Boxed Lunches: Cargo Container-basedRestaurant Docking on North 6th?

We've been watching this one develop for some time now, and finally had a chance to speak to the man behind the curious arrangement of cargo containers at 59 North 6th Street. You'll recall that last spring, a sign appeared, touting a flea market on the lot that never actually occurred.

In January, we noted that the number of freight containers was steadily increasing on the lot we dubbed "Williamsburg Container Port".

Over the summer, we watched as someone brought a crane in to rearrange the steel boxes just-so, then began painting them and cutting huge panels out of the sides - one of which was hinged-up to create a makeshift, if not somewhat precarious, canopy. Finally, in the past month or so, the two cans closest to the street have been populated with brand-new restaurant-grade kitchen fixtures: refrigerators, stainless prep tables, deli cases, etc.

So when we saw a gentleman working in one of the containers last week (still separated from the street by cyclone fence), we had to ask: "Are you opening a restaurant?" To which the gentleman said yes, it should be open in a "couple weeks".

We didn't press. Frankly, this seems so unlikely, we were a little frightened to dig deeper. We'll keep an eye on things at the port and promise to unpack this one as soon as we can.

More views of the future portside eatery here, here and here.