It’s Gage on!
Restaurateurs forge ahead with Gage and
Tollner revival after inking lease for space
BY JULIANNE CUBA
The three restaurateurs who last year
announced plans to revive Downtown’s
venerable chop house Gage and Tollner
plan to open their second coming of the
bistro this fall, after recently inking a
lease on the historic dining room.
The trio previously launched a fundraising
drive to collect cash needed to
rent the space, and locking in enough
money to seal the deal on their plan
was a surreal feeling, according to one
of the entrepreneurs.
“Oh my god, I’m so excited. It’s literally
the chance of a lifetime, a dream
come true,” said St. John Frizell, the
owner of Red Hook restaurant Fort
Defi ance, whose fi rst name is pronounced
“sin-jun.” “I’ve been thinking
about and working on this actively
for 18 months, but I never thought I
would have the opportunity to work
on a project of this magnitude. I’m just
overjoyed.”
The iconic Brooklyn eatery known
for its gas lighting and signature
dishes such as turtle soup opened in
1879, and closed in 2004, more than
a century after it moved to Fulton
Street between Pearl and Jay streets
in 1892.
Following the restaurant’s closure,
the space — whose cherry-wood andmahogany
interior with mirrored
walls and chandeliers is a city landmark
— became a TGI Fridays , an outpost
of fast-food joint Arby’s , and most
recently, a costume jewelry store until
2016 .
But now, Frizell and his husbandand
wife partners Ben Schenider —
the owner of Red Hook eatery Good
Fork, who said the trio may name their
revival something other than Gage
and Tollner — and Sohui Kim, who
will run the new restaurant’s kitchen,
are hard at work breathing new life
into the space, using the $400,000 they
raised and another hefty check they
received from investors.
And any deep-pocketed supporters
who have yet to pitch in still can, according
to Frizell, who said the trio
will collect cash through Feb. 28 or until
they rake in $500,000.
“That was our minimum goal,
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BRINGING IT BACK: (Top) From left, restaurateurs
Ben Schenider, Sohui Kim, and St.
John Frizell are moving forward with their
second coming of the iconic restaurant.
(Above) An archival photo of Gage and Tollner’s
landmarked dining room.
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$400,000,” he said. “Reaching our minimum
allowed us to sign a lease.”
The restaurateurs plan to serve up
many of the iconic bistro’s classic land
and sea dishes — the latter being especially
remembered by onetime patrons,
according to Frizell.
“Although it always had chops and
steaks on the menu, many people remember
Gage and Tollner being a seafood
restaurant,” he said. “The things
we hear that people want back are
specialties like she-crab soup, broiled
clam bellies.”
Before they can reopen the fabled
dining room’s doors, however, the local
community board must review
their plans, which also must be signed
off on by the Landmarks Preservation
Commission due to the interiors’ protected
status.
But Frizell assured that he and his
partners don’t plan to change much,
because they want to ensure their version
of the eatery retains the original’s
singular spirit, which kept customers
coming back for generations.
“We’re not really trying to do something
brand new, just build on what’s
already there,” he said. “Restaurants
play an important part in people’s
lives, it’s a place that’s not your home,
and not your work, but where you
gather with friends and family. People
want to continue to share the experience
of eating there with the generations
of their family that are around
now, and they will be able to do that
again.”