Brooklyn Heights' Store A Cook's Companion To Close

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY — The well-loved Atlantic Avenue cookware shop A Cook's Companion will close for good next month so that its owners can spend more time with their family, they said.

Jennifer Baron, 52, who co-owns the 197 Atlantic Ave. spot with her husband, said she's not being pushed out by her landlord but decided to shutter the store after nearly 20 years so she can spend time with her elderly parents, travel more and "slow down."

"It's been a joy in my life to have this store," said Baron, who will still live in Brooklyn after the closing. "We decided to have a great business we're going to close on our terms and do what we want to do for a little while."

Baron first opened the shop in Brooklyn Heights, near the Cobble Hill border, in 1997 selling kitchen supplies from top names like Wüstof and Le Creuset.

She expected it to take months for the business to grow, but instead sold out of her entire stock within the first few days and was forced to close to reorder supplies, she said.

"We took a chance and the community got right behind us," said Baron.

The spot became lovingly dubbed "Brooklyn Panhandlers" by locals and it was voted the best cookware store in the city by the Zagat Marketplace in 2007, New York Magazine reported.

"We’ve been very lucky and we appreciate the positive attitudes of the people that have come in," said Baron. "It's not easy for us."

Baron stressed that — unlike countless other small businesses in the city — the decision to close had nothing to do with her landlord or being able to afford the rent.

"I have fantastic landlords who were kind of enough to help fulfill my dream," she said. "The rent has never been an issue, it has been a great business."

Since she announced to customers the plans to close down, they have been flooding into the store to stock up on items before it goes — with some even crying as they say goodbye, Baron said.

She also found her original business plan for A Cook's Companion and found she was able to check off all its boxes.

"I’ve done it," Baron said. "I have now completed this plan and I should write a new one and see what comes with that."

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