Columbia Street may be poised to become the next Smith Street, says the Brooklyn Paper.

With abundant space, cheap rent, and waterfront views the Paper says that the time may be right for the street to explode in popularity.

In March, the industrial waterfront stretch will be home to the Brooklyn outpost of Pok Pok, Portland’s popular Thai street food shop, famous for their fish-sauce chicken wings. Chef and owner Andy Ricker told Grubstreet in October that the space would have a large backyard that he hopes to use year-round.

Italian restaurant Casa Di Campagna opened in June on the street, boasting a big backyard patio and space for two bars. Both pizza chef Frank Gurdascione and kitchen chef Francesco Martinelli, were born in Italy, and learned to cook there before coming to Brooklyn.

Beloved bar Moonshine may have shut its doors in it’s original space, but is reopening next door in a new space inside the Jalopy Theater, as the Big Time Jalopy Tavern and Grill. A Facebook post from last month confirmed that they have installed their new booths.

The Paper says that an upscale diner called Water’s Edge will be opening on Columbia Street soon, too.

Besides bars and restaurants, in the past year Columbia has hosted a community street fair and rallied for 35 new bike racks. Designs were recently unveiled for the new Columbia Street Waterfront Park, as well. 

But the Paper says that the street still has some major obstacles to overcome before it becomes a real destination: poor public transit options, construction noises from the Gowanus Canal’s cleanup effort, as well as icy winds from the water during the winter months.

“People stop coming when it’s cold — and you can’t be a six-month-a-year business,” Anthony Capone, owner of Mexican restaurant Alma, told the Paper.

What do you think? Will Columbia Street ever become a hotspot on par with Smith Street?