Saturday, October 03, 2009

Great Fun At The 'Farmacy's' Open House On Saturday

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Open House at the Farmacy

Original 1920's interior of the pharmacy
Just one of the strange old medicine bottles on the old shelves.




Lobster and organic corn being served in the back of the 'Farmacy'

Fresh oyster barThis young lady had her very first taste of oyster

and this cutie got her very first face painting.
Finally, some life has been breathed back into the old pharmacy storefront at 513 Henry Street, which had been closed for over 10 years. When I first moved into the neighborhood twenty-five years ago and lived on Union Street, I walked by the place almost every day. Back then, it was simply known as Mark's Pharmacy, but already, it did not look like a going concern.
Too many old and faded medication bottles and beauty products in the window were a dead giveaway that this was no ordinary drug store. Actually, it looked more like a time capsule. A glimpse into the space revealed beautiful wood apothecary shelves and an intricate tiled floor, that had remained unchanged since the 1920's

Then, for a very short time, owner Mark Stein added products from Vermont to his dusty shelves and renamed the business "The Vermont Market & Pharmacy." But that was short lived, and the doors to the place closed for good for a decade.

But that changed when Petey Freeman, who happens to live above the pharmacy, convinced owner Stein to bring back some life into the storefront for the good of the neighborhood. Petey's idea is to bring locally grown produce to what he now calls the "Farmacy." He also plans to serve egg creams at the back counter. Next months, he would like to sell turkeys as well. He calls this venture a work in progress.

For now, Petey ( and Mark) opened the doors to 'The Farmacy' for everyone in the community and threw a great party, complete with beer, lobsters, oysters, egg cream, music and face painting.

I truly enjoyed setting foot into the old place. Actually, it was the very first time since I moved to the neighborhood.
Hope it won't be the last!


2 comments:

BestViewInBrooklyn said...

I lived just up the block from this place in 1994-95; I'm very glad to see it open and bustling.

I wonder if this will be an "open once a year" thing - didn't they do this last year, too?

Anonymous said...

Hi Katia,
In case you haven't heard, in the last week the most incredible change has occurred at the Farmacy space -- a building-makeover TV program entitled,'Construction Intervention,' turned around the Farmacy space over the weekend and you would not believe it!! It looks incredible. No word yet on when it will be up and running, but last night saw a lot of the neighborhood checking the space out, egg creams and all. I think everyone is in shock over the quick transformation, including Petey, the proprietor! Cobble Hill Blog has photos from last night:

http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/4414