Fort Defiance - Restaurant & General Store - Closing Dec 3, 2023

By The Red Hook WaterStories team

From @fortdefiance:

It's with a heavy heart that we announce that after almost 15 years of operation, Fort Defiance will close. Our last dinner service will be December 3, 2023.

Don't ask why we're closing — ask how in the hell we managed to stay open for as long as we did. The answer to that question is simple. It was thanks to our devoted guests, who found comfort and delight at our tables; and to the many extraordinary people who worked in our kitchen, on our floor, and behind our bar, who devoted their working lives to making Fort Defiance a home away from home for the people of Red Hook, Brooklyn, and beyond.

Our final hours are posted on our website (in short, we're open this weekend, Nov. 24-26, and next weekend, Dec. 1-3) and we hope to see many of you over the next few weeks. We also hope to find someone wonderful to take over this lovely space, on the best corner in the neighborhood — send inquiries to info@fortdefiancebrooklyn.com.

And watch this account over the next few weeks — we'll be posting recipes of some of your favorite Fort Defiance dishes and drinks, so you can celebrate the memory of this great good place with your friends and family, wherever you are. If you have any photos or memories of Fort Defiance that you'd like to share, please send them to us and we'll post them. :)

Thank you all, for everything.

Fort Defiance started life in 2009 as a restaurant. During COVID it transitioned to a general store/ gourmet restaurant. These days it is both, with a store on Van Brunt Street and bar/restaurant with an entrance on Wollcott Street.
Online ordering is available from both the store and the restaurant.

Restaurant & Bar Hours (menu)
Monday, Wednesday - Friday 5 pm – 11 pm
Saturday - Sunday 11 am – 11 pm
Closed Mondays & Tuesdays

Store Hours
Monday - Friday 8 am — 7 pm
Saturday - Sunday 10 am — 7 pm

Address:
347 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Contact
(347) 457-5082
info@fortdefiancebrooklyn.com

Website:
fortdefiancebrooklyn.com

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Fort Defiance (@fortdefiance) • Instagram photos and videos

Some history of the place:

In summer 2021, they moved to a new location, just a block north on Van Brunt, the former site of the Copper Pot and Hope & Anchor. However, they are only running the gourmet grocery store as the NYS Liquor Authority is giving them a Kafkaesque runaround and denying them a permit, despite the fact that they only moved one block and there had been 12 other liquor permit renewals at this address.

They offer:

"Organic produce, well-sourced fish and meat, fresh bread baked on premises, delicious prepared foods, rotisserie chicken, cold wine, beer, and cocktails, and more."

[Previously, Fort Defiance was located at 365 Van Brunt]