Ivy Bakery at Root Hill Cafe: March 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011

A Brief History of Root Hill - 3 Years of Excitement (Birthday!)

In honor of our Birthday we have put together a brief sort of photo history of the locations of our cafe and of our last 3 years in this great neighborhood.

This clipping from July 1976 New York Magazine indicates that it became Joe's Italian Kitchen at one point. Our location seems to have been a Social Club for many many years, which is not surprising considering social clubs used to be very common in the area. In addition to this clipping AllNY.com indicates that this place at one time was called the Silver Bark Social Club. Neighbors in the area confirm this information. Also, two of our owners Michelle & Andrew have an Aunt May who hung out at the place when it was a social club.

Later just before Root Hill was converted into the cafe the location was home to a Family Car servers.

Finally we moved in and started causing trouble.

We got RSVP Architect Studio to come in a create a unique design for the space. Their design was awarded later in 2008 'Best of Year Merit Award' from Interior Design Magazine

During the renovation we painted the covering wood, which we briefly kept during the first year. The mural of dancing coffee cups was done by cartoonist Jennifer Camper.

On April 1, 2008 we thought it'd be a funny prank to open a coffee shop in South Brooklyn, Gowanus.

Then we thought it'd be really cool to add a mural to the side of the building in 2009. The mural was done by Katherine Gressel (check out her site!). You can also, read more on the mural here: The Mural.

Our friend Brian Trzeciak brought our 'roots' inside with this mural on the back wall in 2010. Brain also wrote a great story early called the The Tale of Root Hill, which you can find here.

We then added the Trash Pony Bar sign for our night time venue that open in June 2010.

The blogs over at TrashPonyBar.BlogSpot.com

What's Next?...well something special you can be sure...

We'd like to thank everyone for their continued support over these last 3 years. We are very honored to have such great people visiting our cafe and bar each day. Come by and celebrate with us April 1st; At 8pm one of Root Hill's favorite musicians, Matthew Brookshire, will be playing a few turns.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

A Little About Whoopie Pies

The Treat of Much Debate

Whoopie Pies were also known as Gobs, which according to some originated in Germany. The American version that we know, the Whoopie Pie, has two origin stories: One involves Pennsylvania Amish farmers selling the treat from food carts on the side of the road and the other involves the left overs cake batter from bakers in Bangor, MA. It is unclear exactly when the Whoopie Pie became the "Whoopie Pie", but each state takes credit for it's creation. Maine is so proud of the Whoopie Pie that recently, legislators have sponsored a bill to make the Whoopie Pie the official "treat" for the state. In response Pennsylvania has put out a reward for anyone that can definitively prove the Whoopie Pie's originated in it's state.
We choose not to take sides on this issue. We'd rather just enjoy the delightful desert. Come by and have Whoopie Pie. WHOOPIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Whoopie for the Bearded Man

Monday, March 28, 2011

MoonPie enjoys a cappuccino / make a four legged star today

Celebrity Model and star of Dog Adventures, MoonPie, enjoys a nice cappuccino outside Root Hill Cafe. When not in the limelight Moonpie also likes: walks with designer Lordes Sanchez, eating muffins, and tasting all things that might be bacon.

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Moonpie's animal friends need your help. Unlike Moonpie they are not yet celebrities, but need a good manager to help them become stars of your home movie or home photo shoot.

Muffin loving mutts and other animal friends are looking for managers at both:

Sean Casey Animal Rescue

Tavi & Friends

Help create a star today and give a home to a four legged friend!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

A Zoo of Cookies

Cookie by Margaret Palca Bakes

Yesterday someone bought all of our "chick" cookies. But don't worry. We have a whole zoo of animal cookies that just came in. Let us tell you...their delicious!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Neighbor: Brooklyn Reiki

At 7am your alarm goes off. . . you hit the ground running getting ready for what will be another long day of work. Soon enough you are out the door grabbing a shot of espresso to help get you going. Then the rest of the day it's work work work! By the time you get home your energy is completely gone and you just sink into the couch. You're out of gas… But what does one do about this exhaustion? Well, what about Reiki?. . . Brooklyn Reiki to be exact. Just around the corner from Root Hill, inside the Triomph fitness center, classes are offered to help you get back the strength you need to get through a busy week and a busy life.
But what is Reiki exactly? Reiki in loose terms is a system of empowering stress reducing and relaxation technics that are meant to help with healing and with the strengthening of the self.
Heather Alexander, partner teacher at Brooklyn Reiki, explains:

"think of your inner self or energy as a river, so when we start off it flows very clearly and easily, but over time things happen to us, we develop prejudices, hold emotions and judgments and so our river gets blocked – sticks and stones fall in it, sometimes boulders – then it cannot flow very easily. Practicing the system of Reiki gives us tools to clear the river out again so our energy can flow easily and freely around our body."

Cleaning out the stress inside seems like a pretty darn good idea. The classes offered always start with meditation and move on to the various levels of Reiki. With each level you will be given the tools and education on how to heal and focus yourself. The goal is to bring a physical and mental calmness to everyday life.

To learn more about Brooklyn Reiki head over to: BrooklynReiki.com or stop into the Triomph fitness center at 540 Union Street, Suite 1F, Brooklyn, NY 11215.

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In addition to Brooklyn Reiki Heather Alexander is apart of NewUnderstanding.co, which is an online show featuring ways to bring 'wellness' into ones life. The team of health experts try out different 'wellness' practices and discover how and why these practices help with health and happiness. Check out informative video below or check out their site NewUnderstanding.co