Gage and Tollner

{{Infobox restaurant

| name = Gage and Tollner

| logo =

| logo_width =

| logo_alt =

| image = Fulton St., Gage & Tollner restaurant, 1987 (7998320161).jpg

| image_width = 260px

| image_alt =

| image_caption = Gage and Tollner in 1987

| pushpin_map =

| map_width =

| map_alt =

| map_caption =

| slogan =

| established = 1879 (original)
{{start date|2021|04|15}} (current)

| closed = {{End date|2004|02|14}} (original)

| current-owner = St. John Frizell, Sohui Kim, Ben Schneider

| head-chef = Sohui Kim

| food-type = American cuisine

| dress-code =

| rating =

| street-address = 372 Fulton Street

| city = New York

| county = Kings{{Efn|Kings County is coextensive with the New York City borough of Brooklyn.}}

| state = New York

| postcode =

| country = United States

| coordinates = {{coord|40|41|29|N|73|59|16|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| seating-capacity = 70 (dining room)
40 (bar)

| reservations =

| other-locations =

| other-information =

| website = {{URL|https://www.gageandtollner.com/}}

{{Infobox NRHP

|embed = yes

|name = Gage and Tollner Restaurant

|nrhp_type =

|image =

|caption =

|location =

|coordinates =

|locmapin = New York City#New York#USA

|built = 1875

|architecture = Italianate

|added = June 3, 1982

|area = less than one acre

|designated_other2_name = New York City Landmark

|designated_other2_date = November 12, 1974

|designated_other2_abbr = NYCL

|designated_other2_link = New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission

|designated_other2_number = 0836, 0885

|designated_other2_color = #FFE978

|refnum = 82003362{{NRISref|version=2009a}}

}}

Gage and Tollner is an American cuisine restaurant on 372–374 Fulton Street in the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Named for its initial proprietors, Charles Gage and Eugene Tollner, the restaurant occupies the lowest two stories of a converted four-story brownstone residence. The restaurant building, dating from the mid-1870s, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and its facade and interior are New York City designated landmarks. {{As of|2021}}, St. John Frizell, Sohui Kim, and Ben Schneider operate the restaurant, with Kim as the head chef.

The restaurant opened in 1879, when Charles Gage opened a restaurant at 302 Fulton Street, and was named Gage & Tollner's in 1882. Gage & Tollner's moved to 372–374 Fulton Street around 1889 and soon became a popular restaurant for judges, politicians, and businessmen. A.H. Cunningham and Alexander Ingalls took over the restaurant's operation in 1911, and the Dewey family operated the restaurant for nearly seven decades starting in 1919. A partnership led by Peter Aschkenasy bought Gage and Tollner in 1988. Joseph Chirico operated the restaurant from 1995 until 2004, when the restaurant closed. The Gage and Tollner space was then occupied by various other stores during the 2000s and 2010s. Following a crowdfunding campaign in 2018, the restaurant reopened in April 2021.

Although the restaurant building's exterior was designed in an Italianate style, the interior retains its original Victorian design, with a main dining room, a waiting room, and a second-floor cocktail lounge. The main dining room measures {{convert|90|by|25|ft}} across and contains woodwork, arched mirrors, two bars, and a group of chandeliers with gas-powered and electric lights. The restaurant initially specialized in seafood, meat chops, and steaks, and it served a large variety of oyster dishes during the 20th century, pivoting to Southern fare in the 1980s. Gage & Tollner was also known for its waitstaff, who wore insignia on their uniforms to denote the length of their employment, and its clientele, which included Diamond Jim Brady, Truman Capote, Fanny Brice, Jimmy Durante, and Mae West. Over the years, the restaurant has been the subject of much commentary, both for its architecture and for its cuisine and service.

