Singer/ Songwriter Kendra Morris shares her favorite dive bars, sweet shops and two great junk shops in Williamsburg Photo: Taylor Ballantyne
Singer/ songwriter, Kendra Morris, has lived in the Williamsburg area for years. Although she’s busy recording and performing (see her latest music video, “Nothing,” below), she finds time to explore the neighborhood with her husband and three-year-old daughter, Opal. The small businesses, individuality and sense of community that still exists if you know where to look are a few of the reasons why she loves the neighborhood.
“There are all these cool little businesses, and you never know who you’re going to run into or what’s going to make your path for the day,” she says. “I’ve always liked following arrows into an adventure.” Below she shared a few of her favorite haunts.
Catch Kendra Morris (along with Chinese Man) on Saturday, April 7th at Gramercy Theater (127 E. 23rd St., Gramercy)
Photo: @dokebi
Favorite Restaurants
Two of my favorites are Dokebi (199 Grand St., Williamsburg) and Little Dokebi. They are sister restaurants. My old roommate was Korean and got me really into Korean barbecue.
Photo: @junkbrooklyn
Favorite Shops
I’m a fan of junk shops. I do a lot of collaging and art for my music stuff. Also, I’ve been a long-term collector of weird things, although I’ve run out of room in my apartment, so a lot of it is in storage. There’s a store called The Thing (1001 Manhattan Ave., Greenpoint). It’s this junk shop has been around forever. It’s kind of like the store Junk (567 Driggs Ave., Williamsburg). They’ll get all this stuff out of storage units so you never know what you’re going to find.
Photo: @clems_bar
Favorite Watering Hole
My bar is Clem’s (264 Grand St., Williamsburg), which is a great dive bar that’s been around forever, and it’s got a sense of community. People go there to hang out and run into people that they’ve known forever. There’s always a beer/shot deal. All the bartenders are really nice. There’s always a DJ spinning old soul music or metal.
Photo: @sweethaus
Treats
At this little sweet shop called Sweethaus (135 Metropolitan Ave., Williamsburg), they have a wall of candy where you can just weigh and pay. They’re really good at picking out their candy. I have such a sweet tooth that I know about all the candies. And they have all these amazing cupcakes. And they serve beer and wine there so you can go and have a drink or have dinner there too and chase it with a cupcake or candy.
Photo: @radegast_hall
Nightlife
One of the best neighborhood night secrets is the music at Radegast Hall (113 N. 3rd St., Williamsburg). They have a great selection of beer and the food is good, but the best thing is the music they have there on weekends. They book some of the best funk and soul musicians and have them do nights of entertainment. It becomes a full-on dance party. You wouldn’t expect it, because it’s a German beer hall.
