After a decade near the Wilson L, the neighborhood’s living room pours its last drink Saturday, but owner Chris Taha promises a new concept will take its place within weeks.
Father Knows Best, the beloved cafe-bar-restaurant near the Wilson L stop that has served as a neighborhood gathering place for a decade, announced Wednesday evening that it will close after 10 years in business. The last day of service will be Saturday, December 20, according to an Instagram post from owner Chris Taha that has drawn an outpouring of community response, with over one thousand likes (including one from our state senator Julia Salazar) and hundreds of comments from residents sharing memories of first dates, formed friendships, and a space that helped them feel at home in Bushwick. Later, Taha clarified in the comments that the space will reopen in approximately one month with a remodeled interior, a new brand, and a different concept.
“In our case. It’s not the rent. It’s the economics of the business model itself and the higher costs of operating post Covid,”
The news comes with a potential silver lining for fans of the Wilson Avenue spot. Taha was mum on specifics, but wrote in a pinned comment,”We’re actually going to be reopening in a month or so with a remodeled space, new brand and different concept; still embodying the core values that we operated by. We’re so excited for this new chapter and the future of what this space will provide the community.” The team will be “doing a light remodel and addressing long-needed repairs to the bones of Father’s before reopening and seeing where life wants the space to go next.”
“Fathers has been a place where bands have formed, partners met each other on their first dates, best friendships and roommates were found at their mutuals birthday party in the back yard, coworkers became lovers and is the space that holds that one drunk story that is etched in your memory forever. Heck. I met my wife here!”
That sense of community was by design. When Bushwick Daily first covered the opening in March 2016, we wrote that “Father Knows Best came to the rescue of those off the Wilson stop” with food all day, drinks late into the night, and a big outdoor area. Shortly after, we featured the spot as “Bushwick’s Greatest New Cafe/Restaurant/Bar off the Wilson Stop.” Taha and co-owner Colleen Makary, who also ran the cafe Summers in Williamsburg, explained at the time that the concept was to “create a community center where people can meet” and to “include both those that have been here 50 years but also dudes that just moved here 6 months ago.”
Isabelborges wrote that she also met her husband at Father’s: “it’s still our go-to spot. Can’t wait to see what you come up with next.” @double_ev shared: “Aw man, we had our first date here.”
In 2021, Father Knows Best won Best Brunch in Bushwick Daily’s reader poll with 4,364 votes in a closely contested competition. “Since opening in 2016, we have always strived to stand out amongst so many amazing places and institutions that Bushwick has to offer,” Taha said at the time. “We’re honored to have been voted as the best brunch among so many other exceptional spots.”
Amanda_joelle.25, commented that the bar was where workplace acquaintances became lifelong friends: “Fathers was a weekly spot for me and my coworkers for years. Even after most of us changed jobs we kept meeting at Fathers. You were a reliable spot for years of processing a long work day, celebrating many life changes and just enjoying each other for hours. We went from coworkers to friends at Fathers.”
Beyond brunch, Father Knows Best became one of the launchpads for the neighborhood’s music and arts community. The venue hosted the In Plain Sight beat and DJ collective for their monthly residency starting in 2017, with co-founders Omar Jones and Travis Shapiro building a following through free events that drew a diverse crowd of producers, DJs, and music lovers.
Taha explained the philosophy in a 2019 interview with Bushwick Daily: “The whole concept behind Father Knows Best was originally to be a community center for neighbors to be neighbors and creatives to be creatives. It’s so cool that there’s now a place for [Bushwick creatives] to come together and collaborate and share ideas.” He emphasized that all events were always free, saying, “having to pay an entry fee for your neighborhood bar seems kind of stupid.”
@nothing_neue, a member of the In Plain Sight collective, wrote: “Thank YOU Chris. It was an honor to call Father’s home for @inplainsight_nyc. The connections we all built in your space has taken us all across the country and the world.” Verified DJ @itndylan added: “I’ve had several surprise DJ sets here. Legendary place fr.” And @prodbykillerbee wrote about being “honored [t]o have played with the ishin lab/in plain sight fam at such a dope and welcoming place.”
Bushwick Daily has covered Father Knows Best throughout its decade in the neighborhood, from a Pokémon Go party we previewed in summer 2016 featuring famed trainer Ivy St. Ive, to its inclusion in our Passport to Bushwick program supporting our local journalism, to a feature on its dirty martini made with celery bitters earlier last year.
For many, Father Knows Best was the place that made Bushwick feel like home. @callmeipalibo wrote: “you were the first place I felt comfortable in my new neighborhood upon my return to NYC. Thanks for being a great place for folks like me.” @longlivethebolter shared: “when i moved to brooklyn you guys welcomed me and gave me a favorite place to be.” @parishiltonskid called it “truly one of the safe havens of the Bushwick area.” And @dcdubz wrote: “spent my first year in nyc here and this is the first place I was ever a regular. I love telling people the art on my wall is from a bar in my old neighborhood.”
“We have been through a lot together: Wilson Stop station remodel, L-Train shutdown scares, COVID, rent increases, and friends lost to gun violence and substance abuse,” he wrote. “Through it all, Father’s was there, for us and for you. A part of the routine. A place we could count on during our toughest days and our happiest ones. Where you could spend 5 minutes or even 5 hours.”
“My family and I are deeply grateful and honored to have served this community,” Taha wrote. “You gave us far more than we could ever repay. This place existed because of you; your energy, your stories, your trust, and your love.”
“I’ve learned that Father doesn’t always know best. But he’d like to think he does.”
Father Knows Best is located at 611A Wilson Avenue, two blocks from the Wilson L stop. The final day of service is Saturday, December 20. Details on the new concept and reopening timeline have not yet been announced.
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