Tillie's

It was previously owned by a neighborhood character named Tillie Asnis , whose portrait still hangs at the center of Tillie's scrawled menu on the wall.

Not for a Lack of Love Sumathi Reddy 2011

As the neighborhood's literary and artistic scenes blossomed, Tillie's became a meeting place, a de-facto community center.

Not for a Lack of Love Sumathi Reddy 2011

For Ms. Miller, a 29-year-old Pennsylvania transplant who came to New York 10 years ago to attend Pratt, Tillie's has been responsible for the "unlikeliest" of relationships.

Not for a Lack of Love Sumathi Reddy 2011

When Tillie's opened, rent was a mere $1,500 a month, a cup of coffee $1.25 now it's $1.95.

Not for a Lack of Love Sumathi Reddy 2011

And as Fort Greene went the way of much of brownstone Brooklyn, from a working-class, predominately black, neighborhood to the hot spot it has become today, Tillie's held on, its clientele slowly shifting.

Not for a Lack of Love Sumathi Reddy 2011

The coffee at Tillie's in Fort Greene was never the draw.

Not for a Lack of Love Sumathi Reddy 2011

One was Khalil Curtiss , a former barista at Tillie's who is part of an African percussion band that has performed there numerous times.

Not for a Lack of Love Sumathi Reddy 2011

"I don't know how I would have met them if it were not for Tillie's," she said.

Not for a Lack of Love Sumathi Reddy 2011

Gracie Connell is excellent in the small role of Tillie's odiously smug competitor at the science fair, and Harriet Oser, who plays the Hunsdorfers' senile boarder, is heart-catchingly memorable without saying a word.

The Edge of Hopelessness Terry Teachout 2012

Tillie's is not particularly old by New York standards.

Not for a Lack of Love Sumathi Reddy 2011