Gage & Tollner Building Falling Into Ruin

The Gage & Tollner building was once a thing a beauty—the only thing of beauty, in fact, on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn for decades. Now, it is an eyesore.

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Arby's, Come Get Your Sign

Years after its short life inside the landmarked Gage & Tollner building on Fulton Avenue in downtown Brooklyn ended, Arby's has yet to take down its signage. The vertical sign advertising the roast beef chain covers an original sign reading Gage & Tollner.

Meanwhile, the tacky junk jewelry shop that took over the space after Arby's exited continues to inhabit the address, covered nearly ever bit of its beautiful, 19th-century landmarked interior with hot pink displays of the most appalling array of tinsel-y rubbish imaginable. All in violation of an contempt of City landmarking laws.

Restaurateur Danny Meyer brought a Shake Shack to Fulton. Can't he take over this hallowed space and save it from further ignominy?

Take a Look at Gage & Tollner's 1964 Menu

A reader, prompted by my recent bemoaning of the state of the old Gage & Tollner building, recently sent me images of the famous restaurant's 1964 menu. He found them reprinted inside a copy of Vincent and Mary Price's famous book "A Treasury of Great Recipes."

Note the guide to the signifying emblems the waiters wore. And the incredibly rich array of seafood options. The mutton chop! The Lobster Thermidor and Lobster Newberg! A whole section devoted to toast! The Stirred Eggs Dewey! Four kinds of Welsh Rarebit! I didn't know there was more than one. Long Island Rarebit? What could it be?

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Gage & Tollner in Hell

How many circles of Hell does Gage & Tollner have to pass through alongside the cavalier Virgil that is the New York Real Estate Market before it attains redemption? First it suffered being a TGI Friday's, draped in red and white. Then it became an Arby's, it's landmarked interior ignored by fast food fans. Now it isn't even a restaurant of any kind. It transformed into a gaudy cut-rate jewelry store, the kind that, you know, exclusively carries crap.

You can barely see any of the timeless, gaslight interior, what with those screaming pink partitions. Only the chandeliers remain on view. The store was ordered by the Landmarks Commission last summer to apply "for permits to keep the partitions or risk be fined up to $5,000 and then potentially additional penalties of up to $250 a day that the temporary paneling remains. Sources said the city wants the partitions removed." Well, the partitions are still there. So I guess they got their permits.

And now, it looks like Gage & Tollner may soon be vacant again. The building is covered with garish yellow "Blowout Sale" signs. It doesn't say "Going Out of Business" or "Everything Must Go," but you never know with this cursed space. Frankly, I'd rather see it empty than filled with those junky costume baubles.

Tawdry Jewelry Store Rightly Punished for Desecrating Gage & Tollner

The Landmarks Commission finally did something right.

According to the NY Post, Landmarks isn't happy with the tacky jewelry store that has moved into the landmarked Gage & Tollner space in downtown Brooklyn. "Inspectors last week served the operators of Ladies and Gents discount jewelry store with a notice informing them that they illegally installed silky pink partitions a few inches away from the buildings historic walls. They were told on Aug. 18 they must apply within 20 days to the Commission for permits to keep the partitions or risk be fined up to $5,000 and then potentially additional penalties of up to $250 a day that the temporary paneling remains. Sources said the city wants the partitions removed."

The space sat empty for months after its last tenant, an Arby's, closed late last year. But at least the Arby's cared a little. They had to jump through plenty of hoops to please the Commission and refurbished much of the classic interior. Ladies and Gents discount jewelry covered all that work up, slapping up some garish pink walls, and basically turning an elegant room into a trashy space. I hope they are fined out of business.

Lest We Forget

There's still nothing going on with the landmarked Gage & Tollner space. And that wretched Arby's sign is still there. Tragic. Somebody give me a million. I'll open the space, and I'll keep it open.

Gage & Tollner, the Cursed

The Arby's the worked very hard with the Landmarks Commission to get into the landmarked interior of the old Gage & Tollner space has closed. This is old news. It happened last August. I'm just putting it down here for the record.

Maybe the coming of Danny Meyer's Shake Shack will help attract a restaurant with some dignity and some staying power to the space.

Sneak Peek at Inside of Gage & Tollner Arby's

The franchisee of the new Brooklyn Arby's fast food restaurant, which is set to open in the old, landmarked Gage & Tollner space on Fulton Mall tomorrow (Jan. 21), was kind enough to invite Lost City to take a sneak peek at the restored interior one day early.

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Wi-Fi Under the Gaslights

Gage & Arby's cares what bloggers think of it!

Today, a press agent for the fast food franchise—which has taken possession of the beautiful, 19th-century, landmarked interior of the old Gage & Toller space on Fulton Mall in downtown Brooklyn—reached out to Lost City.

