Often chided as the "hipster" or "stroller central" outer borough, Brooklyn, New York, is home to a thriving and diverse small business scene.
We scoured its 71 square miles, as far north as Greenpoint and deep as Bay Ridge, to find the shops, restaurants, bars, and startups worth the trek from Manhattan.
What sets this collection apart from our regular Coolest Small Businesses lists is the number of companies run by native Brooklynites.
"Owning a business in Brooklyn, as a lot of my family members had in generations before me, means a lot in terms of being able to make something and sell it in a place I was born and raised,"saysBridget Firtle, owner of small-batch distillery The Noble Experiment NYC. "It's super rewarding."
For this list we focused on businesses that opened within the past five years or so. Know a cool business we missed? Let us know in the comments.
A.L.C. Italian Grocery
What it is: An upscale Italian marketplace.
Why it's cool: Louis Coluccio, born and raised in the Brooklyn neighborhood where his grandfather started an Italian food importing business some 50 years ago, opened the upscale marketplace A.L.C. Italian Grocery in 2012 as a nod to traditional Italian salumerias.
The quick-service menu walks the line between old-school Italian and earthy-crunchy, serving both arancini — rice balls stuffed with fresh risotto, reggiano cheese, and parsley — and raw kale salad with beets.
Ample Hills Creamery
Multiple locations in Brooklyn
What it is: A neighborhood ice cream shop with addicting flavors.
Why it's cool: Named as a nod to a Walt Whitman Poem, Ample Hills Creamery is a new Brooklyn institution that churns out, quite literally, the best ice cream in the borough. Popular flavors include salted crack caramel, ooey gooey butter cake, and the munchies — a pretzel-infused ice cream with bits of Ritz crackers, potato chips, and mini M&Ms.
Founders Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna recently published a book of their best stories and recipes.
Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store
What it is: A gift shop for the person who has everything.
Why it's cool: Annie's Blue Ribbon is the store with anything and everything for people who love anything and everything. Browse the shelves full of Ryan Gosling coloring books, rockabilly temporary tattoos, wine candles, maps of all the best burger joints in New York, and other assorted tchotchkes. The shop also sells a ton of Brooklyn-themed goods and products.
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