BK9
Photos courtesy of BK9
When the Barclays Center opened in his native Park Slope, Gary Casimir saw an opportunity to be part of the neighborhood’s inevitable change. He bought a former storefront church around the corner from where he grew up and took a chance on himself, converting the building into the “modern Caribbean cuisine” spot BK9. And he brought eight of his childhood friends with him for the venture. (That throwback pic above? It’s the rest of the “Brooklyn Nine” crew back in the day).
“We wanted to bring together food from the different countries our parents hailed from — Jamaica, Trinidad and Haiti,” says Gary, 50, adding that many of them had past experience from working at restaurants, bars and country clubs before opening BK9 in 2015. “There were a lot of takeout places when we were growing up, in terms of Caribbean food, and we wanted to create an inviting space where you could come enjoy it with friends and family.”
“We wanted to bring together food from the different countries our parents hailed from — Jamaica, Trinidad and Haiti.”
At BK9, authentic flavors are key, and presentation matters just as much. “At a lot of the Caribbean spots growing up, they would just throw the rice on the plate, add a protein and a vegetable,” says Gary, who also assists in the restaurant’s kitchen. “Here we bring a little more ‘pop’ to it through technique and beautiful plating.”
With BK9’s standing as Lizzo’s favorite Caribbean restaurant in all of Brooklyn (post-quarantine, you just might see her stop by), the flavors of their vibrant, cross-cultural dishes are just as satisfying. Representing staples from Gary’s Haitian heritage and his business partners’ Jamaican and Trini roots, the menu puts unique spins on the classics.
Crowd favorites include the pork griot with diri djon djon (black mushroom rice), green plantains and pikliz (BK9 adds mango to their version of this pickled vegetable relish); miso broiled salmon with callaloo and farro; jerk chicken with cabbage, rice & peas and plantains; oxtail empanadas; oxtail hash over grits; seared sea scallops with golden lentils and vegetable rice; and cod & cassava cake with pikliz and mango chow.
“We’ve always been a place you go to experience, so coronavirus has devastated what we do,” Gary says, though BK9 has shifted its focus to delivery and takeout amid shelter-in-place orders. “But one of the nice things is how the community has come out.”
Actor and Brooklynite Jeffery Wright recently organized #BrooklynForLife, a fundraiser that’s buying meals for Brooklyn hospital and EMS workers from local restaurants, and the group has purchased meals from BK9 for frontline workers at Park Slope’s Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. The Metropolitan Black Bar Association is supporting BK9 and health care workers with a similar effort.
“That has helped us out a lot,” Gary says. “I’m honored by the support I’ve gotten from my community, without any waver.”
A native of Park Slope, Gary is also honored to own a business there. “I’m very proud of the neighborhood that I grew up in — and this has *always* been a good neighborhood,” he says, bristling at notions that gentrification is what made Park Slope worthwhile.
“I miss some of the people I grew up with who can’t afford to live here anymore. Being able to come home and open something that has been successful brings me a lot of pride.”
62 5th Ave, Brooklyn, 718-789-2176, bk9.nyc
