Barbecue Battle Zone in Park Slope? Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Chain to Open Near Fort Reno BBQ

Ben Popken writes that Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, a chain BBQ joint based in Syracuse,  is lumbering into Park Slope.

Dinosaur BBQ would occupy a gigantic, long-empty warehouse at 604 Union Street. A liquor license has been applied for (public comment invited at a meeting on Monday).

Dinosaur would be just one block away from Fort Reno Provisions, a Park Slope barbecue joint that opens this month. What will the big chain mean for local, neighborhoody Fort Reno?

Chef Jacques Gautier of Palo Santo, who is a partner in Fort Reno, says his place will have a different appeal, because it’s small and neighborhoody while Dinosaur is a big chain. A Dinosaur rep did the “competition is healthy” thing, saying “all boats rise in a high tide.”

Dinosaur “would definitely change the character of the block,” Popken writes; next door, a group of neighborhood Puerto Ricans “fix their cars and chill out in a plywood clubhouse” near a spray-painted mural dedicated to their deceased friend, Raul. On Raul’s birthday, friends adorn the mural with candles and flowers. That mural stands on what would be Dinosaur’s front.

It’s a good thing that Dinosaur is taking over the long vacant space, according to people Popken talked to. But Joe Dari, owner of Holyland auto repair across the street, is worried that Dinosaur will start filing complaints against him and exerting “noise pressure, environmental pressure.”

Interestingly, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is majority owned (70%)  by billionaire George Soros’ investment company.

- via BEN POPKEN WRITES: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Opening Up Brooklyn Location At Foot Of Park Slope.