COVID-19, TWO YEARS LATER
American Brass in Long Island City welcomes restaurant industry’s return to normalcy
BY JENNA BAGCAL
American Brass in Long Island
City is ready to welcome
back all Queens diners after
COVID-19 upended New York’s
restaurants two years ago.
According to owner Robert
Briskin, the restaurant at 2-01
50th Ave., featuring top-rated
chefs and gorgeous views of
the city, is gearing up for some
“normalcy” as the weather
starts to warm up.
“After this entire rollercoaster
for two years, we’re
finally hoping for some normalcy,”
Briskin said. “We’re
seeing signs of it and with the
better weather, we hope that it
comes. I would say New York
City restaurants are not out of
the woods yet but we’re hoping
that spring brings that for us.”
But the restaurateur recalled
that the journey to normalcy
was an uphill battle.
Challenges for American Brass
Prior to American Brass
officially opening in March
2020, Briskin said that the restaurant
was making its final
preparations — hiring 60 staff
members and holding special
friends and family events. At
the time, he said that the city’s
leaders were encouraging
“business as usual.”
On opening day, Briskin
said that they received a liquor
delivery in the morning,
opened at 5 p.m. and then were
forced to shut at 8 p.m.
“We were open for three
hours and we already knew it
was shut down, so it was kinda
like all for nothing. So that was
very disappointing,” he said.
American Brass quickly pivoted
to make accommodations
for the subsequent mandates
that posed several challenges.
“Of course, the virus took
precedence and we knew
people were suffering, so we
shut down and did it gladly to
save lives. We offered takeout,
which is not something we
were planning for. We quickly
ramped up for that but takeout
and employing enough people
and keeping a space this size
was just a recipe to lose $10,000
to $15,000 a week,” Briskin said.
In June 2020, the city allowed
restaurants to have outdoor
dining, a measure that
Briskin said was working to
an extent. In bad weather, he
found that diners were choosing
to eat on Long Island, which
allowed indoor dining when
New York City did not.
When American Brass was
finally able to resume indoor
dining, Briskin recalled that
the city implemented its infamous
curfew, limiting the
amount of time when restaurants
could make a profit. So
the restaurant pivoted once
again and built 34 heated outdoor
spaces, which helped the
restaurant “thrive” for a time
before the omicron variant hit
the city.
“Omicron was a complete
disaster because for the first
time in two years, staff was actually
getting sick. We almost
had to shut down and of course,
customers dropped by 80%.”
A brighter future
But Briskin said that after
tumultuous two years, things
are finally starting to look up.
On March 7, 2022, the city
announced its decision to lift
the vaccine mandate, meaning
that patrons are no longer
required to show proof of
TIMESLEDGER | Q 6 NS.COM | MARCH 18 - MARCH 24, 2022
vaccination.
“We’re happy that it was removed.
If people are claiming
to follow the science, then you
have to remove it because vaccinated
people get and spread
omicron just as easily. We’re
happy to start putting the virus
in the rearview and we’re
happy to welcome people back
from Queens who were going to
Long Island this whole time,”
Briskin said.
The owner added that
American Brass will also remove
all of its COVID-19 safety
measures that were previously
in place but they plan on continuing
to check on their staff’s
health.
“We check our staff, we
make sure nobody’s sick or
coming to work sick,” Briskin
said.A
s patrons return to American
Brass, Briskin said that
the restaurant is offering an
expanded menu, with a kitchen
led by Michelin-starred chef
Kevin McGinley, who earned
the prestigious award while
working as the chef de cuisine
at Bâtard in Manhattan.
“We have incredible food.
We just added a whole steak
program with New York’s best
butcher, DeBragga, so we now
offer four cuts of steak, sides
and some sauces along with
composed dishes that are all
Photos courtesy of American Brass
worth a Michelin star,” Briskin
said. “And I believe our chicken
is worth two Michelin stars.”
Two other key members
of American Brass’ kitchen
are the chef de cuisine Chris
Lewnes, who previously
worked at Augustine in the
Financial District, and the “super
talented” pastry chef Ellen
Scariati.
“So, there’s serious firepower
in that kitchen, for sure,”
Briskin said.
Ultimately, Briskin said
that he’s looking forward to
“getting our people back” at the
restaurant.
“American Brass is putting
out some of the best food
in New York City. We have a
lot of famous chefs that come
and eat at our place every two
weeks. For people who understand
food, this is always at the
top of their list. And we have a
beautiful location with beautiful
views and we want to reach
out to our people who are living
deeper in Queens to come back
to Long Island City and enjoy
a great meal with us,” Briskin
said.
/NS.COM
