42 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 17, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
American Brass in LIC welcomes restaurant industry’s return to normalcy
BY JENNA BAGCAL
JBAGCAL@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@JENNA_BAGCAL
American Brass in Long Island City is
ready to welcome back all Queens diners
aft er COVID-19 upended New York’s
restaurants two years ago.
According to owner Robert Briskin, the
restaurant at 2-01 50th Ave., featuring toprated
chefs and gorgeous views of the city,
is gearing up for some “normalcy” as the
weather starts to warm up.
“Aft er this entire rollercoaster for two
years, we’re fi nally 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 offi cially opening
in March 2020, Briskin said that the
restaurant was making its fi nal 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 suff ering, so we
shut down and did it gladly to save lives.
We off ered 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 fi nally able
to resume indoor dining, Briskin recalled
that the city implemented its infamous
curfew, limiting the amount of time when
restaurants could make a profi t. 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 fi rst 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 aft er tumultuous
two years, things are fi nally 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 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.
Th e 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.
As patrons return to American Brass,
Briskin said that the restaurant is off ering
Photos courtesy of American Brass
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 off er four
cuts of steak, sides and some sauces along
with composed dishes that are all 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 fi repower 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.
COVID-19, two years later
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