Bed-Stuy Native's New Restaurant Pays Homage To 'Flavor Of Community'

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Lamell Amour knew the minute he found an empty storefront on Malcolm X Boulevard it was the right place to open his own restaurant.

The spot, between Bainbridge and Chauncey streets, was just a short walk from where he grew up, including his childhood home on Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Gates Avenue where his mother still resides, he said.

Despite it being one of the tougher spots to secure in the many his real estate agent showed him, Amour said it seemed too "full circle" to pass up.

"When I found this place I didn’t give up — I kept at it," Amour told Community Board 3 this week. "I wanted something in the space where I grew up."

The new eatery, called Brooklyn Residency, now calls the 346 Malcolm X. Boulevard storefront home. It won Community Board 3's support for a liquor license this week.

Amour said the restaurant will serve up a Southern-Asian-fusion style menu he has curated to the tastes of his neighbors.

"We’re not afraid of changing menus and adding things — going with the flavor of the community," he told the board.

Among the restaurant's specialities will be a full breakfast and brunch menu, burgers, chicken wings, sandwiches and other specialities from a Jamaican and Panamanian chef, Amour said.

The restaurant's liquor license application will ultimately be decided by the State Liquor Authority.

Brooklyn Residency is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on the weekends, Amour said.

The restaurant's staff will also pay homage to the neighborhood. Around 95 percent of employees are Bed-Stuy locals, according to Amour.

"The Brooklyn Residency is home base for me and I want to make it home for the rest of the community," he said. "This is my community."

Check out some photos of Brooklyn Residency here: