Iris Cafe sees victories amidst challenges, by Brian Abate

Upon entering Brooklyn Bridge Park, there is a big, gray building off to one side that says Iris Cafe Town Market at 125 Bridge Park Drive. Inside there is a restaurant with wooden walls and a great view of the waterfront, and a market in the back.

The owners of the Iris Cafe, Radi, and Beatriz Hamdan were kind enough to talk to me about their journey to Brooklyn Bridge Park, the challenges they face, as well as the best parts of their work.

“I always wanted to open up a sandwich spot, and I kept looking for the right location until I found a spot on Columbia Place off of Joralemon,” Radi Hamdan said. “I only had a few dollars, so I could only afford the last store in the middle of the block. At the time, I was still working overnight at Hunts Point delivering fruits and vegetables, so I couldn’t open the place without the right help.

“I met a lady, and I told her about the place and she decided to work with me, and we opened the place together. I wanted to do roast beef and mozzarella, I wanted to serve Manhattan specials, and little cokes in the bottle, and she wanted to do granola, avocado toast, and quinoa, so we met in the middle. We opened up in 2009.”

New York Magazine wrote an article naming Iris Cafe as the best cafe In New York for 2010, and from there, business took off.

Additionally, people would frequently come in, and ask for things like sugar or lemons. Hamdan then took on the place next door to the cafe and turned it into a bodega. Next, he added a bar, and then table service, and dinner service.

“Even though things kind of exploded after the story in New York Magazine and we became a really big brunch spot, it was tough to make a profit because I had to make such a big investment at the beginning,” Radi Hamdan said. “It takes you time to even see a dollar, and by the time I started seeing a dollar, the lease was up.

“They approached me at the current location about moving here, and it took about two years of negotiating. Unfortunately, after we had everything worked out, COVID hit, which delayed us another two years. We finally opened about two years ago, and we’re still working towards getting to our full capacity. I grew up here, and I always wanted something in the neighborhood.

The old location closed in 2019, and the new location opened up in 2022.

“My dad had this store in what’s now Dumbo, and we used to take Furman St. and pass by this building going home,” Radi Hamdan said. “We would get stuck at the light and I would tell my father ‘I like that building.’ I always wanted a spot in the building.”

While Radi Hamdan grew up in the neighborhood, Beatriz Hamdan is originally from Florida.

“I originally came to New York because I got a job offer working in fashion. My father was actually a chef, and I grew up in a restaurant my whole life,” Beatriz Hamdan said. “When I first met Radi, he had just signed the lease at the old location. So even though I always said ‘I never want to end up in a restaurant again’ when I was growing up, here we are!”

Though they are both happy with their work, they also spoke about some of the challenges they face.

“Part of the challenge is keeping good people because everyone you hire is young and working towards other goals,” Radi Hamdan said. “Another challenge is finding the balance between keeping the customers happy, and the employees happy. I love the location but it’s tough because being in a park, you’re only busy when the weather is nice. You only get that business for three, maybe four months per year. You face a lot of higher expenses, which is why people charge more to stay in business. I charge less, and I view it as an investment that over time will be worth it.

“You also have the moral questions of what to do when someone comes in here, stealing, and on one hand you need to stay in business but you also don’t want to call the cops and get people arrested. So you’re stuck between trying to do the right thing and trying to protect your business.”

Despite the challenges, the positives outweigh the negatives for the owners of the Iris Cafe.

“It’s great seeing people come in, and it’s really nice seeing customers from the other location coming back to us now,” Beatriz Hamdan said. “It’s rewarding seeing people support us and being happy that we’re here.”

“The best thing is being here, and being able to provide convenience for people who don’t have other places they can go to around here,” Radi Hamdan said. “I started off as a truck driver and it took time to build this. We don’t live luxurious lives or live lavishly; we just want to survive. As long as we can do that and still keep this place, we’re happy with that.

“I’ve been very lucky to have a great landlord, and without them, I never could have done this. They’ve worked with me to keep this place going, and without them, I would’ve been looking for another job. And I definitely could not have done this without my wife. She stepped up at a time when I was struggling to find the right people and get the right help. Without her, this would never have been possible.”