March 6–12, 2020 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 7
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The second serving
Historic Gage & Tollner returns on March 15
Photos by Bill Roundy
The eats of March: Ben Schneider and St. John Frizell, co-owners of
Gage & Tollner with chef Sohui Kim, are ready to welcome guests to
the restored chophouse on March 15. The restaurant will serve classic
cocktails from a marble-topped bar.
DINING
Whole-you care. Now available from our
new health care providers.
Dr. Alabi cherishes her family, her garden, and
community friendships. She invests time in
getting to know her patients, so she can help
them be the best they can be.
Dr. Saymeh loves spending time with family,
and she’s challenging herself to learn guitar.
She loves to help patients understand their
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CARING FOR THE WHOLE YOU.
Dr. Nada Saymeh
Family Medicine
Dr. Olutoyin Alabi
Internal Medicine
Dr. Matthew Jackson
Internal Medicine
Dr. Jackson loves cooking and deep-water
sportfishing—and, naturally, eating fish! He
believes in quality over quantity and works to
make every patient visit meaningful.
By Bill Roundy
Brooklyn Paper
The classic spot is back!
Brooklyn’s most beloved 19th
century chophouse will return next
week! Gage & Tollner, which closed in
2004 after 125 years serving oysters
and steaks to Kings County’s ritziest
residents, will open again as a restaurant
on March 15. At a preview event on
Sunday for friends and investors, one
co-owner said that it was joy to see the
upscale eatery buzzing again.
“It’s amazing — it’s just so wonderful
to have people here, and having great
conversations and eating and drinking,”
said Ben Schneider. “It’s been a real
long haul to get here.”
Schneider, with co-owners Sohui Kim
and St. John Frizell, first toured the historic
space while it sat empty almost three
years ago. In the years since Gage & Tollner
shuttered, the building housed a TGI
Fridays, the fast-food joint Arby’s, and a
costume jewelry store. Despite the many
tenants, the 19th-century cherry-wood
paneling, mirrors, and brass chandeliers
remained intact, because the interior was
declared a city landmark in 1975.
Today, leather and red velvet couches
create booths beside each arched mirror in
the long dining room, and brass coatracks
sprout from silk wall coverings, which
are so gorgeous that it seems a shame to
cover them with a jacket. Choosing that
perfect floral pattern, embroidered with
gold thread on black silk, took “months
and months and months and months,”
said Frizell, but the owners finally settled
on a pattern created by 19th century
design icon William Morris.
“It’s gorgeous,” he said. “The original
was a floral pattern, but it was cut
velvet. This is embroidered silk, and it’s
a William Morris pattern — he’s kind
of a touchstone for what we want to do
with the place.”
Overhead, the famous brass chandeliers
have had their gas flames replaced with
electric bulbs, in accordance with modern
fire codes, and they light up a plaster
ceiling covered with a silver wax.
Gage & Tollner will open on March 15
for dinner service, and a lunch will come
later, said Frizell. The menu, designed
by chef and co-owner Kim, features oldschool
seafood dishes like Oysters Rockefeller
and She-Crab Soup alongside ribeye
steak and mutton chops.
A marble bar up front serves impeccable
cocktails that would feel right at
home in the 1940s. One bartender, while
serving a classic Old-Fashioned, noted
that by remaining exactly the same, Gage
& Tollner had achieved the refined retro
look desired by the hottest contemporary
cocktail bars.
Upstairs, work continues on two private
dining rooms for special events, and
on the Sunken Harbor Club, a contemporary
tiki bar that will resemble the
hull of a ship. Frizell estimates those
spaces will take another six weeks or
so to open.
“We had originally planned to open
them at the same time, and in retrospect,
what a ridiculous idea that is,” he said.
“We’re going to be so busy running a
big restaurant … we’re really going to
have our hands full.”
Gage & Tollner 372 Fulton St. between
Smith Street and Red Hook
Lane Downtown, (347) 689–3677,
gageandtollner.com. Opens March
15 at 5 pm, then open daily, 5–11
pm. Reservations will be available on
resy.com starting next week.
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