28 | BOROMAG.COM | FEBRUARY 2014 Interview + Image Lizabeth Nieves I started my first restaurant when I was 5 years old in my backyard. I would make scrambled eggs with toast and cheese, and serve them to my friends before I got on the bus. My mom thought it was funny, so she let me do it. I started off washing dishes and bussing at a small restaurant in Arizona when I was 13. I went to culinary school when I was 16. I knew I wanted to do something in the restaurant industry. I just didn’t know what. I probably should have gone to business school. After graduating from culinary school at 19, I worked in a hotel for the room service division, and decided that I wanted to work face to face with people. I transferred to the nightclub in the hotel. It was one of the hottest bars in Chicago, called the J Bar, in the James Hotel. This company trained me from the ground up. At 21 I moved to NYC and transferred one of their restaurants. I got tired of Brooklyn and moved to Astoria. I got involved with Hell Gate because the previous owners wanted to get out of the game. They had owned it for 8 years. They were looking for somebody to take it over. Part of the draw for us was that Hell Gate had been an institution in Astoria for so long. I wanted to work in Astoria as part of a larger goal of invigorating Astoria—especially the West side of Astoria. This was the perfect jumping off point. This is why I didn’t change the name. The name itself is part of preserving the history. My inspiration for the menu is pacific coastal surf snack. I want to offer food that has your Cantonese American favorites with a Polynesian twist. All the recipes come from my mind. I’m kind of wearing every hat. I think in the future we have a lot of moments for expansion. I don’t always see myself running the kitchen and the bar. We are looking for the laid back attitude of the surf bar, with the Polynesian and Pacific inspiration for the drinks and the food. Although it’s called Hell Gate Tiki, we think of it as a surf lodge with a pacific twist. Jeremy Osslund, new chef-owner of Hell Gate Tiki Spring and summer should be exciting. We want to do some work in the backyard and bring in some tents and make it have more of a tropical feeling. Right now we are focusing on a monthly burlesque show that’s been a great success. We do a lot of Pig Roasts, and we have a hot sauce expo February 10th, where all local bartenders can compete, and then the winners go to the NYC Hot Sauce expo and compete on a national level. All of our events are designed to bring the community into the restaurant. We will be doing what I believe is Astoria’s first whiskey festival, and we are planning on doing Astoria’s first beer festival as well. The idea behind all our events is not to take ourself so seriously, but to deliver a quality experience. I think Hell Gate had a long history of community based events in the past. Even though there is a change in the culture we are going to have, I don’t think that it changes what a bar like this stands for in the community. As a stepping stone for me, it really needs to be more community based. It’s all about trying to grow and support locally, and that’s why Astoria is the place—because it already has it in its bones. Hell Gate Tiki 12-21 Astoria Blvd., Astoria, NY 11102 www.hellgatetiki.com FOOD & DRINK Passes the Tiki Tor ch The torch of ownership at Hell Gate Social has been passed on to Jeremy Osslund, who also takes on the role of chef. The space will keep the Hell Gate name, but has transitioned from ‘Social’ to ‘Tiki’. Lizabeth Nieves sat down with Osslund to discuss the reincarnation of Hell Gate Tiki.
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