Greenpoint’s food story this summer is bigger than a run of openings. The more interesting shift is how much restaurant knowledge, infrastructure, and customer familiarity is staying in the neighborhood when one concept closes.
Franklin Street shows the pattern most clearly. Cecily became Peek In Cafe. The former Pencil Factory became Sonny’s Corner. Fulgurances Laundromat closed, but its original space became Arthur while the Fulgurances team opened Gigi’s a few doors away. A former laundromat in The Astral became another Variety Coffee.
That is why Franklin keeps winning. The corridor is not resetting with every closure. It is carrying relationships and useful storefronts forward while adding more reasons to visit from morning through late evening.
For anyone tracking new restaurants in Greenpoint for summer 2026, here is what has opened, what is still ahead, and what the changes say about the neighborhood’s daily rhythm.
The quick read: Franklin Street’s edge comes from succession, not novelty alone. Experienced operators are taking over familiar spaces, and the growing mix now covers coffee, brunch, Georgian cooking, bistro dinners, rotisserie chicken, beer, cocktails, burgers, and late food.
The closure that produced two restaurants
The clearest example sits on one Franklin Street block.
Fulgurances Laundromat closed its Greenpoint location at the end of 2025. Instead of removing that culinary network from the neighborhood, the closure led to two distinct openings.
Gigi’s opened April 8 at 138 Franklin Street. The Fulgurances team describes it as a neighborhood rotisserie and wine bar, carrying its Greenpoint presence into a more permanent format.
Two days later, Arthur opened at 132 Franklin Street, inside the former Fulgurances space. Chef Kevin Finch had cooked there as a resident chef in 2022. He and Alexa Finch have shaped Arthur around the ease of a modern Parisian bistro, with early dishes such as brioche with cultured butter, beef tartare, grilled scallops, dry-aged fluke, and steak.
Arthur also kept the old laundromat sign visible. The storefront has had several lives, including decades as a working laundromat and use as a Pentecostal church in the 1940s. That preserved detail matters because the room still reads as part of Franklin Street rather than a concept dropped into a blank box.
This is the mechanism behind the corridor’s current strength. A closing did not erase the talent or the audience associated with the address. A former resident chef took over the original dining room, while the departing team moved a few doors away. One restaurant became two without losing the local thread.
Franklin Street now works across the whole day
The new mix is more useful than a row of dinner reservations. It gives residents reasons to return at different hours and price points.
| Stop | Address | What changed in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Peek In Cafe | 80 Franklin Street | Replaced Cecily with an all-day cafe and Korean-leaning menu |
| Threes Brewing | 113 Franklin Street | Reopened after renovations with food from Grand Army South |
| Chama Mama | 113 Franklin Street | Added Georgian lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch |
| Arthur | 132 Franklin Street | Opened in the former Fulgurances Laundromat |
| Gigi’s | 138 Franklin Street | Opened as a rotisserie and wine bar from the Fulgurances team |
| Sonny’s Corner | 142 Franklin Street | Replaced the longtime Pencil Factory with another neighborhood bar |
| Variety Coffee | 190 Franklin Street | Converted a former laundromat storefront into a daytime cafe |
Start with breakfast or a slower lunch
Peek In Cafe opened January 27 in the former Cecily space. The opening menu paired familiar cafe choices with jambon kimbap, chicken-skin-wrapped gyoza, a shrimp burger, croquettes, French toast, and matcha drinks. Dinner service followed, giving the address a wider role than a standard coffee counter.
Farther north, Variety Coffee opened at 190 Franklin Street in early June. The cafe occupies a former laundromat storefront in The Astral and is Variety’s second Greenpoint location. Its presence near India Street extends Franklin’s morning activity toward the waterfront.
Build lunch or brunch around 113 Franklin
Chama Mama opened in late April with Georgian dishes including khachapuri, khinkali, vegetable spreads, kebabs, salads, and stews. The restaurant serves weekday lunch, dinner throughout the week, and weekend brunch.
Chama Mama and Threes Brewing are both documented at 113 Franklin Street. The large property contains multiple commercial storefront units, so the shared street address is accurate.
Threes reopened March 6 following a renovation that brought new booths, a rebuilt bar, an expanded cocktail program, and a kitchen partnership with Grand Army South. The food menu includes burgers, sandwiches, corn ribs, fries, and bar snacks.
The pairing makes the address a useful illustration of Franklin’s range. One multi-tenant property can now support Georgian meals, craft beer, cocktails, and casual food.
Choose your evening by mood, not by ZIP code
Arthur and Gigi’s give the same block two different dinner formats. Arthur leans toward a composed bistro meal, while Gigi’s centers rotisserie cooking and wine.
A few doors north, Sonny’s Corner opened in February in the former Pencil Factory. The old bar had operated for 25 years. Its successor is run by local hospitality figures Tony Ismail of Cafe Alula and David Doyle, with Maggie Houlihan.
For a less polished and more budget-conscious stop, Franklin Frites operates from the basement kitchen beneath The Mallard Drake at 43 Franklin Street. Its menu includes burgers, kimchi burgers, dumplings, fries, and familiar bar food. A basic eight-ounce burger was reported at $9 in February 2026.
That range is central to Franklin’s staying power. A corridor built only around occasional dinners has to keep attracting destination traffic. Franklin can also serve someone grabbing coffee, meeting for lunch, stopping for one drink, or looking for a late burger.
The rest of Greenpoint is building its own momentum
Franklin may be the clearest cluster, but several openings elsewhere deserve a place in the summer rotation.