History

= Early years =

The structure at 372–374 Fulton Street was built in the mid-1870s, likely in 1875,{{cite book |last=Morrone |first=Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cIOZO8_HNGAC |title=An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn |publisher=Gibbs Smith |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-4236-1911-6 |page=17}} as a private residence.{{cite web |url=https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/building-of-the-day-372-fulton-street/ |title=Building of the Day: 372 Fulton Street |last=Spellen |first=Suzanne |date=May 1, 2013 |website=Brownstoner |access-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228171532/https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/building-of-the-day-372-fulton-street/ |url-status=live}} The Craft family had acquired the site from the Smith family in 1873 and owned the structure, known as the Craft Building, for fifty years. The residence housed a tailor's shop in the 1870s.{{Cite news |date=March 9, 1923 |title=Craft Building Changes Hands |pages=2 |work=The Standard Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-craft-building-change/130418369/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821234840/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-craft-building-change/130418369/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=March 10, 1923 |title=Gage & Tollner Property Changes Hands |pages=2 |work=Brooklyn Life |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-gage-tollners-building/28893416/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822001048/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-gage-tollners-building/28893416/ |url-status=live}}

Charles Gage opened an "eating house" at 302 Fulton Street in November 1879.{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=Ruth G. |date=November 22, 1944 |title=65 Years Old, but Wartime Precludes Any Birthday Party |pages=6 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-65-years-old-b/130481810/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822233723/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-65-years-old-b/130481810/ |url-status=live}} The original restaurant served ale and lager,{{Cite news |date=November 10, 1929 |title=Last of Fashionable Chop-Houses Celebrates 50th Anniversary |pages=6 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-last-of-fashionable-chop-hou/130418990/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821224832/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-last-of-fashionable-chop-hou/130418990/ |url-status=live}} as well as dishes like lobster Newberg which cost $0.75 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=0.75|start_year=1879|fmt=eq}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}).{{Cite news |last=La Rosa |first=Paul |date=November 21, 1979 |title=Gage & Tollner Marks Century of Food, History |pages=461 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-gage-tollner-marks-century/130544249/ |access-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824010633/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-gage-tollner-marks-century/130544249/ |url-status=live}} Eugene Tollner joined him in 1880,{{Cite magazine |last=Prewitt |first=Milford |date=May 13, 1996 |title=Gage and Tollner returns with new owner, same old charm |magazine=Nation's Restaurant News |volume=30 |issue=19 |page=7 |id={{ProQuest|229299469}}}}{{cite web |last=Dana |first=Robert W. |date=August 8, 1956 |title=Tips on Tables |url=http://www.tipsontables.com/GageandTollner.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061121064239/http://www.tipsontables.com/GageandTollner.html |archive-date=November 21, 2006 |access-date=November 30, 2006 |website=Tips on Tables}} and the restaurant became known as Gage & Tollner's in 1882.{{cite web |last1=Collins |first1=Glenn |last2=Yardley |first2=William |date=February 13, 2004 |title=Eat and Be Merry; Tomorrow 2 Classics Die |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/13/nyregion/eat-and-be-merry-tomorrow-2-classics-die.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908115324/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/13/nyregion/eat-and-be-merry-tomorrow-2-classics-die.html |archive-date=September 8, 2021 |access-date=December 28, 2019 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}{{efn|{{harvnb|ps=|National Park Service|1982|p=4}} claims that Tollner joined the restaurant in 1884.}} Tollner was the son of Charles Tollner, who founded a hardware store that subsequently became Hammacher Schlemmer under the ownership of Eugene Tollner's cousin William Schlemmer.{{Cite news |date=December 12, 1935 |title=Eugene Tollner, Founder of Noted Restaurant, Dies |pages=24 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-eugene-tollner-founder-of-n/130409717/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821205818/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-eugene-tollner-founder-of-n/130409717/ |url-status=live}} The restaurant moved to 372–374 Fulton Street on February 18, 1889.{{efn|Numerous sources give a date of 1889. In a 1925 interview, Tollner gave a conflicting date of 1887.}} Tollner recalled that the new location was further away from the then-independent city of Brooklyn's commercial center,{{Cite news |last=Weer |first=William |date=November 10, 1929 |title=Not Much Change in Food Demands During Past Half Century, Avers Mr. Tollner |pages=62 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/28893538/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821204310/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/28893538/ |url-status=live}} which at the time was to the northwest, between Brooklyn City Hall (later Borough Hall) and Fulton Ferry.{{cite report |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/c4641704-fbb6-4bdf-b54a-147795d7acbb |title=Offerman Building |date=February 21, 2017 |publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service |page=12 |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=June 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612103412/https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/c4641704-fbb6-4bdf-b54a-147795d7acbb |url-status=live}} Gage and Tollner installed a storm door in 1890,{{Cite news |date=November 28, 1890 |title=In Common Council - Stated Session |pages=2 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-in-common-counc/130409458/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821215125/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-in-common-counc/130409458/ |url-status=live}} and electric lights were installed during that decade to supplement the original gas lights.{{cite web |last=Duggan |first=Kevin |date=April 16, 2021 |title=Classic chophouse Gage & Tollner finally opens in Downtown Brooklyn |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/gage-tollner-opening-downtown-brooklyn/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609153000/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/gage-tollner-opening-downtown-brooklyn/ |url-status=live}} By then, young men frequently took their fiancées out to dinner at Gage & Tollner before proposing to them.{{Cite news |date=November 12, 1934 |title=Chef's Tour of Brooklyn—Stop No. 2—N. Y. City's Oldest Restaurant |pages=6 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/28893237/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821232649/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/28893237/ |url-status=live}}

