Bed-Stuy is getting a Great New Wine Bar

The Franklin opens March 8th

Elliot Bey, Alphonse Janvier Jr., and Michael Gittens, the owners of the popular Bed-Stuy wine shop Franklin Cellars, are opening a wine bar for the neighborhood. The Franklin will open on March 8th at 448 Franklin Avenue, at Putnam Avenue. 

Their wine shop quickly became a neighborhood staple, opening during the pandemic in 2020 in the former site of the “bulletproof” Kaqvet Liquor Store, a well-known Bed-Stuy establishment owned for more than 25 years by a man from the Caribbean named Ernest. The site of The Franklin also has a somewhat storied history. The corner space used to be a bodega; but not just any bodega. It is the building painted with the famous ODB Mural, an homage to Wu Tang Clan. The team preserved the mural and converted the space to a lovely new wine bar.

---

---

For the Franklin, Bey and his partners have curated a global wine list, with 10 wines by the glass and an emphasis on natural wines. Bey has also put together a list of properly made classic cocktails—a Manhattan, the Triborough (Cardinal Straight Rye, Maraschino Cherry Liqueur, Orange Bitters), as well as a Gimlet, a Negroni, and a few that sit outside the box like ​​The Brooklyn Green: Green Tea Infused Vodka, Lemon Juice and Soda Water, and The Lychee Me: Lemon Juice, Pamplemousses, Lychee Purée, Etsu Japanese Gin, and Grenadine. 

Their food menu will be simple and wine-friendly: charcuterie, cheeses, olives, griddled sandwiches, tinned fish, seasonal greens, salads and the like. 

The Franklin is snug and intimate, with just 28 seats between the bar and the tables, and it has a sort of cool ‘70s vibe with geometric wallpaper and polished wood chairs, and a gorgeous marble bar top, an easy welcoming perch for friends and neighbors to come together.

The Franklin is set to open March 8th at 448 Franklin Avenue, corner of Putnam in Bed Stuy. Opening hours are Wednesday - Saturday opening at 5pm and closing between midnight and 2am depending on the crowds.