Sailor & Siren opened its permanent restaurant at 817 Manhattan Avenue on July 3. Founder Natalie Borowski developed the concept as a Greenpoint pop-up before moving into a storefront. The menu centers on Maine-style lobster rolls, including versions with caviar or uni, plus whoopie pies.
Amélie Cafe debuted at 860 Manhattan Avenue on June 20 with Brazilian and Asian influences. Its offerings include pastries, banana bread, filled bolinhos, savory bites, and coffee drinks.
Me and Paul’s opened April 30 at 60 Greenpoint Avenue, reworking the original Paulie Gee’s restaurant into a more casual neighborhood tavern while keeping the pizza. The management team includes Sal Fristensky and Bill Mack, whose other projects include Skinny Dennis, Rocka Rolla, and Lucky Dog.
Border Town moved from pop-up status into a permanent home at 189 Nassau Avenue in January. Greenpoint residents Jorge Aguilar and Amanda Rosa partnered with Ben Turley on a menu that began with tacos de guisado, Sonoran-style flour tortillas, frijoles con veneno, fried oyster mushroom tacos, mezcal, tequila, beer, wine, and nonalcoholic options.
Pizza 4P’s is newly opening at the 50 Norman complex. The company was founded in Vietnam by Japanese restaurateurs and operates more than 40 locations internationally. It is known for Japanese-influenced Italian pizza and house-made cheeses. As of July 11, the precise public opening date has not been reported consistently, so consider it a fresh arrival to verify before heading over.
What is scheduled next, and what is still developing
The upcoming list needs two categories. Some projects have a stated season. Others have confirmed teams and addresses but no reliable public date.
The later-summer opening to watch
Kirbee’s is targeting mid-to-late summer at 55 McGuinness Boulevard South, with August reported as the current goal.
The 20-to-24-seat restaurant comes from Chuck Charnichart of Barbs B Q and Jonny White, formerly of Goldee’s. Plans call for cafeteria-style ordering, meats cut to order, and smoker ovens using post-oak wood chips.
The proposed menu combines the two pitmasters’ approaches. Expected dishes include Mexican- and South Texas-influenced brisket, pork ribs with lime zest, green spaghetti, pork stew, smoked turkey, coleslaw, potato salad, and a dessert blending chocolate and banana puddings. Initial service is expected to focus on Friday through Sunday lunch.
August remains a target rather than a guaranteed date.
Confirmed projects without a firm opening date
A new restaurant is planned for the former Noble space at 148 Noble Street. Reporting from July 9 identifies former Chez Ma Tante chef Gabriel Borges and partner Eric Carney, an alum of Five Leaves. A name, menu, and opening date had not been publicly detailed as of July 11.
The team behind Bar Americano at 180 Franklin Street has leased the former Achilles Heel corner at 180 West Street for an Irish pub. The project has no announced name or firm opening date.
The Chefs Agency plans to open a gourmet grocery and cafe at 29 West Street this fall. The proposed format includes specialty coffee, breakfast, lunch, baked goods, takeout, and chef-prepared meals. Beer and wine may be added later.
Chipotle is scheduled for later this summer at 885 Manhattan Avenue, taking over a former 7-Eleven storefront that had remained vacant for years.
Looking farther ahead, Carina is planned for 2027 at The Riverie, 18 India Street. The 3,000-square-foot Italian restaurant is expected to offer house-made focaccia, pasta, salads, crudo, brunch, and dinner, with access to a waterfront terrace.
Growth and churn are happening at the same time
A useful Greenpoint food update cannot treat every new sign as evidence of easy conditions.
Ilis closed at 150 Green Street on May 28 after reporting that the building had been sold and its lease would end. The former Ilis and Faurschou site was later identified for condominium development. Its closing shows how quickly an ambitious restaurant can be affected by decisions tied to the underlying property.
Brooklyn Community Board 1 also identifies Franklin, Manhattan, and West streets as important commercial corridors facing high vacancies, shifting customer behavior, and uneven recovery. Its current district-needs statement calls for storefront improvements, infrastructure work, planning, and support for small businesses.
Transit is another summer variable. In May, a coalition of neighborhood businesses warned that planned weekend G-train closures could reduce customer traffic during important periods. Check weekend service before setting out, especially if your plans include friends coming from outside Greenpoint.
The pressure does not cancel the momentum. It explains why Franklin’s succession model matters. Restaurant-ready rooms, experienced local operators, and an established mix of daily uses can reduce the amount of rebuilding needed each time a storefront changes hands.
A practical Franklin Street plan for summer
If you want to see the thesis for yourself, organize the day around contrasts rather than trying to collect every opening at once:
- Start north: Grab coffee at Variety in The Astral.
- Choose a daytime anchor: Try Georgian lunch at Chama Mama or the Korean-leaning cafe menu at Peek In.
- Walk the Fulgurances block: Compare the original 132 Franklin space, now Arthur, with the team’s new Gigi’s at 138 Franklin.
- Keep the evening flexible: Pick Sonny’s Corner or Threes for drinks, then Franklin Frites if a burger fits the mood.
- Save another day for Manhattan Avenue: Pair Amélie Cafe with Sailor & Siren rather than squeezing them into the Franklin route.
Greenpoint’s summer food scene is worth following because the neighborhood is getting better at retaining what previous restaurants built. Franklin Street is winning through continuity, compact variety, and storefronts that keep finding a useful next life.
Neighborhood changes can also shape how a property is presented, timed, and marketed. If you own in Greenpoint, Long Island City, or another nearby NYC neighborhood and want a clear assessment of your position, contact Michael Molina and his team to request a free home valuation.