Gage & Tollner's became popular in its early years, in part because of its location along Fulton Street, one of the primary avenues running through Brooklyn.{{harvnb|National Park Service|1982|ps=.|p=4}}{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|ps=.|p=1}} Tollner recalled that numerous department-store executives, judges, and politicians favored the restaurant. In its early years, Gage & Tollner's was known for its oysters and clam bellies.{{Cite news |last=Moses |first=Paul |date=June 1, 1995 |title=Landmark Restaurant Changes Hands |pages=15 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-landmark-restaurant-changes-hand/130284021/ |access-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819183240/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-landmark-restaurant-changes-hand/130284021/ |url-status=live}} By 1900, according to the New York Herald Tribune, "ladies were not permitted to smoke, and arrived at the restaurant at 372-4 Fulton St. in horse-drawn carriages escorted by gentlemen in silk hats".{{cite news |date=May 31, 1960 |title='Ike' Gaskill Dies; Famed Headwaiter: Served for 50 Years At Gage & Tollner's |page=24 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1326248607}}}} At the time, a lobster dinner cost $1.25 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=1.25|start_year=1900|fmt=eq}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}), and a drink cost $0.25 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=0.25|start_year=1900|fmt=eq}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}). Gage & Tollner's also traditionally closed down between June 1 and September 1 of each year,{{Cite news |date=August 31, 1902 |title=Gage & Tollner's to Open |pages=46 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/7965197/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821205814/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/7965197/ |url-status=live}} as there were no oysters to serve during the summer. As such, the restaurant's annual reopening was often a major event.{{Cite news |date=September 5, 1925 |title=The Down East Scallop Returns |pages=20 |work=Brooklyn Life and Activities of Long Island Society |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-and-activities-of-long-isl/130419730/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821232645/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-and-activities-of-long-isl/130419730/ |url-status=live}} Gage and Tollner started allowing men to smoke at their restaurant in 1902, but women were still banned from smoking.

