This is Shamus Jones. My daughter Sumi took this picture when we were meandering around Park Slope one lovely summer day in 2012, and happened upon a blackboard in front of a factory. After reading it, Sumi and I glanced at each other, and eagerly entered Brooklyn Brine Co., and saw fragrant, spicy, and beautifully scented pickles. Now there are many, many excellent small specialty shops in Park Slope, and somehow there’s always great interest when another one appears. I say appears because that’s the way it seems. You walk down a street and suddenly there’s a new shop – pies, dumplings, the best cheeses, cafes, bistros, coffee you’ll go out of your way to sip, pizzas having the best ingredients and made with love, small ethnic restaurants, etc. that weren’t there a short time ago, and the mind thinks of great eating possibilities – as with Shamus’ pickle factory. Watch the videos at www.brooklynbrineco.com and you’ll see what I mean; listen to Shamus talk about, well, pickles, and that it all began out of necessity when he was laid off from a job. Watch how the “pickle nerds” work, learn how to make homemade dill pickles. Ordinarily one doesn’t get so excited when talking about pickles, though when you check it out, you’ll see that Brooklyn Brine is no ordinary pickle factory. And to boot, the “pickle nerds” seem to enjoy what they do.
Shamus shows us what can happen when necessity is the driving force.