Bay Ridge eatery Zeke’s Roast Beef bites the dust

September 6, 2016 Meaghan McGoldrick
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The storefront that once housed a beloved roast beef purveyor is up for lease.

Zeke’s Roast Beef — an eatery that first premiered at the corner of 65th Street and Eighth Avenue in Sunset Park, where Park Asia now stands, more than 30 years ago but relocated to 7720 Third Avenue in Bay Ridge in 2010 — has closed up shop for good.

Known for its burgers, fries, fried chicken and — of course — its fan-favorite roast beef, Zeke’s shuttered with barely any public notice.

Though, with news of the restaurant’s closure beginning to spread online, a number of residents were quick to mourn the loss of yet another local, small business.

“I am devastated,” wrote Facebook user Joe Mullaney, who shared a photo of the “for-lease” sign that adorned the eatery’s full-glass windows to a neighborhood page on Friday, September 2. “Thanks for the great food, and great memories going back to Eighth Avenue, by the dust-bowl Joe!”

User Grace Scotto agreed.

“I used to go to the old one regularly with my family,” she wrote, adding that, while a lack of parking on the strip made it impossible to stop by in person, she often ordered in from the Third Avenue location. “Really good food…I will miss it.”

President of the Merchants of Third Avenue Bob Howe noted that, while he is unsure just why Zeke’s closed its doors, it could have been for any number of reasons.

“They were a very successful business for a number of years on Third Avenue,” he told this paper, stressing that, oftentimes, businesses just have a “natural run.” “Generally the length of the lease can affect a business, or they might have another reason to close, like that they want to pursue a different avenue or that the business may have tailed off.

“Food is a tough business though,” Howe added. “It’s over-regulated, over-taxed and over-supervised. So given all of that, and the fact that it’s tough to be a single merchant, I think Zeke’s had a great run. They had a great product and we’re sorry to see them go.”

Furthermore, Howe said, he and the rest of the Merchants hope that whatever business goes in its place “will have at least as long of a run as Zeke’s did.”

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