COURIER LIFE, APRIL 23-29, 2021 33
OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
After more than a year of pandemic
limbo, Downtown Brooklyn’s storied
restaurant Gage & Tollner opened for
indoor dining April 15.
“The moment we’ve all been waiting
for,” the owners wrote on social
media as they cut the ceremonial ribbon
April 15. “Welcome back to Gage
& Tollner, everyone!”
The much-anticipated reopening
comes 13 months after the historic
Fulton Street eatery had to abandon
its planned launch in March 2020 as
COVID-19 ravaged the city. Patrons
will now be able to enjoy a steak or
oyster platter in the nostalgia-inducing
and landmarked cherry-wood
paneled and brass chandelier-lined
dining room.
Owners Ben Schneider, Sohui Kim,
and St. John Frizell painstakingly restored
DINING
the iconic restaurant between
Smith Street and Red Hook Lane,
which fi rst started serving the borough’s
ritziest patrons almost a century
and-a-half ago in 1879, the same
year Thomas Edison patented his
incandescent light bulb (the restaurant’s
lighting apparently wouldn’t
convert from gas to electric until the
1890s).
Frizell also owns the boutique
grocery and café Fort Defi ance General
Store on Van Brunt Street in Red
Hook.
The original owners, Charles M.
Gage and cigar salesman Eugene Tollner,
ran the Victorian eating house
until 1911, when they retired and the
restaurant was passed down to various
owners during the 20th century,
earning the distinction of being “one
of the world’s best seafood restaurants,”
according to a 1952 magazine
award.
The old Gage & Tollner dished up
its fi nal meals on Valentine’s Day of
2004, before shuttering and housing
several businesses over the following
years, including a TGI Fridays,
the fast-food joint Arby’s, and a discount
jewelry store.
The Gilded Age digs were slated
to have a grand opening in March of
2020, but the coronavirus outbreak
forced the owners to cancel Gage &
Tollner’s return. Thanks to a supportive
landlord who charged them
reduced or no rent for several months,
along with support from fans, the restaurateurs
weathered the pandemic
and stayed put.
In February, the owners started offering
takeout and delivery, but they
chose not to do outdoor dining, since
their narrow lot only had space for
two tables — not enough to justify restarting
operations.
Now, fi ne diners can enjoy an array
of classic seafood and meat dishes,
such as East Coast oysters, Maine lobster,
roasted chicken breast, or T-bone
sirloin steak. The drinks menu offers
cocktails reminiscent of the 1940s,
such as an Old Fashioned, a Sloe Gin
Fizz, or a Rusty Nail.
The restaurant will operate at
half-capacity for now, in line with the
state’s coronavirus restrictions, and
will start with dinner service only.
A long time coming
Classic chophouse Gage & Tollner fi nally opens Downtown
Gage & Tollner 372 Fulton St. between
Smith Street and Red Hook Lane Downtown,
(347) 689–3677, gageandtollner.
com. Open Wednesday through Sunday
from 5-9:30 pm.
RESPECT THE CLASSICS: (Left to right)
Some of the fi rst patrons in the historic dining
room at Gage & Tollner. St. John Frizell,
Sohui Kim and Ben Schneider cut the ribbon
for the grand reopening. Joe Bliffen mans the
chilled seafood bar. Photos by Caroline Ourso