How much cheaper can the rent be?
Nerd-friendly performance hall Littlefield is closing next month — then opening again at a new location about 10-feet away.
The Gowanus event space is leaving its Degraw Street digs and moving a block south to Sackett Street, all while crowd-sourcing funds for a massive new outdoor space, which will bring a little green to offset the surrounding industrial wasteland, according to co-owner Julie Kim.
“It will be nice to have something really green in Gowanus,” Kim said.
Littlefield — best known for its eclectic suite of regularly scheduled events, including word-play competition Punderdome 3000, the Nerd Nite lecture series, and Drunk Science, where geeks and comedians devour booze and discuss particle physics — has been located on Degraw Street between Third and Fourth avenues since 2009, but couldn’t agree upon a new lease with its landlord.
So it was fortunate that Kim and her partners were able to secure a 10-year lease at the site of an old printing press a stones throw away on Sackett Street.
The new spot is the same size as the old venue, and the crew there are busy sprucing it up with recycled materials, art, and bowling ally counter tops to achieve a familiar Littlefield milieu, albeit, with updated sound and lighting systems, Kim said.
“Aesthetically and design wise it will be very similar with lots of reclaimed material and salvage items,” Kim explained.
Meanwhile, Littlefield purchased another Degraw Street property a few doors down from its current spot where it plans to fill out a barren courtyard with greenery and revelers by June.
Called Parklife, it will also give Littlefield owners a chance to innovate behind the bar, after having a more stream-lined selection for the main space designed to keep lines short during crowded performances.
“At Littlefield, you want ease and high volume, but with Parklife we can experiment a bit more,” Kim said.
The outdoor spot will also feature Mexican cuisine provided by the owners of El Atoradero on Washinton Avenue in Prospect Heights.
The team is a little over halfway to its goal of raising $26,000 as part of its first ever Kick Starter venture with 23 days to go, but they’ve already met their quota for emotional support from locals who included some kinds words with their donation, according to Kim.
“It’s been great, really humbling,” she said. “I’m very appreciative of the support, not just financially, but the really amazing e-mails we got from patrons because of the Kick Starter talking about some great experience they had with us.”
