Cornbread Opens in Brownsville, With a Movie Theater on the Way Next Door. How the Deal Came Together

NEW YORK — A storefront on Belmont Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn, that sat rundown for years now has a restaurant in it, and a movie theater is on the way. Cornbread, the farm-to-table soul food restaurant from entrepreneur, restaurateur and affordable housing developer Adenah Bayoh, opened on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 82-84 Belmont Ave., near Watkins Street, Eater NY reported.

Eater described the opening as bringing one of the city’s most historically underserved neighborhoods its first sit-down restaurant in nearly 60 years, as part of a $3 million investment connected to the city’s Brownsville Plan. The same building is set to house Stuart Cinema & Café, an independent movie theater from founder Emelyn Stuart.

For small-business owners, the interesting part is not only the opening but how the project was put together.

A Restaurant and a Cinema Under One Roof

Cornbread bills itself as “farm to soul,” with a menu built around cornbread, fried chicken and catfish. The Brownsville restaurant is its second in Brooklyn after Crown Heights; its other locations are in Newark, Maplewood and Montclair, New Jersey, according to a NewYorkNews.app recap of the opening.

Stuart, who already runs a theater in Greenpoint, has billed the Brownsville cinema as the neighborhood’s first movie theater in more than 60 years. Her cinema’s website lists the Belmont Avenue location as “coming soon.” No opening date has been announced.

How the Money Came Together

Earlier reporting by BK Reader put the combined restaurant-and-cinema project at $4 million, more than the $3 million figure Eater used; neither report explained the difference. BK Reader said the money came from several sources:

• $2.9 million from the lender Momentus Capital.
• Money from Cornbread itself.
• $200,000 committed by Assembly Member Latrice Walker.

That last piece turned out to matter. Stuart told the Brooklyn Paper that the building’s ceiling was originally too low for a movie theater, and that Walker’s $200,000 grant paid to raise the roof.

The partnership itself started with outreach. BK Reader reported that the project began as “a cold call and email” between Stuart Cinema and Cafe, the Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation and Eda Henries, a partner at Cornbread. The development corporation’s executive director, Brownsville native La’Shawn Allen-Muhammad, connected the theater with the restaurant.

Part of a Bigger Plan

Belmont Avenue has been a focus for the city for years. The city’s Brownsville Plan, published by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development in 2017, paired new affordable housing with efforts to revive the neighborhood’s commercial corridors, including Belmont and Pitkin avenues. The Brooklyn Paper reported that the restaurant and cinema are meant to arrive alongside new affordable housing in the area.

Pricing for the Neighborhood

Stuart has said the Brownsville theater will carry over the pricing from her Greenpoint location. According to BK Reader, that means $8 Wednesdays, a $10 senior ticket and $5 movies once a month for kids in families that receive SNAP benefits. She also described a monthly “mystery day” featuring an undisclosed Black film.

“I wanted to decide what people watch, and I wanted to decide who has access,” Stuart told BK Reader.

Lessons for Owners Eyeing an Underserved Corridor

The Belmont Avenue project is one deal, not a formula, but it highlights several moves other New York owners can learn from:

• Share the space and the risk. Pairing a restaurant with a cinema gives each business built-in traffic from the other, and lets two owners take on a building neither might tackle alone.
• Stack your financing. No single source paid for this project. A lender, the businesses and a public grant each covered part of it.
• Talk to your elected officials. Discretionary money from a local representative solved a specific physical problem, the ceiling height, that could have stalled the project.
• Work with local development groups. The Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation acted as a connector. Groups like it often know which buildings, partners and programs are available.
• Expect delays. The project broke ground in June 2025. The restaurant opened more than a year later, and the cinema is still to come.

Hours for the new Cornbread were not yet listed on its website on opening day, so check its site or social media before you go.

Entrepreneurs Of New York is an independent publication and is not affiliated with Cornbread, Stuart Cinema & Café or the organizations named in this story.