Gage & Tollner to receive award from Landmarks Conservancy

February 22, 2022 Raanan Geberer

From left: Ben Schneider and Sohui Kim of The Good Fork and St. John Frizell of Fort Defiance plan to reopen Gage & Tollner this fall. Eagle photos by Paul Frangipane.

From left: new Gage & Tollner owners Ben Schneider and Sohui Kim of The Good Fork and St. John Frizell of Fort Defiance. Eagle file photo by Paul Frangipane

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The restoration of the historic Gage & Tollner restaurant in Downtown Brooklyn has earned one of the 14 Preservation Project Awards from the New York Landmarks Conservancy for 2022.

The Conservancy, a nonprofit organization, not only advocates for the preservation of historic buildings, it also provides property owners with financial and technical assistance to restore their homes, businesses and other properties.

Gage & Tollner, at 372 Fulton St., was established in 1879 at a nearby address and moved to its current location in 1892. For years, it was known as a meeting place for the business and political elite of Brooklyn.

Its original menu stressed steaks, chops, and oysters, which were once plentiful in New York Harbor. In fact, a 1919 menu showed 24 varieties of oysters being served.

It was also known, according to a 2019 Eagle article by Lore Croghan, for its “massive mirrors framed by cherry wood,” its brass chandeliers, and its wood-paneled décor. Long after the era of gas lights ended, the restaurant kept its gaslight connection. On New Year’s Eve, according to the late Fred Halla, an Eagle editor, the restaurant would turn on the gas chandeliers, thrilling patrons.

Gage & Tollner’s eye-catching sign, seen in January 2020, shortly after it was installed. Eagle file photo by Paul Frangipane

Over the years, the restaurant had several owners. In 1988, according to the Gage & Tollner website, Peter Aschkenasy, whom the site described as “an established New York restaurateur and power broker,” bought the restaurant. He brought in a new chef, Edna Lewis, who specialized in Southern cooking. Although some old-time dishes remained, the menu now stressed dishes like Charleston she-crab soup, spoon bread and rhubarb pie.

Eagle reporter Mary Frost, also writing in 2019, quoted Heights resident Jane McGroarty about the dishes she experienced. “The Dover sole was to die for. The she-crab soup was amazing. I liked the oyster broil, which was just some oysters and cream and paprika and pepper.”

The she-crab soup is still on the current menu; Frost quoted John Frizell, one of the three current owners, as saying this dish is seasonal because “crabs only get pregnant at a certain moment in their lifespan.”

In 1995, Joe Chirico, owner of Marco Polo Ristorante in Carroll Gardens, bought Gage & Tollner and restored the elegant interior. In his publicity efforts, Chirico evoked celebrities who once patronized Gage & Tollner, such as Diamond Jim Brady, Mae West and Jimmy Durante. Still, he closed the restaurant in 2004.

An old photo shows the 20th century Gage & Tollner sign. Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Historical Society.

Afterward, it became a TGI Friday’s, then an Arby’s, and finally a cheap jewelry store. A New York Post article from 2011 told of how Chirico, passing by the location, looked inside at the pink partitions and was “sick to his stomach.” The building had been designated an interior landmark in 1974-75; but the original walls and fixtures were still there, underneath the gaudy wall coverings.

The Gage & Tollner website tells of how the aforementioned Frizell, fellow restaurateur Ben Schneider and Ben’s wife Sohui Kim happened upon the Gage & Tollner site in 2017, then started a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to buy it. Renovations began in early 2019.

“The changes that project architect Eric Safyan devised for furniture, wall coverings and lighting fixtures had to be subtle, because Gage & Tollner’s ground-floor dining room is an interior landmark,” the Eagle’s Croghan wrote.

A new “Gage & Tollner” sign was installed on the exterior of the building in early 2020. The opening was delayed by the pandemic, but in February 2021, the restaurant opened for takeout and delivery. At the time, options included “Gage & Tollner at Home,” emphasizing traditional favorites; and “Sunken Harbor Club to Go,” which included cocktails and Asian comfort foods.

Finally, in April 2021, it opened for indoor dining.

The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, April 20 at 6 p.m. At the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. Another Brooklyn entity, the Prospect Park Alliance, will receive one of the Conservancy’s top awards, the Lucy B. Moses Preservation Awards.