Cheers: New Bar Coming to Washington Avenue

Yet another bar is coming to Washington Avenue.

Community Board 8 approved a liquor license for “Tooker Alley,” which will be located at 793 Washington Ave. between St. John’s and Lincoln places at its meeting Thursday night.

The bar will seat 35 people with 11 at a separate bar area, and will be open from 3 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on Sundays, 5 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Monday thru Thursday, 5 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. on Fridays, and 3 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. on Saturdays.

The owners expect to have 20-25 part time employees and security cameras throughout the interior and exterior. There will also be door security on weekends and on an as-needed basis at other times.  

At the meeting at the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation at 727 Classon Ave., the board also approved expansions for , located at 686A Washington Ave. at St. Marks Avenue. The bar will add five more seats at the bar and four more tables, brining their capacity up to 49.

The board also ok’d a sidewalk café for the bar that will seat 22 people at 10 tables, with two tables and four seats on Washington Avenue and eight tables and 18 seats on St. Marks Avenue.  The owners had originally asked for four tables on Washington Avenue but reduced the request of the Economic Development Committee, which was concerned that the width of Washington Avenue’s sidewalk wouldn’t accommodate them.

Rejected was a request for a full liquor license at Maroc Sip and Chat, located at 741 Park Place between Bedford and Rogers avenues, because there is a school about 300 feet away three churches in the immediate vicinity, one of which is less than 200 feet away. The restaurant already has a beer and wine license.

Finally, the board approved the renewal of liquor licenses for the following restaurants:

1. Kombit, 279 Flatbush Avenue (corner St. Marks)/full license
2. B&B Sports Club, 644 Franklin Avenue (Bergen/St. Marks)/full license
3. Happiness Lounge, 1458 St. John’s Place (Utica/Rochester)/full license
4. B Hive Lounge, 990 Atlantic Avenue (Grand/Classon)/full license
5. Tao Palate, 329 Flatbush Avenue (near Park Place)/beer & wine license

All of these applications now head to the State Liquor Authority for approval.

With the influx of bars to Prospect Heights, some residents have begun to wonder if the Community Board should begin to stem the flow. 

Debra Nussbaum Cohen, who has lived just off Vanderbilt Avenue for more than two decades, said she's been pleased to see so many new businesses come in over the years. But she's getting concerned about the concentration of bars.

"I don't want it to become like the East Village," she said.

"We want to make sure that the retail of the neighborhood serves the community and not just people coming in from other areas," agreed Dean street resident Peter Krashes. "There’s a limit to the number of bars that the community needs."