Yoga Studio 'Comes Home' To Bed-Stuy With New Wellness Cafe

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — BK Yoga Club may have opened their first studio in DUMBO two years ago, but in a way their home was always in Bed-Stuy.

Bed-Stuy was the neighborhood where owners Alicia Ferguson, originally from New Jersey, and Paris Alexandra, from Minneapolis, both settled when they first moved to Brooklyn more than a decade ago.

It was also, they would find out, where many of their customers were traveling from to take classes at the DUMBO storefront.

"Our community is in Bed-Stuy," Ferguson said. "It just feels like home."

So, when the two were considering reopening a storefront after giving up their DUMBO storefront in the pandemic, it only seemed natural to settle in the neighborhood where they themselves had years ago.

The result is a new "wellness cafe" at 704 Dekalb Ave. that will make its official debut at the Dekalb Avenue Annual Block Party on Saturday.

"We always wanted to be in Bed-Stuy — we trusted the process and this space kind of found us," Ferguson said. "It came full circle."

The cafe, fittingly called On Dekalb, will bring a new vision of the business that Ferguson and Alexandra realized during the pandemic to life.

While pivoting to virtual classes online, they realized BK Yoga Club could be much more than a traditional yoga studio. On top of yoga classes, they began offering neighbors weekly check-ins with a licensed therapist.

"We were looking at our community [thinking], 'What do they need?'" Ferguson said. "We were able to look at our vision of what we were doing outside of those walls in DUMBO."

On Dekalb will similarly tackle the idea of holistic wellness with a mix of yoga classes, a menu of coffee and non-caffeinated alternatives and a shop featuring self-care products like journals, candles, affirmation cards or CBD oils from BIPOC or women-owned vendors, the owners said.

The hope will be to create an atmosphere that grounds the community, they said.

"Coffee shops are always that local watering hole where everyone gets together, where you’re able...to be creative and make connections," Ferguson said.

Saturday's grand opening will include a ribbon cutting at On Dekalb at 2 p.m., free yoga classes starting at 11 a.m. and a line-up of vendors, giveaways and coffee deals, owners said. The block party will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and also include a DJ-led dance party, food and other businesses on the block.

Dekalb Avenue will be closed between Marcy and Tompkins avenues for the occasion.

"It'll really just be a good time for people to connect with their neighbors, for us to connect with the community and to just be joyful," Ferguson said. "We're looking forward to embracing the joy."