By the early 1910s, Gage and Tollner was one of the few "oyster houses" remaining in Brooklyn; at the time, oyster houses were considered separate from restaurants.{{Cite news |date=December 31, 1910 |title=Partners Many Years, Gage & Tollner Retire |pages=16 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-partners-many-y/130399664/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821182350/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-partners-many-y/130399664/ |url-status=live}} Tollner and Gage decided to relinquish management of the restaurant on December 31, 1910, as both men had been operating the restaurant for 30 years. They sold the restaurant to A.H. Cunningham and Alexander Ingalls,{{cite web |date=March 1, 2019 |title=From our archives: The history of Gage & Tollner |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/03/01/history-gage-tollner/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180847/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/03/01/history-gage-tollner/ |url-status=live}} with the provision that neither the interior nor the name be changed. Although Gage retired and lived for nine more years,{{Cite news |date=October 24, 1919 |title=Charles Morris Gage, Chop House Pioneer |pages=8 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-charles-morris/130414194/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821210346/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-charles-morris/130414194/ |url-status=live}} Tollner decided to continue working at his namesake restaurant.{{Cite news |date=January 18, 1925 |title=Tollner Reveals Secret of Success as Restaurateur |pages=31 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-tollner-reveals/130411843/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821213835/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-tollner-reveals/130411843/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=November 14, 1954 |title=Cats Will Help Gage-Tollner Mark Jubilee |pages=440 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-cats-will-help-gage-tollner-m/130486492/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823012412/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-cats-will-help-gage-tollner-m/130486492/ |url-status=live}} In recognition of the partnership, Tollner named his only son after Gage.{{Cite news |date=December 12, 1934 |title=All Kinds of People |pages=15 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-how-g-t-met/8190220/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824155623/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-how-g-t-met/8190220/ |url-status=live}} One of the restaurant's co-owners, Marcus J. Ingalls, died there of a heart attack in February 1911.{{Cite news |date=February 21, 1911 |title=Dies in Restaurant |pages=2 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/41993407/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821215127/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/41993407/ |url-status=live}} Charles Gage's brother Edward, the longtime manager of the restaurant, died in 1917 after working there for nearly four decades.{{Cite news |date=March 21, 1917 |title=Edward H. Gage Dies |pages=2 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-edward-h-gage/130413950/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821222538/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-edward-h-gage/130413950/ |url-status=live}} Ingalls offered to appoint Tollner as partner, but Tollner refused because he "would rather take orders than be responsible for the running of the restaurant".

= Dewey ownership =

In May 1919, wine merchant Hiram Stapleford Dewey bought a controlling stake in Gage & Tollner's and formed a new corporation to take over the restaurant.{{Cite news |date=May 6, 1919 |title=Gage & Tollner's Sold |pages=2 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/28895329/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180853/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/28895329/ |url-status=live}} The Dewey family agreed to retain the restaurant's original name and quality of service. Hiram, who operated a restaurant in Manhattan,{{Cite news |date=July 2, 1919 |title=S. B. Dewey Manager of Gage & Tollner's |pages=16 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/41993575/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822001849/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/41993575/ |url-status=live}} placed his son Seth Bradford Dewey in charge of the restaurant.{{cite news |date=August 27, 1938 |title=Seth Dewey, Brooklyn Cafe Owner, Is Dead: Proprietor of Gage and Tollner's, Where Brady Ate, and Where McCooey Had First Glass of Beer Brooklyn Restaurant Owner |page=8 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1258115830}}}} The sale was finalized in July 1919, and the Deweys announced plans to close the restaurant for a month-long renovation.{{Cite news |date=July 2, 1919 |title=Gage-Tollner Business Sold |pages=7 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-gage-tollner-business-sold/130412828/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821205816/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-gage-tollner-business-sold/130412828/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=July 2, 1919 |title=Seth B. Dewey Buys Gage and Tollner |pages=16 |work=The Standard Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-seth-b-dewey-buys-ga/130414440/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821232140/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-seth-b-dewey-buys-ga/130414440/ |url-status=live}} Seth Dewey took over full ownership from his father that December{{Cite news |date=December 20, 1919 |title=Mr. S. B. Dewey Takes Over Gage & Tollner's, Inc. |pages=5 |work=Brooklyn Life |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-dewey-takeover-notice/7981173/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821224049/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-dewey-takeover-notice/7981173/ |url-status=live}} and operated Gage & Tollner's with his business partner Alexander Graham.{{Cite news |date=November 6, 1929 |title=Oyster and Chop House Brooklyn Institution 50 Years |pages=3 |work=The Standard Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-oyster-and-chop-house/130419372/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821232644/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-oyster-and-chop-house/130419372/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=November 13, 1929 |title=Local Chop House to Celebrate Half Century |page=10 |work=New York Amsterdam News |id={{proQuest|226285269}}}}

