Headliners: Business Owner and Resident, Gaia DiLoreto

Gaia DiLoreto opened at the end of last month, and the store has been getting rave reviews ever since.

The longtime Cobble Hill resident had the idea for the shop, which sells only goods produced in the county of Kings, last summer.

She was reading about Brooklyn Honey on Nona Brooklyn, the collective website for locavore restaurants, bakeries and food producers, when "a lightbulb went off."

"I thought, "Why can't I find all these wonderful things in one place?'" she said.

The seed for By Brooklyn was planted.

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Questions for Gaia DiLoreto

1. What do you like best about the neighborhood?

I like the diversity and the small-town feel. The businesses, the people, the socio-economics... I love that there's still the generations old Italian community, the newcomers, the artists, the old-school Puerto Rican community... I love it all!

2. Currently, what is your favorite restaurant in the neighborhood?

Currently, my favorite restaurant is -- it's so hard! Currently, it's . Their chili marinated shrimp over cheese grits is phenomenal. It's like a lime chili marinade and oh, it's so good.

3. Where do you like to shop for food?

I shop everywhere! I go to for meat, 's for cheese, for fish, that's what I love about this neighborhood. I can go to all these shops. Oh, and duh! The Carroll Gardens Greenmarket!

4. Are you afraid of the Gowanus Canal?

No. (Laughs) I've been canoeing on the Gowanus! I think it's great what's being done to reclaim it.

5. What's the best (or worst) change you've witnessed during your time in the neighborhood?

The worst, i'm gonna say, is the . Every once in awhile they come and take a bunch of dirt. In general, the abandoned developments are the worst. Also the