Brooklyn's Dekalb Market Forced to Find New Location

Sad news for fans of outdoor dining and retail complex Dekalb Market: the landlord is forcing the market out this fall so that it can build a permanent housing and retail development on the site. The organizers of the market are now scrambling to find a new location somewhere in the neighborhood. Come October, the shops and restaurants — including Maharlika, Robicelli's, Joe, Madhouse Bakery, and Mazie's Bites — will have to pack up and move to a new location.

Apparently, the shop owners and restaurateurs knew that the market was eventually going to move, but they were told that they had about five years at the current address. Here's the message that the organizers of the market sent all the operators last night:

Dear Container Shops,

We hope this finds you well.
As many of you have heard, our landlord has given us notice that they will begin construction this fall and therefore, we will be moving Delalb Market [sic] to a new location. While we have not received official notice, we understand the Landlord’s construction may begin as early as October.

The letter continues:

While we are disappointed that the Landlord’s new development plans moved as quickly as they did, we see this as a great opportunity for Dekalb Market! By positioning ourselves as the first shopping center in history to move and reopen in the space of a few weeks we will be able to have a new “re-opening” with both the press and operations. The move gives us an opportunity to learn from the first year and make improvements and towards this end we will be conducting a survey to make sure we capture everyone’s input.

We have identified a couple of sites that would be ideal for the market in the Brooklyn area and are diligently working to make the transition work. We hope you will be able to continue with the Market in its new incarnation. We will provide an updated report to the new site and details regarding the move shortly...

Please let us know if you have any questions and we look forward to growing up and onward with all of you.

Thank you and all our best,
Dekalb Market Team