A new watering hole has just opened, breathing a little more life into the corner of Wyckoff and Menahan Aves. Old Stanley’s is “an everyman’s bar….no pretentious bullshit,” said Bryan Quackenbush (yes, that’s the real name), one of the owners. He’s in cahoots with Ben Altman, Chelsea Altman, and Matt Weber. And he’s right, too. Old Stanley’s is not some dimly lit, wannabe dive, but they don’t hand crush their ice either. The beer selection is approachable. The jukebox is curated by the hand of an expert — someone who knows how to impress, but not pander to, a crowd with potentially discerning tastes.

A conscious selection of hodgepodgery creates a calm and engaged ambience.

Although there was not much of a crowd when I stopped by (~10:30 PM on a Sunday), those who live in the immediate vicinity are thirsting for something exactly like this. And oh, as they parch they shall be quenched, with Bootleg now open and some other kind of boozerie opening soon on Irving and Bleeker. In other words, the blocks immediately surrounding the Myrtle-Wyckoff stop are about to get slammed into party town, just in time for summer.