Sandwich shop for Franklin

homeowner

BTW, is CitySub still open? I've gone by a couple of times in the last month on the weekends and its been shuttered. MY SO said that it was also closed one weekday during the holiday week.

ben

Walked by yesterday at 9:30 am, saw the picture above of the biscuit sandwich on the door. Too bad they were closed.

the invisible lines

I noticed the same. Odd choice to advertise breakfast sandwiches on your front window and not be open for breakfast . . .

whynot_31

Invisibile-

Are hours posted?

Homeowner-

I haven't heard about City Sub closing. It has a lot of fans, and I suspect I would have heard. Maybe it was just closed for vacation?

whynot_31

Tastebud's biscuits got a mention here:

http://brooklynbased.net/email/2013/01/five-meals-for-5-or-less/

whynot_31

This upcoming event leads me to believe he is trying to position his store as being a better quality, fancier, "healthier", option than a lot of businesses in the area.

He also seems to be catering to the folks who are into the "farm to table" thing:

press release wrote: TasteBuds Announces a Tasting Event Hosted by Farmer & Founder of Niman Ranch Pork, Paul Willis

Paul Willis will greet customers of Brooklyn’s hottest sandwich shop, share stories, and some new Niman Ranch products. Everyone is welcome!

TasteBuds.

President’s Day Event

12 noon to 3:00 PM

Monday, February 18, 2013

736A Sterling Place

Brooklyn, NY 11238

BROOKLYN, N.Y. February 18, 2013. Dedicated to using only the highest quality ingredients in their signature sandwiches, TasteBuds opened its doors in June of 2012 with an array of Niman Ranch products, including Jamon Royale Applewood Smoked Ham, Applewood Smoked Bacon, and their peerless all-beef Fearless Franks—all becoming instant hits with customers.

Behind these excellent products is an excellent farmer who raises hogs to exacting standards of humane, antibiotic-free animal husbandry. Paul Willis developed those standards on his own farm in rural Iowa (where he still raises pigs on pasture today) and with them founded Niman Ranch Pork, a network of small independent family farms raising hogs—sustainably & naturally--under the Niman banner.

TasteBuds is honored to have an extraordinary farmer visit our extraordinary Crown Heights neighborhood to host TasteBuds and Niman Ranch President’s Day Tasting Event. Everyone is welcome!

TasteBuds Sandwich Shop is located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 736A Franklin Ave. (Between Sterling Pl. and Park Pl.) Open 7 days a week, 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday; 10 am – 6 pm, Saturday; 11 am – 6 pm Sunday, serving hot homemade biscuits, farm-fresh eggs, sandwiches, sides, and breakfast all day.

ilovefranklinave

A nice write-up and slideshow from DNA Info. While I did not make it into the slideshow, my (much better looking) sandwich did.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130218/crown-heights/crown-heights-taste-buds-serves-prime-cuts-for-presidents-day

whynot_31

For his business plan to work, he really needs to get the message out to those who are into the "Farm to Table" thing, yet are not vegetarian.

While there are a lot of Farm To Table places around, they make most of their money off of dinner and alcohol. At present, this place isn't open for dinner, and isn't serving fare people identify with dinner. As a result, he is trying to attract people for breakfast and lunch. These are meals that:

- are more often eaten alone (low return)

- do not feature high priced entrees (low return)

- don't really lend themselves to high profit drinking. (low return)

- are often eaten near work. Many of us work in Manhattan. (limited market)

A very tough niche market.

As stated above, his low volume store means that he is going to have to find a very committed base.

mr. met

plus the food is overpriced and not that good...

whynot_31

In an article published today, they state it is "budget-friendly":

Daily News wrote: Last year Kevin Phillip gave his long-standing custom T-shirt shop a serious makeover: With help from a neighbor-turned-business partner named Michael Fink, he turned it into a sandwich shop. Now it’s Taste Buds, a budget-friendly, take-out shop featuring sustainably raised meats, locally procured condiments and eggs laid upstate.

These days the double-smoked BLT on Amy’s Bread ($6.95), the all-beef hot dog with chili ($3.95) and the Croque Monsieur ($7.95) all have their fans, but Taste Buds is best-known for its biscuits, created by Fink’s wife Jan. “She’s like the Martha Stewart of the family,” jokes Phillip.

Jan’s biscuits are big, buttery, crumbly rounds, fantastic in the morning with egg and cheese ($5.50) or butter and jelly ($2.50). The rest of the day, meanwhile, order them layered with smoked ham, salami or cheese, or the current hands-down favorite: A wedge of moist chicken fried in a black-pepper crust and layered with shredded purple slaw and a spicy lime-colored “special sauce” that pays homage to Phillip’s native Trinidad.

For those seeking more green for their plates, Taste Buds also has short list of vegetable-friendly sides from cucumber and feta salad to the Italian grain called farro. (A small is $1.99, a large $2.50)

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/eating-4-line-franklin-ave-stop-article-1.1358735

mishaps

A $5.50 egg and cheese biscuit is budget-friendly? Clearly, I am doing budgeting all wrong.

whynot_31

Oct 3, 2013: Tastebuds is closed, and reportedly being gutted.

http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/topic/taste-buds-is-done

While we expressed concerns throughout this thread, hindsight is is 20/20.

Should he have tried to be City Sub (seemingly a favorite of cops), instead a farm to table fancy place?

goldemi

farm to table works when done right, plenty of examples. tough to have the look/feel of a lower end fast food joint and charge upmarket prices.