Crown Heights Caribbean Stunner Glady’s Shuts Down

Crown Heights Caribbean spot Glady’s is shutting its doors permanently due to insurmountable COVID-19-related financial troubles, the restaurant’s ownership has announced. The well-liked neighborhood restaurant and bar finished its last night of service on Sunday, June 28.

In the announcement, the restaurant cited the “financial stress of COVID-19” and “failed negotiations” with Glady’s’ landlord as reasons for the shutdown. Following the closure, owner William Garfield will continue to run sister restaurant Mo’s Original — formerly known as Glady’s Jerk Center — and adjoining bar Any Thing, in Prospect-Lefferts Garden.

Glady’s has been in operation for seven years, serving up an acclaimed menu of jerk chicken and pepper shrimp crafted by former chef and previous co-owner Junior Felix. The rum bar at Glady’s also drew its own crowds: Bar director Shannon Mustipher’s rum-based cocktail creations were in high demand throughout the restaurant’s run. Both the Painkiller — a rum, coconut cream, and pineapple concoction — and the bar’s Rum Punch, featuring allspice liqueur, guava, and lime, will reappear on PLG bar Any Thing’s menu.

The restaurant’s ownership has changed hands in recent years. Original founder Michael Jacobsen left the business in 2019 and Felix stepped down as co-owner but remained onboard as chef while new owner William Garfield took over the restaurants. In March, Felix left the restaurants altogether, Garfield confirms to Eater.

Mustipher noted in an Instagram post that the restaurant and bar may return in a new location, “as soon as we can.” Garfield confirmed that the team hoped to come back, although weathering the economic strain from the pandemic at Mo’s and Any Thing come first.

“As our closure was strictly connected to landlord issues and the financial stress of COVID-19 we may look for another location in the future,” Garfield says. “But for now, we will concentrate on navigating our Rogers Ave locations through the continued fallout of COVID-19.”

Update, 11:41 a.m.: This story has been updated with comments from Glady’s owner William Garfield.