== 1920s to 1940s ==

After taking over the restaurant, Seth Dewey convinced Tollner to remain as the restaurant's general manager, and Eugene Tollner continued to work there until his death in 1935.{{cite news |date=December 12, 1935 |title=Eugene Tollner, Noted Cafe Man, Dies here at 83 |page=17 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/8190304/picture_of_tollner_and_amazing_quote/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016151512/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/8190304/picture_of_tollner_and_amazing_quote/ |archive-date=October 16, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} The restaurant was the only chop house in New York City to remain open during Prohibition in the United States, and its ventilation system was upgraded during the 1921 off-season.{{Cite news |date=September 10, 1921 |title=Of Varied Interest |pages=2 |work=Brooklyn Life |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-of-varied-interest/130418824/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821230655/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-of-varied-interest/130418824/ |url-status=live}} Dewey and Graham formed the Dewham Company to buy the restaurant building in March 1923. The next year, Gage & Tollner began allowing dancing and music for the first time in its history,{{Cite news |date=May 29, 1924 |title=Gage and Tollner's Forsakes Dance Ban |pages=4 |work=The Standard Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-gage-and-tollners-fo/130417490/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821224050/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-gage-and-tollners-fo/130417490/ |url-status=live}} and women were allowed to smoke around the same time.{{Cite news |last=Timpson |first=Fred H. |date=March 8, 1924 |title=Rotary Club Rotograms |pages=24, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-rotary-club-rotograms/130418735/ 25] |work=Brooklyn Life |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-rotary-club-rotogramsfred/130418662/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821234155/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-rotary-club-rotogramsfred/130418662/ |url-status=live}} Tollner attributed the restaurant's prosperity to the fact that oyster dishes were prioritized, as well as to his real-estate acumen. One employee claimed in 1929 that the restaurant had shelled 38 million oysters in nearly half a century, which equated to 50,000 oysters per month.{{Cite news |date=April 21, 1929 |title=Thousands (?) of Pearls Found by Mike in About 38,400,000 (?) Oysters |pages=19 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/28895027/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821223403/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/28895027/ |url-status=live}}

The restaurant celebrated its 50th anniversary in November 1929, at which point many employees had worked there for decades. In 1934, the Times Union reported that the twelve longest-tenured workers had worked there for a combined 183 years.{{Cite news |date=November 22, 1934 |title=Gage & Tollner's Head Reminiscent |pages=8 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-gage-tollners-head-remini/130427536/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822010638/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-gage-tollners-head-remini/130427536/ |url-status=live}} Gage & Tollner's began serving food on Sundays in 1932, following an increase in the number of people who went to dinner on the Sabbath.{{Cite news |date=February 14, 1932 |title=Meets Modern Demands |pages=147 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-meets-modern-demands/130427666/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824155631/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-meets-modern-demands/130427666/ |url-status=live}} With the repeal of Prohibition in 1935, oyster dishes began to increase in popularity, since many guests preferred alcoholic beverages with oysters.{{Cite news |date=December 13, 1933 |title=Oysters With Ale Revived by Repeal |pages=7 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-oysters-back-in/28893750/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180855/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-oysters-back-in/28893750/ |url-status=live}} During the same decade, the restaurant suffered financially due to the Great Depression.{{Cite news |date=November 20, 1932 |title=It's a 'Lobster' Depression, Says Tollner—And He Knows |pages=9 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-eugene-tollner/28893621/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821205815/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-eugene-tollner/28893621/ |url-status=live}}

