Park Slope Loses Coffee Shop As Sweetwaters Closes

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Park Slope’s coffee quaffers should brace themselves for some bitter news.

Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea closed its Fifth Avenue location Sunday.

A sign on the now-shuttered storefront gave the closing date, along with a message of thanks from its owners, Kingsley and JoAnne. They wrote that “increasingly difficult challenges” running the cafe prompted them to permanently close it.

“We’re so grateful for all your support & friendships over the past 3-4 years,” they wrote.

“We’ll definitely cherish the good memories. We apologize for the inconvenience of taking away your favorite spot.”

Sweetwaters is a nationwide chain of cafes that started in Ann Arbor, Michigan that offer what the company calls “globally influenced coffees and teas.”

And, sure enough, since the Fifth Avenue location near Bergen Street opened, customers would be enticed by offerings such as a French Vietnamese Au Lait or the Dragon Eye blend of house coffee with condensed milk.

The closure leaves Park Slope’s java junkies with one less option, although there are several nearby coffee shops on Fifth Avenue and the surrounding area.

Ultimately, Sweetwaters closed because of pandemic pressures and the cost of doing business today, said Joanna Tallantire, executive director of Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District.

“It's a shame,” she said in a statement. “Very lovely people Kingsley and JoAnne, they will be missed.”