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Gage & Arby's Will Open on Jan. 21

The day of reckoning is night. The old, landmarked, Gage & Tollner space will reopen as an Arby's franchise on Jan. 21. Hilariously, it will have a "soft" opening, as if it's some trendy new boite run by a hotshot chef. The grand opening will come a couple weeks later. Needless to say, I'll be there for my breakfast sandwich and a spot inspection of the priceless interior early in the AM that day.

Whither Gage & Arby's?

Last we heard of the Arby's franchise that is leasing the old, landmarked Gage & Toller space on Fulton Mall, it was supposed to open by early December. Here we are on Dec. 16, and no dice. All was quiet at the site yesterday when I passed by. What? No roast beef under gaslight for Christmas? But I was counting on that!

Gage & Arby's Will Be Ready in a Few Weeks

It's almost here. God help us.

The Arby's franchise that is taking over the space long occupied by the classic restaurant Gage & Tollner—one of only two interior restaurant landmarks in the City—will open in a few weeks.

Construction was underway today, with lots of activity inside. An Arby's sign has gone up where the vertical Gage & Tollner sign once hung. There is no big hat logo, just two little hats. (Tasteful!) I took a peek inside. I must say, the famous interior, gas lights and all, looked in fine shape.

If you wish to participate in this besmearing of an icon, there are job opportunities. I'm almost tempted to apply; the experience would be so surreal.


And, as usual, the Devil is in the details:

Arby's Plan for Gage & Tollner Now Apparently Super Terrific

Those of you who thought (hoped) Arby's would walk away from the landmarked Gage & Tollner space when the Landmarks Commission rejected their plans for the interior have been badly disappointed today.

Arby's said "You're not getting rid of me that easily," and came back with a new plan, which the city signed off on with a 7-1 vote. Restaurateur Raymond Chera has promised to continue working with the agency "to tweak his designs for large menu sign in the rear of the restaurant," according to Brooklyn Paper.

My personal opinion is that there's no way a fast food joint can work in the context of that 1890s interior. The two things are just antithetical and can't help but get in each other's way. The address needs a sit-down, waiter-service restaurant.

Not everyone agrees with me. "[This proposal] has come a long way,” said Commissioner Roberta Washington. “The sign is the one thing that prevents this proposal from being fantastic."

"Fantastic." Can you believe it, ladies and gentlemen.

"We’re thrilled with the Landmarks decision,” said Chera. “We’ve put a lot of hard work into making sure we properly preserve the historic interior."

Well, I'm no fool. I don't like this, but you can bet that when that Arby's opens, I'll be there ordering a roast beef sandwich. Nothing's going to keep me away from that gorgeous interior once I have the chance to see it again.

Sorry Arby's, You Can't Desecrate Gage & Tollner, Sez Commission

Big surprise! The Arby's fast food chain had a really plan for the landmarked interior of Brooklyn's Gage & Toller restaurant.

Actual surpise! The Landmarks Commission actually rejected the lousy plan.

Wrote Brownstoner: "A majority (six) of the LPC commissioners voted to send the Arby's team back to the drawing board, taking particular exception to their plans for a light-colored floor and the size and structure of the booths and ordering counter; in addition, the commissioners didn't care for the proposed removal of a portion of the mirrored arcade and the addition of certain illuminated signs."

Here's betting that, rather than work a little harder and care a little more, Arby's says "Fuck it" and walks away from the deal.

Arby's and Gage & Tollner: A Comparison

So, we learned last week that the next tenant to enjoy the landmarked, gaslight-era interior of the Gage & Tollner brownstone on Fulton Street in Brookly will be Arby's, the fast food chain. To prepare ourselves, let's look at how the two restaurants compare in particulars.

GAGE & TOLLNER: Founded in 1879 in Brooklyn. Closed 2004.
ARBY'S: Founded in 1964 in Ohio. Still going.

GAGE & TOLLNER: Founded by Charles M. Gage and Eugene Toller, who named the restaurant after themselves.
ARBY'S: Founded by Forrest and Leroy Raffel, owners of a restaurant equipment business, who got the name by sounding out the letters "R.B.," as in "Raffel Brothers."

GAGE & TOLLNER: The signature dishes included the oysters and lobster.
ARBY'S: The signature dishes include the Roast Beef Sandwich, Curly Fries and Horsey Sauce.

GAGE & TOLLNER: Patrons included Jimmy Durante, Mae West, Fanny Brice and Lillian Russell.
ARBY'S: Patrons include Tom Arnold, who also voices the talking oven mitt in the Arby's commercials.

GAGE & TOLLNER: There was only one.
ARBY'S: There are 3,688 restaurants in the United States and Canada.

GAGE & TOLLNER: Interior inspired by the Pullman dining cars of the Guilded Age.
ARBY'S: The Arby's sign was designed by Peskin Sign Co. to look like a hat.