Seth Dewey died in 1938,{{cite web |date=August 27, 1938 |title=Seth Bradford Dewey; President of Gage & Tollner's Restaurant in Brooklyn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/08/27/archives/seth-bradford-dewey-president-of-gage-tollners-restaurant-in.html |access-date=August 18, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819003015/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/08/27/archives/seth-bradford-dewey-president-of-gage-tollners-restaurant-in.html |url-status=live}} and his son Edward took over that October.{{Cite news |date=October 14, 1938 |title=In the Tradition |pages=19 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-in-the-traditio/130481156/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822233721/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-in-the-traditio/130481156/ |url-status=live}} Before his death, Seth had told Ed, "You don't tamper with success",{{cite news |last=Wiener |first=Caryn Eve |date=January 29, 1988 |title=Landmark Restaurant Is Up for Sale |page=27 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|277814209}}}} so the latter made few changes to Gage and Tollner after acquiring it.{{Cite news |last=Ryan |first=Charles |date=April 13, 1963 |title=Gage and Tollner's is Meca for Out-of-Towners |pages=10 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-and-tollne/130538793/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823231157/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-and-tollne/130538793/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Lichtenstein |first=Grace |date=January 7, 1975 |title=If the Objective Is Good Food, Try Brooklyn |page=24 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|120586142}}}} Ed and his wife Trudy lived on the top two floors of the restaurant building. An air-conditioning system was installed in the restaurant in 1940,{{Cite news |date=August 17, 1940 |title=Gage & Tollner's Now Air Conditioned |pages=11 |work=The Tablet |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tablet-gage-tollners-now-air-cond/130481552/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823012521/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tablet-gage-tollners-now-air-cond/130481552/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=August 12, 1940 |title=Gage & Tollner's Air Conditions Its Mauve Era Charm |pages=5 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/130481587/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822233718/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/130481587/ |url-status=live}} and the facade and entrance were restored the next year.{{Cite news |date=December 20, 1941 |title=A Restaurant of Which Brooklyn Is Proud |pages=21 |work=The Tablet |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tablet-a-restaurant-of-which-brookly/130482013/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822232217/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tablet-a-restaurant-of-which-brookly/130482013/ |url-status=live}} During World War II, the restaurant remained open; some employees quit to fight in the war, and there were shortages of items such as steak.{{cite news |date=June 25, 1943 |title=Choice Steaks Still Available In Restaurants: Retail Scarcity Fails to Hit Large Chop Houses, But Prices Rise 25% to 75 |page=8 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1267841639}}}} The restaurant was renovated again in 1947.{{Cite news |last=Sheaffer |first=Lew |date=August 1, 1947 |title=Night Life |pages=16 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-brooklyn-eagle/49469729/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823013506/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-brooklyn-eagle/49469729/ |url-status=live}} Some of the restaurant's employees went on strike in 1948, following months of negotiations over whether the restaurant should hire non-union workers.{{Cite news |date=December 10, 1948 |title=Union Stages Walkout at Gage, Tollner |pages=1 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-union-stri/33727749/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822232629/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-union-stri/33727749/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=December 11, 1948 |title=Gage & Tollner Restaurant Is Struck by Union: Stays Open After Walkout in Brooklyn; Closed Shop Chief Issue in Dispute |page=3 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1335280291}}}}

