The good days are not behind us. The good days are now!
… That’s a premise behind a new, massive, 16,000 square feet outdoor urban oasis with a bar, food, picnic tables and games, which is bound to open this Thursday at 56-06 Cooper Ave off the Halsey L train stop in Ridgewood.
Nowadays is a project of Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin, a DJ duo behind the popular disco dance parties and record label, Mister Saturday Night (and its offshoot Mister Sunday), and their partner Mark Connell who owns a NoLiTa dive bar Botanica and operates a well-known restaurant Estela just above it.
The men have transformed an abandoned post-industrial triangle lot next to Knollwood Park Cemetery into what just might become our favorite summer hangout spot.
“We want it to be like you’re at someone’s cookout,” the founders told Grub Street. “The idea is for everyone to feel welcome.”
Nowadays will feature bocce ball, a cantilevered Ping Pong table and chess and backgammon boards.
Everyone knows that a pint of beer is a must after a good Ping Pong match, and so Nowdays promises to serve local beers, wines as well as sangria from Gotham Wines. Sober party people can get sodas from Brooklyn Soda Works.
The classic American backyard barbecue food dominates their menu. Expect grass-fed burger, vegan and regular hot dogs, a beet burger, an avocado salad, and a big fat pickle. The men wrote on their blog that there’s a nice slight Asian flare because their “friends Mel and Steve, who’ve done Asiadog for years, are running the Nowadays kitchen.”
According to their blog, Nowdays will eventually become the new home of Mister Saturday Night but for now, the space is just a place to hang out, and Mister Sunday parties will remain at Industry City for the duration of the summer. As far as music goes, the men wrote: “Eamon and I have dug into our collections and pulled a bunch of albums to soundtrack the space. Every album will get played in its entirety. It’s nice to listen to things as they were meant to be heard.” Check out the playlist the DJ duo put together for The New York Times:
Nowadays opens this Thursday at 4pm. It will be open weekly Thursday through Sunday. Thursdays from 4pm to midnight;
Fridays from 2pm to 2am; Saturdays from noon to 2am; Sundays from noon to midnight.
Nowadays is at 56-06 Cooper Ave near Wyckoff in Ridgewood. Take the L to Halsey or the B26 to Irving and Halsey.
via Grub Hub and The New York Times
OMG, look at that food… Nowadays avocado salad
Grass-fed burger
Grilled cheese with a homemade chimichuri sauce
