According to Crains New York, Park Slope Eatery, a deli-style restaurant on Seventh Avenue and Fourth Street in Park Slope, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday. They’re still open but the clock is ticking.

I was aware that there were problems with the investors in the venture. I knew the place was struggling and it was just a matter of when they were going to pull the plug.

According to Crains, Ataka Taka Taka Inc., the company that owns the eatery owes nearly $95,000 to 18 creditors. They also received a number of sanitary violations from the Department of Health. The restaurant’s letter grade is still pending but that’s a moot point now.

Yet another business on Seventh Avenue bites the dust.

In case you missed it, PS Eatery had steam table fare, breakfast in the morning, bagels, deli sandwiches, salads with your choice of toppings, rotisserie chicken, daily entrees, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and the like.

I got wind of the fact that their business was terrible a few months ago. Apparently it was owned by a group of investors and many of them walked away quite early on. Some of the remaining investors tried to keep it going.

Look, they had a decent location, decent food (basics, nothing fancy) and nice people working there –  but no atmosphere or character at all.

No surprise.

Yesterday for lunch Hepcat and I went to Cheeburger Cheeburger, the new franchise on Seventh Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope. Just open for two days, I was dying to try it. Hepcat was resistant to the bright pink interior but that wasn’t a problem for me. He liked the big windows facing Seventh Avenue, which are good for taking pictures of the street.

The waiter was very friendly, very nice. He brought us our drinks in jam jars that said Cheeburger Cheeburger on them. After studying the menu for well over 10 minutes — there’s a lot to look at, lots of choices, and toppings and ways that you can customize your hamburger (peanut butter?) — we ordered.

The calories are listed next to the items on the menu so I decided against the hamburger and ordered a turkey burger instead. Hepcat ordered a blue cheeseburger with onions.

While we waited some of the staff presented a customer with a cloth sculpture of a cheeseburger because he finished a One Pounder, their 20 ounce burger. In the menu it says, “If you can finish this monster, we’ll take a picture of you and put it on the wall with the other Wall of Famers.”

You’ve been warned: if you ever eat one of those the staff will come out and embarrass you.

While we waited Hepcat wondered about the music, all fifties, sixties and seventies.

“It sounds like everything is speeded up. It’s weird.”

“The place has a real American Graffiti vibe,” I said.

We then tried to remember all the restaurants that have been in that spot. Rex, Nam, Miracle Grill…many escape my memory.

We waited for our food for quite awhile. Hepcat noticed a neon sign that said Same Day Service and kept joking about it.

“It says same day service…”

Our burgers arrived in those plastic baskets they used to have at diners. My turkey burger was very tasty. Hepcat seemed to enjoy his blue cheese burger.

Chee Chee seems to be attracting a big lunchtime crowd. Doctors and nurses from Methodist Hospital were definitely in attendance.

We’ll be going back to try other items on the menu for sure.

I saw the Cheeburger Cheeburger sign and it’s not so bad. Sure, it’s big with a red background and white letters. And I saw inside the place, too. Very retro. The walls are painted pink with 1950′s style diner tables and chairs. There are neon signs on the walls. The counter looks fun. All very Grease, like the waitresses should be wearing poodle skirts and singing, “Summer loving had me a blast.”

I think kids, especially teenagers, are going to like it.

The largest of the warrants is for $112,840 and it dates back to 2008, a year after the restaurant opened. No wonder the prices were so good. They weren’t paying taxes!

The owner told Patch and locals that he’s just sorting things out with New York State. Apparently, he reopened the restaurant last night. If he can’t pay the taxes they can seize the restaurant’s chairs, tables, kitchen equipment and other property.

Better get a payment plan, Scalino. New York  State is very nasty. The Feds are warm and fuzzy compared to them. They can lien all over you and it isn’t pretty.

Here’s Park Slope’s Dan runs a great series called Know Your Bartender and he does great interviews. In fact he interviewed me for an upcoming piece on his blog (know your bloggers?). Here’s an excerpt from his interview with bartender Betty Collins.

When it comes to South Slope bars, there are two categories: those that draw a younger crowd and those that cater to a slightly older demographic. For the former category, Ellis Bar and Black Horse Tavern come to mind. Bars in the latter category also share the trait of having been in the neighborhood the longest, though, and they include Smith’s, Jackie’s Fifth Amendment, and Timboo’s. These old-school bars open earlier, stay open later, draw a fiercely loyal clientele, and are throwbacks to an earlier Brooklyn.

Oeufs la cocotte: 2 Cooks in the Kitchen

Valentine’s Day cookies: Eating the Beats

Chicken parmy: Learning as I Chop

Developing Mile End wholesale brand: Eater

Review of Mile End: NY Times

Given Al Di La‘s reputation for doing no wrong–ask anyone who eats out in my neighborhood–it’s funny that Anna Klinger, its chef/co-owner, would caution that her Anchovy Vinaigrette might be too simple for a Behind the Scenes entry.  It is, in fact, a perfect example of a basic, versatile, but hardly understated pantry item that we like to champion at Purple Kale Kitchenworks.  And, of course, it is Anna’s unflashy but keenly finessed cooking that keeps Al Di La’s Italian food on point.

The new eatery will serve American comfort fare like burgers, pizza and that sort of thing. According to Brownstoner, a pizza oven has been installed.

The challenge of that location is that it’s off the Avenue. That said, Union Street is a major “side” street and there’s loads of pedestrian traffic because of all the stores over there including, Food Co-op, Ellie Herman, yoga classes, and, of course, the Tea Lounge.

Quite a few good restaurants have occupied that space  (Lentos, Bussaco, and others) and it’s a lovely, large interior space.

The PS Brooklyn decor space looks very attractive. Bright white walls with  blue accents, nice light fixtures, black tables and chairs. PS Brooklyn  is set to open on Friday. See you there.

The bar, which was demolished to make way for the Atlantic Yards project and was a central meeting place in the battle against eminent domain abuse, is set to reopen on Friday, February 4th.

Clear your calendar, folks. This is going to be a raucous good time. The fun starts at 5PM and the bar will stay open until 4AM! The new owners want you to know that the entire bar has been created almost exclusively out of re-cycled, found or hand made objects, with next to nothing being purchased “New,”

“The creation of this bar is owed to the hard work of the new owners (all previous staff members), and especially to the generous efforts of other staff members and many a bar regular, who all pitched in,” the new owners write in a press release.

The new Freddy’s, located in the South Park Slope at 5th Ave between 17th and 18th Street, is just one block from the Prospect stop on the R train, and 8 blocks from the 4th Ave and 9th Street stop on multiple trains.

Many items from the old Freddy’s have been transported to the new,  including the original prohibition era red mahogany bar and the old booths and tables. The “Chains of Justice” will still grace the bar as a reminder of their  fight against eminent domain abuse and the power of the community bond.

Also on display: The video art of Donald O’Finn will still be prominently featured. According to the press release, “the decor is unique and vibrant, a mixture of old and new, antique Hollywood Regency chandeliers, steam punk accents, vintage wallpaper as well as handmade erotic wall-paper and permanent art installations from local art stars like Nancy Drew and Steve Pauley. The stamp of co-owner/artist Donald O’Finn is evident almost everywhere you look, from the fish tank sunk into a wall with giant albino frogs to the barn wood wall constructions and oversized gothic frame mounted to a flatscreen TV.”

They’ve got lots planned for the opening. Les Sans Culottes are the headliners and they will go on at midnight. Opening acts include Apple recording artist Brute Force and eclectic world roots band The Magpie kicking things off.

Also on display, an exhibition of glitter and flock paintings by NYC artist Nancy Drew.