Voice of the Restaurateur: Bubby's Speaks
Yesterday’s post about Bubby’s in DUMBO — a neighborhood eatery that seems to be slipping, according to one of our tipsters — stirred up a bit of debate among its customers. Some complained that there are too many little kids in the restaurant, dissed the dinner options, and mentioned some recent problems with the Department…
Yesterday’s post about Bubby’s in DUMBO — a neighborhood eatery that seems to be slipping, according to one of our tipsters — stirred up a bit of debate among its customers. Some complained that there are too many little kids in the restaurant, dissed the dinner options, and mentioned some recent problems with the Department of Health. Others described it as a great place to hold an event or to grab brunch on the weekends. Then, the owner of Bubby’s came forward with a lengthy, articulate, and very constructive comment about his business — and the restaurant business in general. His explanation sounds nothing like a PR spiel, but if you read between the lines, you can clearly see that he’s a small business owner who is very proud of his restaurant, and hopes that it will grow with its neighborhood…
“One of the most painful parts of any business is figuring out what services to offer without bleeding to death. We have tried numerous ways to build weekday business in DUMBO, and we believe that eventually the volume will be there during the day, with people who work there, and eventually we can build a weekday dinner, but our main concern is to make the events we have and our brunch the best they can possibly be, and we are always open to suggestions.”
We can’t help but cheer for this guy. We have to admit — we’ve never been to the Brooklyn branch of Bubby’s ourselves, but we did meet a couple who is planning their wedding there — and they said that they chose Bubby’s for the great views, fair prices, and the very kind staff. And next time we go out for brunch, we’re definitely heading to DUMBO.
Is Bubby’s Brooklyn a Sinking Ship? [Brooklyn Record]
Bubby’s Pie Co. [Homepage]
the women’s bathroom at IS dirty (FYI to the male owner) and dingy but that’s a small price to pay for the very, very kind staff and AMAZING brunch + pie. please, please don’t let us down, Bubby’s!!!
As someone who works & lives in DUMBO, I can’t believe no one mentioned the pie. Honestly, I’ve sold many a condo based on the comfort that knowing Bubby’s is here provides to folks. And, here’s to its owner – what a great guy!
The food is mediocre and expensive.
DUMBO Bubby’s invites anyone to come (back) in to give us a try. See what a helpful effect the feedback on this wall has had. It is very much appreciated by our entire staff. Really. Thank you.
perhaps they have gotten better to deal with for events, but my experience mirrors that of the above would be party thrower. we tried to have our wedding rehearsal dinner there in the fall of 2004 and they quoted us a price of $25,000! for the room only — not even food included. it was insane. ended up at the water street bar where they were extremely accomodating and reasonable. been for brunch a couple of times since — always overpriced and terrible service. i live across the street and have a kid so i definitely wish it was more appealing.
Trying to compare Bubby’s and Five Front is a joke. They’re not aiming at the same kinds of cuisine or market.
we recently held our rehearsal dinner at bubby’s and couldn’t have been more pleased. The staff went above and beyond for us and the food was great– homey comfort food was exactly what we wanted and they delivered. Also, that view is AMAZING. It’s not “fine dining” and doesn’t pretend to be. We are both from the south and and are consistently turned off by most “southern-style” restaurants in NYC– Bubby’s doesn’t disappoint.
Ive called Bubby’s for two events and have been treated quite rudely by whoever they had manning the phones on those days. After the first experience, i figured I’d give it another try with the hopes that I just had an off person that day. Two strikes and their out. And I throw A LOT of parties.
I frankly can’t see how they stay in business with that kind of attitude. And for the owner to say they are focusing on events – its hard to appreciate that when they are turning away party hosts with their attitude.
Please, please fix the food and the service. You want to charge those prices you need to have quality in the kitchen and the service. See Five Front. Stop hiring staff with no experience.