said Weiss, including appearances
by Hillary Clinton, John
Leguizamo, and Gladys Knight.
The changes are all part of an effort
to make sure the 90-year-old theater
remains up-to-date and relevant
to the neighborhood.
“We have some really exciting
things in the works,” said Weiss.
“This year, we have a few more
younger artists who are on their way
up. It’s exciting to see that Kings is
part of that scene.”
The theater fell into neglect during
the late 20th century, but was restored
in 2015 after a $95-million renovation.
Norm’s Pizza 345 Adams St. between
Willoughby and Johnson streets
Downtown; (347) 916–1310, www.normspizza.
com. Open daily; 11 a.m.–10
p.m
NORM’S PIZZA, CA. 2019
Norm!
Brookynites gave a big welcome
to the new slice shop Norm’s Pizza
when it opened Downtown on Sept. 5,
according to its owner.
“We had a line out the door for
about two hours,” said Noam Grossman,
who titled the spot after a frequent
mis-hearing of his fi rst name.
Grossman and his partners, Brooklyn
brothers Eli and Oren Halali and
pizza consultant Anthony Falco, operate
the upscale Upside Pizza in
Manhattan, but immediately saw
the potential in an empty spot across
from Borough Hall.
“We knew we had to put something
here,” said Grossman. “It’s a
high-traffi c area, but you couldn’t
fi nd a decent slice of pizza.”
There are three $1 slice joints
within a block of Norm’s Pizza, but
the new spot has higher ambitions
that just churning out pies. The pizzas
use a sourdough starter, leading
to a dough that requires special
training to stretch properly, along
with specialty sauces that pack a lot
of fl avor.
Norm’s triple pizza oven turns out
just fi ve varieties: a simple cheese
slice ($3), pepperoni, white pizza ($4
each), vodka-sauced pizza ($4.25);
and a classic margherita ($4.50).
Grossman said that his pies were
inspired by classic Brooklyn spots:
the margherita is based on Juliana’s
coal-fi red pizza in Dumbo, while
the white pie, made with garlic, two
kinds of mozzarella, lemon zest, and
an olive oil from Carroll Gardens
spot Frankie’s 457, nods to an offmenu
item at Totonno’s in Coney Island.
The next step for the tiny space —
which can fi t a dozen patrons at most,
with seats for nine — will be expanding
the hours to 11 p.m. every night,
followed by delivery service.
Its bright yellow counters offer
shakers of red pepper fl akes and
oregano, but not garlic powder, said
Grossman, because he worked hard
to get the right amount of garlic into
the sauce. When someone asks for
garlic powder, he urges them to try a
bite fi rst.
“People will try the slice, and say
‘I get it,’ ” he said. “Or not — it’s not
for everyone.”
Norm’s Pizza 345 Adams St. between
Willoughby and Johnson streets
Downtown; (347) 916–1310, www.normspizza.
com. Open daily; 11 a.m.–10
p.m
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