Wandering into LeNell's Ltd. Wine & Spirits in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

JUST WHEN Marlow & Daughters—a cult-worthy locavore-themed butcher shop—opens in Williamsburg, we now find out we’re losing LeNell’s LTD, a similarly passion-inducing wine & spirits shop in Red Hook. The 5-year-old store has built a reputation for carrying hard-to-find bourbons and an emphasis on small, family-owned distilleries and vintners. As of February 20, the store will shutter after losing its lease. We spoke with owner LeNell Smothers about what happened, where she’s going, and some must-grab items.

NYSE: Is losing your lease the result of one of the paradoxes of setting up shop in an emerging neighborhood like Red Hook?
LS: The real estate hype around Red Hook has been a farce in many ways, generated by real estate agents and developers trying to create a sensation that still doesn't really exist. It has been disappointing to many people who come to Red Hook for the first time after reading all the hyped up press. They come in the shop and ask, "Where are all the shops and restaurants? I thought there was so much going on down here."

NYSE: So is it not possible at this point to own a boutique in Red Hook?
LS: The residential population in Red Hook is not dense enough to support small business on its own. Driving cars into a parking lot for Fairway or Ikea is another world from Red Hook small business. While I have had excellent support from customers who live in Red Hook, most of my customers travel from outside the neighborhood specifically to shop in my store.

To be successful in Red Hook means you must be a destination spot or be operating a wholesale business behind the public storefront. Saipua soap shop, Steve's Key lime, and Baked are great examples of that. Tini and Kevin's also have made their income mostly from catering to other locations, not their restaurant/bar walk in business. Elizabeth Demetriou (edemetriou@sbidc.org) from Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corp. is quick to advise potential new businesses in Red Hook of this very thing.

NYSE: Well, what happened?
LS: I have lost my lease. The current landlord is not the landlord with whom I signed a lease originally. My lease expired in May of 2008. He originally said he was putting his own business in the space. However, when we were in court, he said he was going to re-let the space and even threw the figure of $12,000/month out to the judge. For this figure, a business could be in Manhattan near a subway. He had nothing to base this figure on. Through the court process, I was able to extend my time to the end of February 2009.

NYSE: A friend of mine suggested your landlord is living in the pre-recession past.
LS: My landlord is not the smartest stick in the woodpile to let a good tenant go, especially in this economy, with nothing lined up. However, while I built out my space myself and have been a bit emotionally connected to it as my starting point, the building is in horrible shape. There are joists issues causing the floor to sink, we had major ceiling damage from faulty plumbing above in the apartments, the basement floods terribly every time it rains, and recently the Fire Department shut off the heat for over two weeks due to carbon monoxide emissions. I am ready to leave this location and find a better home, debt free and strong, and ready to grow into phase two of my business plan.

NYSE: Will you try and stay in Red Hook?
LS: I have tried my best to stay in Red Hook; however, I am open to finding the best home for the shop. The available spaces in Red Hook have not worked out for a variety of reasons, such as, too close to school or church, landlords' only offering the types of leases that only inexperienced entrepreneurs would sign, etc. I do prefer to do business in Brooklyn.

I am currently negotiating on a space that would be ideal for a tad larger space where I can expand my selections even more and open my bar in a space below the store. This has always been my goal to open my store/bar concept close together. And my dream is to own my next spot so that I do not ever have to go through this landlord nightmare again.

NYSE: Will you be able to retail online in the interim?
LS: I cannot retail online without a physical location approved by the State Liquor Authority. I do plan on expanding my on-line presence once a new storefront has been secured.

NYSE: Any items people should try and snap up, now that they’re learning the shop is closing (at least for a while)?
LS: Wild Turkey American Spirit, a limited edition delicious bourbon. Marteau Absinthe, a beautiful spirit distilled by Gwydion Stone of the Wormwood Society.