GAGE & TOLLNER: Has 36 gas lamps.
ARBY'S: Has four kinds of "Iced Fruitea."

GAGE & TOLLNER: The restaurant was so renowned that it was a favorite of abolitionist preacher Henry Ward Beecher, who was, during his lifetime, arguably the most famous man in New York.
ARBY'S: Last week, Arby's made news when a van rammed through an restaurant wall in Michigan.

Is This a Step Up, or Down?

What's worse? TGI Friday's or Arby's?

It's a rhetorical question. They're equally bad. Not relatively speaking—relatively speaking, if I had to choose, I would always enter an Arby's before I went in a TFI Friday's—but when the question is, "What business is the worse fit for the landmarked Gage & Tollner building?"

Is there no end to the indignities that the Fulton Street, 19th-century interior must suffer? Apparently not. Where you could once order Lobster Newberg you will now be able to get an All-American Roastburger.

Here's a scariest part of the story: "The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission received a Jan. 16 application for interior alterations from Raymond Chera, a Brooklyn-based franchisee who plans to open 41 new Arby’s in the five boroughs over the next 10 years. Landmarks spokeswoman Elisabeth de Bourbon said the proposed alterations would be considered at a hearing. Chera, who expects to open the restaurant this spring and hire about 60 employees, insisted its gas lamps and wall-length mirrors will survive the dramatic transformation.

And the capper:

“We’re keeping everything in place, and anything we move in will be nonpermanent and easy to move out,” said Chera. “It will probably be the most beautiful Arby’s ever.”

Hilarious.

The Dumbest Thing I've Ever Heard

Passing by the depressing dust-gatherer that the Gage & Tollner building has become since losing its most recent tenant (TGI Friday's—shudder!) two years ago, I got to wondering what was up with the poor brownstone and its landmarked (and, I'm sure, unattended-to) interior. There are stop work orders all over the front and the inside looks to be in disarray.

This lead me to a comment made last August by Joseph Chirico, the last man to own an operate the Gage & Tollner space as Gage & Tollner. He told the New York Post that he had retained the "naming rights" to the famed eatery and hope to reopen "at a new location within two years."

If further proof were needed that Chirico—who also owns the Marco Polo restarant in Carroll Gardens—never knew what he had in Gage & Tollner, or how to run it, this is it.

Open at a new location? The very heart of the restaurant, which existed for 125 years, was its location. Gage & Tollner was upholding no grand culinary traditions when it closed. What it had in its favor was a perfectly preserved 19th-century interior. The 36 gas lamps, cherry-framed mirrors and mahogany tables stay on Fulton Street—they don't follow the name to whatever pile of bricks Chirico slaps the good names of Charles Gage and Eugene Tollner on. Jesus Christ. Does this need to be explained? The Four Seasons ain't the Four Seasons without Philip Johnson and the Seagram Building, and Gage & Tollner will never be Gage & Tollner anywhere but on Fulton in Downtown Brooklyn.

This bizarre idea of Chirico's, however, may explain why the Gage & Tollner signage has been removed from the brownstone. The etched letters in the window, gladly, can't be wiped away.

The Sad Afterlife of Gage & Tollner, Part 7

Gage & Tollner just can't catch a break since it stopped being Gage & Tollner.

The Fulton Street restaurant, which had, and has, a landmarked interior evoking the 1800s, has suffered a series of indignities ince it closed up shop in 2004 after 125 years in business. The worst of these was having to do time as a TGI Friday's franchise.

Things were looking up last fall when Amy Ruth's, the famous and well-regarded soul food restaurant in Harlem, announced it would open a Brooklyn branch in the space. But the months dragged by and Amy Ruth's did not arrive. A planned Jan. 1 opening came and went. Then a planned Feb. 14 opening came and went.

Now, the Brooklyn Eagle reports that the deal between the realty company that handles the Gage building and Amy Ruth's has fallen through. There is a marshall’s notice on the door saying that the landlord is reclaiming the space. Now what?

Amy Ruth's Job One

If Amy Ruth's ever does move into the old Gage & Tollner space on Fulton, their first job should be to repaint that planting pot outside the building. It remains decked in TGI Friday's red-and-white stripes—the last horrifying reminder of a horrible chapter in the building's history.

Where's Amy Ruth's?

Where's Amy Ruth's of Brooklyn?

Last we heard, the Harlem-born soul-food joint was to have a grand opening in the Gage & Tollner space on Valentine's Day. I meant to be there, but couldn't make it. And then, yesterday, I walked by the address and the restaurant's not even open.

A call to the Harlem Amy Ruth's confirmed the eatery did not make its Feb. 14 target. They said they're still coming to Fulton Mall, but have no definite date, only "spring." Maybe Arbor Day?

Peering in the windows, I caught sight of the old "Gage & Tollner" lettering etched into the front windows and got a little misty.