Willoughby General Celebrates 5 Years As Street Hosts Block Party

BED-STUY, NY — There's a lot to commemorate on Willoughby this weekend.

The 'best lil' block in Bed-Stuy' will make its way outside Saturday for a block party and potluck, just as Willoughby General celebrates five years on Willoughby and Marcy avenues.

The Red Gate community garden will open and barbecue smoke will fill the air from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., and at Willoughby General, locals can taste the store's brands like Graziella coffee and Onino chili oil.

The block party will also feature a performance from The Opera Next Door.

For Willoughby General owner Lauren Cawdrey, the Willoughby community is what keeps her going even when business gets tough.

Recently listening to the Cheers theme song, Cawdrey realized, 'that's what we do' at Willoughby General, she said.

"It provided a platform for me to connect with my community," Cawdrey said. "You really get to know people, which is special."

Years of sidewalk sales, brief and intimate conversations with neighbors and getting to know little details about people's lives has made Cawdrey's long-time residence in Bed-Stuy feel even more like home.

"That kind of stuff, that's so special," Cawdrey said.

Cawdrey is entering Saturday's party down a number of employees and struggling to keep up with the pace of the business, she said.

But she never doubts owning Willoughby General is the right path.

A huge part of that confidence is her daughter, who Cawdrey pictures giving a picture-perfect childhood, she said.

Cawdrey said her daughter learned how to count restocking inventory, and now is learning other skills like customer service and retail systems — all for the very yummy pay of day old pastries.

"A big part of the romantic idea of being the shopkeeper is to show her how to run a business and work hard for what you want," Cawdrey said. "She does her homework in the window with a cup of hot chocolate and it feels so special to play this role."

The block party is still in need of volunteers and seeking donations to help make the vent a hit — and there's still time to enter Willoughby General's raffle for bundles of the goods it sells.

Saturday also marks a more emotional anniversary — one year since the knockdown of 441 Willoughby, a 125-year-old building demolished on July 21, 2022 despite community pushback.

Political projection collective The Illuminator, responsible for a projection in May that read "the rent is too d---n high," will project an image of the Dangler mansion on its former site, 441 Willoughby Avenue.

The commemoration is sure to be emotional for neighbors who still remember the dramatic demolition, Cawdrey said, but it's also a good rallying cry for locals to get involved, especially as the fate of more Bed-Stuy blocks hangs in the balance.