== 1950s to 1980s ==

File:WSTM_Zefferus_0152.jpg

During the 1950s, the restaurant referred to the colder weather months as "turtle soup weather", and it would procure live turtles and prepare its own recipe.{{cite web |url=https://www.tipsontables.com/gageandtollners.html |title=Gage and Tollner's, 1956 |last=Dana |first=Robert W. |website=Tips on Tables |access-date=November 24, 2019 |archive-date=April 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427035730/http://www.tipsontables.com/gageandtollners.html |url-status=live}} The restaurant also introduced new dishes, such as a whale steak.{{Cite news |date=November 28, 1952 |title=Going Places |pages=45 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-going-places/130486748/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823004849/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-going-places/130486748/ |url-status=live}} Ed Dewey and his brother Tom renovated the restaurant's exterior in 1953,{{Cite news |date=December 6, 1953 |title=Good Facelifting Job |pages=66 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-good-faceliftin/130486936/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823114328/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-good-faceliftin/130486936/ |url-status=live}} and Gage and Tollner celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1954, turning on its gas lights for a week for the occasion;{{cite news |date=November 14, 1954 |title=Gage & Tollner's Restaurant Turning On 1879 Gaslights |page=49 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1313710574}}}}{{Cite news |date=December 11, 1954 |title=Gage and Tollners Marks 75th Year of Operation |pages=26 |work=The Tablet |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tablet-gage-and-tollners-marks-75th/130486857/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823020031/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tablet-gage-and-tollners-marks-75th/130486857/ |url-status=live}} the gas lights were illuminated on Mondays and Tuesdays during that time.{{Cite news |date=February 19, 1957 |title=Gage and Tollner Celebrate 77th Year |pages=15 |work=Brooklyn Daily |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-daily-gage-and-tollner-celebrat/130537079/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823232651/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-daily-gage-and-tollner-celebrat/130537079/ |url-status=live}} By then, the clientele included city officials, politicians, and lawyers. The restaurant refused to serve black customers until 1960,{{cite news |last1=Roberts |first1=Sam |date=January 9, 2019 |title=Obituaries : William C. Thompson |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/obituaries/william-c-thompson-dead.html |url-status=live |access-date=January 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107072057/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/obituaries/william-c-thompson-dead.html |archive-date=January 7, 2019}} although all its waiters were black men.{{Cite news |last=Wyman |first=Lissa |date=June 6, 1996 |title='Institutional' Cuisine |pages=784 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-institutional-cuisine/130296266/ |access-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819212020/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-institutional-cuisine/130296266/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=March 1, 2019 |title=Blueprints for the new Gage & Tollner: 125 years of menus, decor and staff |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/03/01/st-john-frizell-gage-tollner/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180923/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/03/01/st-john-frizell-gage-tollner/ |url-status=live}} The restaurant began hiring white workers and women in the mid-20th century. In addition, people from outside Brooklyn began visiting the restaurant.

