A new Caribbean fusion restaurant called Miss Conduck will open in the former Noni’s location this spring. Emily James and LaToya Franklyn, a Trinidadian mother-daughter duo from Brooklyn, are helming the project.
While they are making some cosmetic adjustments, Franklyn says Miss Conduck will remain “a place where people can come and have a good time.” Draws will include live music, DJs, comedy, karaoke, bingo, trivia, and speed dating. The restaurant has a sports bar, VIP den, formal dining room, and outdoor garden, all of which are available for booking private events.
The restaurant’s name, Miss Conduck, is a double entendre representing James and Franklyn’s idealization of the perfect woman. “She’s the type of woman who conducts herself well, but also can show a little misconduct if you cross her,” Franklyn says. “She knows how to be calm, but also speak up when the situation calls for it.”
Some of the menu items include oxtails, stew chicken, roti, curry, macaroni pie, rasta pasta, callaloo, and Caribbean-themed cocktails. Miss Conduck will serve special brunch items on weekends.
James has more than 35 years of entrepreneurial experience, including a private event space in New York. The duo picked the location for its similarities to their Flatbush Avenue neighborhood in Brooklyn. “Edgewood is where I go to socialize. It made me feel a sense of normalcy during the pandemic,” Franklyn said. “It just feels like home.”
Noni’s finished its 15-year run at the end of October 2023. Steve Jovowitz of Shumacher Group sold the location with a long-term lease in January 2024.
In an interview with Eater Atlanta, owner Noni’s Matt Ruppert cited “pure exhaustion” from traveling between continents and the COVID-19 pandemic’s financial impact on the Edgewood Avenue institution. Ruppert now lives in Amsterdam full-time, and runs Parakeet with his husband, Brooks.
Franklyn said she and James are still connected to Ruppert,…
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