Glady's: Closed and Retooling

Hopefully the next door version has moderately priced food. This neighborhood really needs more places to fill the gap between Chinese takeout and all the $20 entree places. Hopefully that burrito joint going into the old Jam Rock spot opens before 2016.

I won't miss it. To second Mike's comment, I really hope it's not another over-priced place (I'm looking at you, Cafe Rue Dix).

Meanwhile, the restaurant that would REALLY succeed on Franklin Ave--the grilled cheese restaurant--continues to be under development. Gladys' was always overpriced, and who wants a $16 sandwich for dinner? But an $8-$12 grilled cheese...now THAT would work. 

CHster,

The two nearby existing sit down West Indian places (Island Cz and Janelle's) seem empty much of the time.

There have also been complaints about service and not having items on the menu actually available.

If Glady's could avoid these issues, it might succeed.

Readers, I forget the order of events, but Bristen's was a restaurant on Franklin near Sterling that reinvented itself several times over about a two year period. They tried to serve Caribbean food, Asian Noodles, Hamburgers.

https://www.google.com/#q=bristens+"franklin"+avenue

It finally closed, and is now the site of Away We Go Postal.

In my mind, Glady's seemed pretty full when I went there, but it may not have been making much money because it didn't attract a drinking crowd.

...Whereas place like Centanni, Barbachino, Mayfields, and Bar Corvo have.

The real money is made by serving alcohol, not from the food.

I suspect this is part of why Glady's making rum a central part of their future identity.

Funny, we thought Gladys was great for cocktails but that their food experience left something to be desired.  Not because it wasn't tasty, but because it didn't offer a relaxing sit-down experience that made us feel like we were going out.  It seemed to straddle a sort of gourmet fast-food experience, and that turned us off from seeing it as a dinner destination.

This may put it in perspective: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2014/04/gladys.php

sounds interesting and great, i'm already salivating.  just hope the size/price ratio is better than before.  i'll definitely stop by to try it.  

They had a decent sized crowd when I passed by last night.  Not bad for a Tuesday night.

Press:   http://brooklynbased.com/blog/2014/04/14/second-look-gladys-drops-sandwiches-goes-carribbean/#comment-section

believe me..the take out west indian spots on nostrand WILL NOT suffer b/c glady's is serving $28 jerk lobster...lol

Yes, I suspect they will serve folks who were not going to local West Indian sit down places.

In my mind, the places like Island CZ, Gloria's, and Janelle's are missing out on potentially profitable diners.

It should be interesting to see which of these entities is still around in a year.

....Glady's strikes me as having deep pockets, and a really good location.

Gloria's has multiple locations in Brooklyn. Their next step should be a sit-down place, but in my experience, places that do take out with steam tables and food cooked for volume often have difficulty moving to a cooked-to-order model. At any rate, I'd expect that the only thing standing between them and a long existance in CHN is the rent their landlord is charging. Hopefully they have a long lease with good terms.