Brooklyn's Brunch Wars Are Now Officially Over

It's really, truly, totally official now: The brunch wars are over and Brooklyn restaurants can begin opening their outdoor seating at 10 a.m. on Sundays. For decades, an obscure law made it illegal for restaurants to break out the sidewalk furniture before noon on the Lord's Day, presumably to keep the mornings peaceful and the sidewalks clear for church-goers. That rule had been mostly ignored in recent years, but last spring some complaints about the throngs of noisy hipsters congregating for Sunday brunch led CB1 to crack down on a number of Williamsburg and Greenpoint restaurants. Local favorites like Five Leaves got ticketed for opening their seating too early, and decided to fight back against the outdated rule.

The City Council voted unanimously to abolish the law back in June, and most restaurants have been serving brunch al fresco since then, but technically the new law doesn't officially go into effect until this Sunday. Then, although booze is still illegal before noon, Brooklynites can at least enjoy their eggs Benedict outside in full compliance with the law.
· Now Legal — 10 a.m. Brunch [WSJ]
· All Coverage of Brooklyn Brunch Wars [~ENY~]