A café in Brooklyn brings the taste of the Caribbean to local patrons.

Allison Dunn says she spotted a vacant storefront on Flatbush Avenue last summer and jumped on the opportunity.

She opened Hibiscus Brew during the pandemic, and the shop has been flourishing ever since.

Dunn also runs a home organizing business, but says it was halted due to the pandemic.

She works and lives in the community. She says she wanted to offer a service that her neighbors would appreciate. So in September, she opened up the shop.

Dunn was heavily influenced by her childhood in Jamaica. She wanted to bring some of those traditions to the cafe.

“Some people say sorrel, some people say hibiscus, it's the same thing and we basically steep it in water and ginger, and you have this really good drink that in the Caribbean we normally drink that around the holiday time,” Dunn says.

Dunn also created the ambiance to match.

"Even if you look at the foliage outside, it's very tropical and that's something that I try to represent from the island,” she says.

Dunn is crafting a special food menu which she hopes to bring to the store soon.