Beloved Brooklyn venue Crest Hardware & Urban Garden Center is closing at the end of the summer

Once again, we are saddened to report on the imminent closing of a beloved local business: legendary Brooklyn store Crest Hardware & Urban Garden Center at 558 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg.

The supply shop, a major part of the community for over six decades, will officially shutter on August 30.

“Unfortunately, I was not offered an opportunity to sign a new lease by my property partners,” owner Joseph Franquinha tells Time Out New York.

Pix11 reports that Franquinha’s family actually owns the store’s property and has decided “to sell the land.” 

As devotees of the shop are wont to remember, Franquinha’s father, Manny, opened the store across the street from its current location back in 1962. The younger Franquinha joined the business in 2004 but became an owner five years later. Father and son worked together until Manny passed at the age of 89 back in 2017. The shop became known for its excellent service and selection and the events it held for the community.

Clearly disheartened by the situation, Franquinha tells Time Out that, although “finding a new place was our instinctive thought,” the shop will not re-open at another address or in some other form.

“We looked locally in Williamsburg and other north Brooklyn areas like Greenpoint and parts of Bushwick,” he reveals. “We even looked at Ridgewood but the prices per square foot on commercial spaces made it prohibitive. Plus, the thought of trying to recreate the magic that lives within these four walls and garden in a new space simply feels out of reach.”

Speaking of the store's legendary atmosphere: when asked what he will miss most about the neighborhood, Franquinha is quick to mention the people that live around the shop and have always frequented it.

“There’s a lot that goes into creating a successful retail formula,” he says. “Variables can change here and there but the people are the constant. Without them, none of this happens. When I’m having a rough day, I go downstairs and just help people. It clears my mind, fills my heart and reminds me of what I love about running Crest.”

For what it's worth, we'll miss the Crest family just as much as they will miss us.