Czech This Out: Brooklyn Kolache, Co.
Like Tex-Mex cuisine? Well, meet Tex-Czech... in The Stuy!
In the fast-developing, fast-changing neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, it's never a good feeling to see a business you love have to shutter.
But when the old business is replaced with something equally as nice (or nicer), it definitely helps to ease the pain.
Such is the case with 520 Dekalb Avenue, home of the old Sucre Jazz Café. In its place, another star has been born: Brooklyn Kolache Company.
The pastry and coffee shop on Dekalb between Bedford Avenue and Skillman Street, debuted two weeks ago with a totally renovated interior and a short simple menu: coffee, hot and iced teas and Kolaches.
Go ahead and ask: What’s a Kolache? (pronounced ko-la-chee)
“A Kolache is a Czechoslovakian pastry that is huge in Central Texas where I’m from,” said Autumn Stamford, 32, the café’s owner.
It just so happens that Texas is home to one of the largest Czech communities in the U.S. And in Czechoslovakia – and now, also in Texas – the Kolaches are a staple. Kolaches are soft, slightly sweet buns that look like large dinner rolls, and they can be stuffed with sweet or savory things, such as dried prunes, apricots and cherries, or sausage.
“This is something I was actually raised eating my whole life. But then once Kolaches got to Texas, the Czech Texans started putting sausages in them and beef and eggs and jalapenos, cheese and smoked meats,” said Stamford, who bakes the Kolaches herself at the Brooklyn shop.
Kolaches cost from $2.25 to $3.50, depending upon what’s in them. They come in blueberry, cherry, chocolate and sweet cheese, while the savory varieties might include pepperoni, sausage and bar-b-que beef. But the varieties can change from day to day, depending upon available ingredients and Stamford’s mood to experiment.
Stamford has lived in Bed-Stuy a little more than a year, but she’s been a resident of New York City for eight. Before moving to NYC, she lived in Denver, where she managed and then ended up taking over a coffee shop there.
“And I loved it, but I was really young, and I didn’t really have any real experience, and it was just so extremely intense for that time in my life,” Stamford said. “So I ended up selling it, and then moving to the New York, where I’ve been working for the past 8 years as an operations and customer care manager for a web-based company."
When Stamford began thinking of her next career move, she weighed what she loved most and decided it was when she had her café. Yes, the experience before was intense, but now, she was older and had the business management experience to fill in the missing pieces.
Brooklyn Kolache's expansive interior boasts a minimalist design, with two separate rooms that create separate vibes: One, definitely a standard café feel, while the back area provides a more laid-back, loungy feel. And there’s even a outdoor seating area (still under development) that will be ideal during the summer months.
“Some of the fun things we do, which is really big where I’m from is the Hibiscus Iced Tea and the Cherry Limeade, which is basically a cherry lime soda,” Stamford said.
Brooklyn Kolache also makes breakfast soft tacos (of hash browns, eggs and cheese) and during the cooler months, tortilla soup.
Brooklyn Kolache Co. is open Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Weekend hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“Tomorrow we’re going to try to do some rib Kolaches,” said Stamford. “There’s no limit to what you can do with a Kolache, so we’re going to get as creative as we can with them.”
But when the old business is replaced with something equally as nice (or nicer), it definitely helps to ease the pain.
Such is the case with 520 Dekalb Avenue, home of the old Sucre Jazz Café. In its place, another star has been born: Brooklyn Kolache Company.
The pastry and coffee shop on Dekalb between Bedford Avenue and Skillman Street, debuted two weeks ago with a totally renovated interior and a short simple menu: coffee, hot and iced teas and Kolaches.
Go ahead and ask: What’s a Kolache? (pronounced ko-la-chee)
“A Kolache is a Czechoslovakian pastry that is huge in Central Texas where I’m from,” said Autumn Stamford, 32, the café’s owner.
It just so happens that Texas is home to one of the largest Czech communities in the U.S. And in Czechoslovakia – and now, also in Texas – the Kolaches are a staple. Kolaches are soft, slightly sweet buns that look like large dinner rolls, and they can be stuffed with sweet or savory things, such as dried prunes, apricots and cherries, or sausage.
“This is something I was actually raised eating my whole life. But then once Kolaches got to Texas, the Czech Texans started putting sausages in them and beef and eggs and jalapenos, cheese and smoked meats,” said Stamford, who bakes the Kolaches herself at the Brooklyn shop.
Kolaches cost from $2.25 to $3.50, depending upon what’s in them. They come in blueberry, cherry, chocolate and sweet cheese, while the savory varieties might include pepperoni, sausage and bar-b-que beef. But the varieties can change from day to day, depending upon available ingredients and Stamford’s mood to experiment.
Stamford has lived in Bed-Stuy a little more than a year, but she’s been a resident of New York City for eight. Before moving to NYC, she lived in Denver, where she managed and then ended up taking over a coffee shop there.
“And I loved it, but I was really young, and I didn’t really have any real experience, and it was just so extremely intense for that time in my life,” Stamford said. “So I ended up selling it, and then moving to the New York, where I’ve been working for the past 8 years as an operations and customer care manager for a web-based company."
When Stamford began thinking of her next career move, she weighed what she loved most and decided it was when she had her café. Yes, the experience before was intense, but now, she was older and had the business management experience to fill in the missing pieces.
Brooklyn Kolache's expansive interior boasts a minimalist design, with two separate rooms that create separate vibes: One, definitely a standard café feel, while the back area provides a more laid-back, loungy feel. And there’s even a outdoor seating area (still under development) that will be ideal during the summer months.
“Some of the fun things we do, which is really big where I’m from is the Hibiscus Iced Tea and the Cherry Limeade, which is basically a cherry lime soda,” Stamford said.
Brooklyn Kolache also makes breakfast soft tacos (of hash browns, eggs and cheese) and during the cooler months, tortilla soup.
Brooklyn Kolache Co. is open Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Weekend hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“Tomorrow we’re going to try to do some rib Kolaches,” said Stamford. “There’s no limit to what you can do with a Kolache, so we’re going to get as creative as we can with them.”
