Celebrating youth
at Arthur Ashe Kids Day
at the US Open
Thousands of children of all ages packed the Billie Jean King National
Tennis Center for a day of games, music and much more during “Arthur
LEFRAK CITY COURIER | WWW.QNS.COM | OCTOBER 2018 23
Ashe Kids Day” on Aug. 25.
The annual celebration, held the weekend before the official start of the U.S.
Open tournament, gives children across Queens and beyond the opportunity to
enjoy tennis-themed activities and entertainment.
Tennis stars such as Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal made appearances.
Musical groups CNCO and Echosmith performed for thousands assembled inside
of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Skai Jackson, Alex Aiono and Radio Disney’s Morgan
co-hosted the festivities.
PHOTOS BY DOMINICK TOTINO PHOTOGRAPHY
New Flaming Grill to open at LeFrak City in 2019
»»BY JOSH TOWNER
A massive new buffet with hundreds
of international cuisine
options is coming to LeFrak
City in 2019.
Located on 99th Street at the former
site of Power House Gym in between
Rite Aid and Fashion Home Furniture,
the Flaming Grill and Modern Buffet
will boast an expansive 12,000 square
feet filled with 500 seats, a dozen buffet
bars, a noodle bar, a hibachi grill
area and a sushi bar.
Leon Chen, head of operations for
Flaming Grill, estimates that there
will be at least 350 different food
items available at the new location.
The sushi bar alone will boast 30 to
40 different items, Chen said, and the
noodle bar will feature freshly made
noodles.
“We are going to be feeding a lot of
people in here,” said Chen.
Chen added that he intends to hire
locally, with his estimated staff size
being anywhere between 50 and 80
employees.
The Flaming Grill franchise has
approximately 25 locations already,
and Chen says they are looking to
open even more locations to tap
into the New York market.
“There aren’t any places in
Queens or in New York with a
good price, lots of choices and
good quality food,” Chen said.
Chen has been working with
Flaming Grill franchises for about
12 years. He has specialized in the
East Coast locations, primarily in
New Jersey, and has opened up two
other East Coast franchises of the
Flaming Grill.
Flaming Grill recently opened
up a new franchise in Mount Vernon,
and they have plans to open
more locations in Jamaica and uptown
Manhattan.
While construction on the Le-
Frak City location has not yet begun,
Chen believes that work will
get started within a month, with
an estimated opening date anywhere
from eight months to a year
away.
Photo via Google Maps. The exterior of 58-04 99th St., where the new Flaming Grill and Modern
Buffet is being built.
Photo courtesy of Leon Chen. The interior of a Flaming Grill buffet.