58 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JANUARY 24, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
dining out
Astoria bar Arcadia has community in mind
BY DANIEL GROGAN
Eight years ago, George
Hatzopoulos sat in the bar previously
located at 12-21 Astoria
Blvd. and had a drink with his
cousin.
“My fi rst week back from
Greece, my cousin was like, ‘Hey I
know this cool spot,’’’ Hatzopoulos
said. “Th is place used to be called
Hell Gate Social. Right here was
where I had my fi rst-ever drink on
American soil. I can’t even make
that up. Six dollars got you a shot
and a beer.”
Now the bar is called Arcadia
Bar and Kitchen, and Hatzopoulos
runs it with his longtime friend
George Alatsas.
Both Georges were born in
Astoria; Hatzopoulos was raised
in Greece, while Alatsas was raised
right here in Queens. Shortly aft er
Alatsas moved back to the States,
the two began collaborating.
“He worked at a restaurant on 30th
Avenue called Ovelia, and I used to frequent
the bar there,” Alatsas said. “And
I was working at Central, a club on
Steinway and 20th Avenue. I was looking
for someone to work as an assistant
manager; I was a general manager. I saw
his work ethic and the way he dealt with
customers and the way he dealt with people
and I approached him about the job.”
It was not long before the two began
scouting locations for a bar of their own.
“I know the neighborhood and I know
the potential that it has for business, especially
this kind of business,” Alatsas said.
“We looked at a few diff erent locations,
but we knew this was the one. We loved
the space.”
“Plus, Astoria was a place that we had
all worked in,” Hatzopoulos added. “It
was the people we knew the most and
the area we knew the most. We feel more
comfortable in Astoria.”
And their clear aff ection for the area
hasn’t just led them to set up shop here;
they have also made sure that the space
provides a creative outlet for community
members. Th e wonderful murals on
the walls of the bar were painted by local
artists who had previously worked on the
Welling Court Mural Project.
“We had some local artists come and
do some paintings for us,” Alatsas said.
“When we were still under construction
a few artists approached us and told us
they’d like to do some work in our place
so we hired them.”
Th e artwork was unveiled on March
15, 2018, when Arcadia Bar and Kitchen
opened.
Th e location’s sizable square footage,
which includes a large courtyard area,
serves as a performance space for local
musicians on Th ursday nights, as well as
aspiring performers on the fi rst Friday of
every month.
“We do live music every Th ursday,”
Alatsas explained. “Th e open mic we did
for the fi rst time last Friday and we
plan on doing it the fi rst Friday of every
Photo courtesy of Arcadia Bar and Kitchen
month. It went very well … a lot of
local talent. Th ere were some poets, some
musicians.”
“It’s mostly an open platform for anyone
who wants to perform,” Hatzopoulos
said. From comedians to trumpeters, anyone
with confi dence can show off their
chops at Arcadia Bar and Kitchen.
And speaking of the kitchen, chef Fred
Zullo, Alatsas’ childhood friend, whips
up dishes that are both Instagram-worthy
and delicious. Th e menu was created in
one think-tank-like session between the
Georges and Zullo. Regarding the wide
array of options Alatsas said, “My father
is also a chef and he told me one thing I’ll
never forget. He said when you’re designing
your menu, if the food is good enough
for you to really enjoy it, then it can be on
your menu. Don’t overthink it.”
Th is philosophy applies to most
aspects of their operation, Hatzopoulos
explained: “We don’t overthink it because
we know what we’re doing. Most of the
time we’re on the same page, and that
comes to the food, drinks, running the
place, anything.”
If one thing is certain, both Georges
are committed to making Arcadia a
go-to neighborhood institution. Th ey
consistently work with the Old Astoria
Neighborhood Association to make sure
they do whatever they can to support
the community, and they emphasize the
use of products sourced from the fi ve
boroughs. Th eir signature cocktail, aptly
called George’s Old Fashioned, blends
aged bourbon with Barrow’s Intense
Ginger Liqueur, made right down in
Brooklyn.
And of course, above all, they want to
serve the community on an individual
level. Th ey both bartend every night, in
the hopes that they can better get to know
their customers.
“We talk to them. We get to know
them, and they get to know us,” Alatsas
said.
If you fi nd yourself in the Old Astoria
area, stop by for a drink and a bite to eat;
you’ll be a regular in no time.
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