Downtown Brooklyn’s Big Dining Destination Is Making Some Changes

Downtown Brooklyn’s City Point development is upping its food and drink game: A new speakeasy-style cocktail bar has opened inside food court DeKalb Market Hall, and uber-popular dine-in movie theater Alamo Drafthouse is nearly doubling in size.

Understudy has officially opened at 445 Albee Square West, between Dekalb Avenue and Willoughby Street, as the bar component to Dekalb Stage, a 7,500-square-foot events and live entertainment space. The space will host activities like DJ’s, silent discos, trivia, and bingo, and Understudy is the component fueling it all.

Cocktails are from Seth Gordon (the Standard Grill) and George Duval (Open Bar Hospitality), who put together options like a guava cosmo (vodka, guava, lime, Brooklyn aged rum, averna, bitters) and the coconut martini (rum, coco lopez, lime, charred coconut flake). Brooklyn-brewed beer and natural wine round out the drink selection. Food comes from the vendors in the food court, which include Katz’s, BK Jani, and Bunker.

In the very same complex, cult-favorite Austin-based chain Alamo Drafthouse is adding a ton of space. A whopping 25,000 more square feet — which will nearly double its current size — will soon house nine new theaters, more restrooms, and a bigger lobby. The movie theater chain, known for serving food and drinks to seats, opened there in 2016, and has been packed ever since. They’re taking over space that’s currently home to department store Century 21, and construction will start this fall for 2020 debut.

That’s in addition to a new location on the way to Manhattan’s Financial District.

Both expansions add to the retail and food development’s offerings, which include that food hall, a Trader Joe’s, and full-service restaurants Sichuan restaurant Han Dynasty and pizzeria Fortina.

Understudy is now open Monday through Wednesday from 3 p.m. to midnight and Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.