Checkered Past Behind Them, The Pines Team Plans a New Restaurant in Bed-Stuy

John Poiarkoff and Carver Farrell, respectively the chef and owner of two-year-old Gowanus new American restaurant The Pines are currently planning a new restaurant in Bed-Stuy. The pair have purchased a tiny standalone building at 506 Franklin Avenue, and have plans to turn it into a 32 seat restaurant by March.

Poiarkoff tells Eater that the menu, while still far from being determined, will most likely be similar to the Pines, although somewhat less expensive. But, he emphasizes, the Pines itself has changed significantly since Angelo Romano left the restaurant last year and he took over. The prices are lower, and he's focusing on using cheaper offcuts of meat (though there is still foie on the menu).

Farrell says he sees this restaurant partially as a chance to start fresh. That first year, as he puts it, was "frustrating." The Pines got plenty of buzz when it opened, but then there was the rocky Pete Wells review and Romano's abrupt departure. Now things have settled down into something very different, but so has the buzz. With the new project, both Farrell and Poiarkoff are hoping to make people forget about all that drama. In any case, it's a major development for that stretch of Franklin Avenue around Fulton Street, which has yet to see the boom in bars and restaurants that has been going on farther south in Crown Heights.