Say it isn’t so, Brenda.

I just called Brenda Chan Casimir, owner of the PS Coffee Tea and Spices on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, to get her reaction to Jake Mooney’s article yesterday about her closing down her lunch business.

Today at noon, her lunch service did not sound closed down. In fact, it sounded very hectic in there and she told me to call back later, which I will do in the hopes of getting the real story from Brenda.

Mooney’s story said that Brenda’s shop, PS Coffee Tea and Spices, will no longer be serving lunch to hungry middle schoolers at MS 51. This is a big lunchtime loss to the kids at MS 51, a school that has a small lunch room, where the kids are allowed to go outside for lunch.

But have no fear. The Times’ story was a tad misleading. By the end of the article, Brenda is quoted as saying that she might rethink the whole idea of closing it down.

I certainly hope so as I was hoping that if OSFO goes to MS 51 next year that she’d get her lunch there just like so many kids do.

I remember hearing that Brenda’s lunch business started by accident. One rainy day years ago, she saw some MS 51 kids standing outside in the rain and she invited them in for some soup.

That evolved into a nice weekday business selling soup and a homemade chocolate chip cookie. The kids line up outside of the store. Once inside, they love the smell of the fresh baked cookies.

It’s certainly one of the best and the healthiest lunch options around. There’s also the pizza place across the street, the bodega and the Bagel store all across the street from the school.

But Brenda’s place is awfully special. Sadly, Brenda may have grown tired of being the lunch lady to  the kids from MS 51. At least some of them. From the Times:

"Some rowdier children were mussing up the store and sometimes stealing,
Ms. Casimir explained. She had always liked the students, but she was
feeling stressed. “If I get an inspector who comes in unannounced and
finds half-eaten pizza stuck behind boxes,” she said, “I’m done for.”"

Brenda’s shop is the last of a breed. Filled floor to ceiling with spices, teas, condiments and more, it has a real country store vibe and is a special neighborhood gathering place. A cracker barrel setting, it’s the kind of place where people can leave their keys, have packages dropped off, or just grab some warm conversation.

It is the real thing. One of those places that takes the bite out of the big city and makes Park Slope feel like a small town.