Haitian-flavoured Sweet Sundays Café opens second Brooklyn location in heritage month

NEW YORK, United States. Sweet Sundays Café & Eatery, which began in Flatbush, has opened a second Brooklyn location at 1034 Nostrand Avenue, in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighbourhood.

The café officially opened on Saturday, June 20, bringing its breakfast, brunch, lunch and catering services to a new community. Its owners, Debbie Louis and Felix Cesar, described the timing during Caribbean American Heritage Month as adding to the significance of the milestone.

Menu items at the opening included the Kremas French Toast, Kremas Latte and Kremas Chai Latte. They draw on kremas, or cremas, a traditional Haitian holiday drink made with coconut, sweetened milk, warm spices, citrus zest and rum.

“I can taste the difference, it’s creamier, kind of a thicker sweetness, almost like cake sweetness,” one customer said of the French toast.

A family business

“Two and a half years ago, we opened our doors with a dream rooted in community, culture, and the belief that food brings people together,” the owners said in a statement. They said dishes ranged from New York staples to a Haitian American Griot Panini, and that “every dish we serve represents a corner of our identity.”

“As a husband-and-wife duo, this milestone is a testament to every guest who made us feel at home, every ancestor whose recipes live on in our kitchen, and every flavour that raised us,” they said.

Those attending included Council Member Farah Louis, Debbie Louis’s sister; District Leader Anthony Beckford; Josue Pierre, co-founder of Rogers Burgers; Ethan Norville, chair of Brooklyn Community Board 9; and Randy Peers, president and chief executive of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

“Business ownership is powerful. Today we’re not just cutting a ribbon, we are opening a door of opportunity for the business and for all the people that work here,” Farah Louis said.

Beckford presented the owners with a Certificate of Recognition describing the expansion as “a clear example of business development and Black ownership.” Pierre said Rogers Burgers backed the opening “because we believe deeply in supporting fellow Flatbush-born businesses.”

Against the trend

The expansion comes as residents of Flatbush and surrounding neighbourhoods raise concerns about redevelopment and the closure of longtime small businesses, several of which have shut down or been displaced over the past year.

Against that backdrop, Caribbean Life reported, the café’s growth stands out as a sign of resilience for Black-owned businesses facing rising rents. The owners say their goal remains simple: more coffee, more flavour and more Sweet Sundays for Brooklyn.