Walking in a Winter Wonderland! Owners of Bay Ridge restaurant Skinflints have decided to leave up their now famed holiday decorations until the third week of January.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
The holiday season 2023 might be a wrap, and while many businesses have taken down their Christmas decorations, it is still a winter wonderland at Skinflints on Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge.
Christmas enthusiasts who already miss the twinkle and glitter are in for a treat when they visit the neighborhood favorite because Skinflints, which has been in business since 1975, has opted to keep the decorations up until the third week of January.
Gerard Bell, who co-owns Skinflints with Billy Gardella, said putting up the decorations with their team members Freddy and Chico took four weeks.
“Why keep it up so long? Just because it’s beautiful,” Bell explained. “It took so long to put up; we just don’t want to take it right down again.”
The decorations range from colorful red and green lights — which owners say will be repurposed on Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day — tinsel and ornaments, to three train sets chugging above diners along the walls. In the bar area, the train passes over replicas of the Verrazano and Brooklyn bridges.
The train set in the dining room reminded Bay Ridge residents Roberta Simpson and her husband, Dave Simpson, of their grandson.
“We gave a train set to our grandson just like that 20 years ago,” Dave said.
The Simpsons are regulars and stopped by for dinner and to enjoy the Christmas decorations.
“I took my Christmas decorations down early and looked around the house today and said, ‘I need a little more Christmas,’” Roberta told Brooklyn Paper.
The community staple is still a place where everybody knows your name, and locals mingle with national and international tourists, enjoying American fare at reasonable prices after visiting the Dyker Heights Christmas lights.
“Every…
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