Fulton Grand Taking Over Putnam Candy Store?

It was a big deal in the neighborhood when the Fulton Grand Bar opened last summer in an old plumbing supply space at 441 Grand Avenue, right across from what was once one of the biggest drug-dealing corners in Brooklyn. (It’s hard to say whether it would still qualify since we’re not up on the competition.) Since then, the watering hole has appeared to thrive–when we stopped by last Thursday night at 7 o’clock almost every seat in the house was filled. So we read with interest this report on a local blog called My Little O last week about a couple of changes in the Fulton Grand’s future: 1) Community Board 2’s Transportation and Public Safety Committee recently gave its support for 15 tables of outdoor seating; 2) Perhaps even more surprising, the bar “will expand into the old Putnam Candy Store space to include a kitchen,” says to My Little O. Zoinks! As you may recall from this memorable piece in The Times, the Putnam Candy Store has been the subject of speculation for quite some time. (There’s a lot of traffic, people going in and out, Council Member Letitia James told the Times reporter. I don’t know what you’d attribute that to — a lot of people buying milk, or people buying something stronger.”) Anyway, if this really happens and the Food Co-Op gets up and running down the block, the drug dealers might really have to pack it up once and for all. As for the truth of Putnam Candy store news, the bartender we asked didn’t know for sure and some of the regulars had heard the rumor but also didn’t know if it was definitely happening. Neither the author of the blog post nor the bar owner returned emails so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Photo by Linnea Covington for NY Press