Williamsburg’s Baba Cool (47 Withers St.) is shaking things up this fall. The warm, relaxed restaurant and bar has started the process of rebranding to simply “Baba” with a new logo and Instagram handle.
Baba Cool will be operating “as is” through the end of September and will undergo a more formal change “sometime in October,” according to owner Gabriella Mann.
Mann explained that the rebranded Baba will become a bar du vin, which is known in France as a bar with “flowing wine.” Baba will also have a “tiny” cocktail menu and a Marseille-inspired food menu, plus brunch will still be offered on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The new Baba will be a place to dance, drink, and celebrate, according to Mann. A greater emphasis will be put on events as the locale has seen “more parties and celebrations than anything over the past three years.”
The change may not be extremely noticeable to locals as Baba Cool already has an extensive wine program and is no stranger to revamping the menu. And though the atmosphere, both inside and in the backyard, has always been relaxed, there is an undercurrent of celebratory vibes. (I’m looking at you, disco ball.)
So, why rebrand? Mann told Greenpointers that she “wanted to do something new” and “more time-focused.” She wants the restaurant to adopt a simplified view of drinking and eating, similar to the mindsets of many cafes in France. “My grandma’s from Marseille, and I was there this summer and just kinda love the joie de vivre lifestyle,” Mann said.
As a fan of Baba Cool in its current incarnation, this feels less like a pivot and more like a cash grab: Reduce menu selection, affordability and portions while raising prices and making higher margin on alcohol under the guise of convincing trust fund kids that they’re being whisked away to Provence at the bottom of a wine glass.