Located on the corner of 40th street and 3rd Avenue Frankel's is probably the oldest business establishment in Sunset Park by far. I can't think of any long time resident in the nabe who isn't familiar with Frankel's and hasn't met it's current owner and family caretaker Marty Frankel. The business was founded in 1890 by Adolph Frankel. It was on the other side of third Avenue but moved to it's current location when the Gowanus Highway was built. The store is ever changing with the times and fashions. When I first moved into the nabe in 1970 I was into cowboy boots and Frankel's was the only store in Brooklyn at the time that carried them. I still have a pair of lizard skin Dan Post boots that I bought from them. I visit the place often and I suspect that if I live another hundred years the place will still be there. Son Erik Frankel is based in Vietnam these days running factories and computer programming facilities among other things. If you've never been there it's worth the visit. It's like going back in time and you will step into an institution that is almost as old as the neighborhood. When you go there tell Marty I sent you..
The view from another blog: One More Folded Sunset: Frankel's