John B. Simmons began co-managing the restaurant in 1973. At the time, there were plans to convert the neighboring section of Fulton Street into a pedestrian mall, although Ed Dewey did not think it would negatively impact business.{{Cite news |date=October 30, 1973 |title=Small Merchants Hail Brooklyn Mall |language=en |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/30/archives/small-merchants-hail-brooklyn-mall-natural-shopping-area.html |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824002629/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/30/archives/small-merchants-hail-brooklyn-mall-natural-shopping-area.html?searchResultPosition=1 |url-status=live}} After the pedestrian mall was established in 1976, drivers could no longer drop passengers off in front of the restaurant. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated Gage and Tollner's exterior as a city landmark in November 1974.{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Maurice |date=November 14, 1974 |title=3 New Sorts of Landmarks Designated in City |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/14/archives/3-new-sorts-of-landmarks-designatedin-city-landmarks-of-3-sorts-are.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810000136/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/14/archives/3-new-sorts-of-landmarks-designatedin-city-landmarks-of-3-sorts-are.html |archive-date=August 10, 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Miele |first=Alfred |date=November 14, 1974 |title=First Houses is Designated a Landmark |pages=7 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83135618/first-houses-is-designated-a-landmark/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810000136/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83135618/first-houses-is-designated-a-landmark/ |archive-date=August 10, 2021}} Although the owners did not plan to alter the restaurant, the designation was part of the LPC's initiative to preserve the city's architectural history.{{cite web |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=January 7, 1975 |title=Gage and ToLiner: A Quiet Elegance |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/07/archives/gage-and-tollner-a-quiet-elegance.html |access-date=August 19, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819212012/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/07/archives/gage-and-tollner-a-quiet-elegance.html |url-status=live}} The interior was designated in March 1975,{{Cite news |last=Crane |first=Robert |date=March 26, 1975 |title=Flicker of Landmark Elegance |pages=166 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108295326/flicker-of-landmark-elegancerobert/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825184801/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108295326/flicker-of-landmark-elegancerobert/ |archive-date=August 25, 2022}}{{cite news |date=March 26, 1975 |title=U.S. Court House On Foley Sq. Cited As City Landmark |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/26/archives/us-court-house-on-foley-sq-cited-as-city-landmark.html |access-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-date=August 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826122644/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/26/archives/us-court-house-on-foley-sq-cited-as-city-landmark.html |url-status=live}} with the LPC citing the interior as having a Gay Nineties atmosphere.{{Cite news |last=Fried |first=Joseph P. |date=December 26, 2004 |title=Now, You Can Eat With Your Hands |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/26/nyregion/now-you-can-eat-with-your-hands.html |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180846/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/26/nyregion/now-you-can-eat-with-your-hands.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Bosworth |first=Sara |date=May 19, 2021 |title=This Brooklyn Oyster Bar Is a Glamorous Time Warp |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-brooklyn-oyster-bar-is-a-glamorous-time-warp-11621432850 |access-date=August 21, 2023 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821191949/https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-brooklyn-oyster-bar-is-a-glamorous-time-warp-11621432850 |url-status=live}} The New York City Board of Estimate approved the landmark status that May,{{cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=May 18, 1975 |title=U.S. Plan to Cut Fire I. Status Protested |page=BQLI93 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|120406598}}}} making Gage and Tollner the city's third interior landmark, after the New York Public Library Main Branch and Grant's Tomb,{{cite web |last=Platt |first=Adam |date=July 6, 2021 |title=At Gage & Tollner, Meticulous Preservation Meets (Just Enough) Innovation |url=https://www.grubstreet.com/2021/07/gage-and-tollner-nyc-restaurant-review.html |access-date=August 15, 2023 |website=Grub Street |archive-date=August 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816002342/https://www.grubstreet.com/2021/07/gage-and-tollner-nyc-restaurant-review.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=December 27, 2021 |title=How an Old NYC Landmark Became One of the City's Hottest Restaurants |url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/food-drink/restaurants/gage-and-tollner-brooklyn-redesign |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223810/https://www.travelandleisure.com/food-drink/restaurants/gage-and-tollner-brooklyn-redesign |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Travel + Leisure}} and the city's first interior landmark within a commercial building.{{Cite news |date=October 17, 1997 |title=Food Talk |pages=151 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-food-talk/130297410/ |access-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819212021/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-food-talk/130297410/ |url-status=live}}

Gage and Tollner marked its centennial in 1979. and the restaurant building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Meanwhile, patronage had declined after the Fulton Mall was completed.{{cite news |last=Prial |first=Frank J. |date=April 9, 1982 |title=Mall Stands Alone in Brooklyn 'Renaissance' |page=B1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|424341841}}}} By the 1980s, the neighborhood was no longer considered safe after dark, and even residents of nearby Brooklyn Heights would not eat there.{{cite news |last1=Schrambling |first1=Regina |date=June 22, 2009 |title=Edna Lewis's Days at Gage & Tollner |publisher=Edible Brooklyn |url=https://www.ediblebrooklyn.com/2008/edna-lewiss-days-at-gage-tollner/ |access-date=March 7, 2019 |archive-date=March 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308003013/https://www.ediblebrooklyn.com/2008/edna-lewiss-days-at-gage-tollner/ |url-status=live}} The restaurant was frequently deserted during peak hours, and it lost more than half of its business from 1981 to 1988, prompting the Deweys to reduce the staff from 50 to 30.{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Bryan |date=January 8, 1988 |title=Diner's Journal |page=C22 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|110612320}}}} Its signature dish, clam bellies, was often sold out.{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Arthur |date=March 10, 1989 |title=At Long Last Lewis |pages=111 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-at-long-last-lewis/130197114/ |access-date=August 18, 2023 |archive-date=August 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818001358/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-at-long-last-lewis/130197114/ |url-status=live}} Ed and Trudy Dewey, who wished to retire, put the restaurant for sale in 1987 with an asking price of $1.8 million. Within a year, they had received several offers for the restaurant.

= Aschkenasy ownership =

In November 1988, the restaurant was bought by a partnership led by Peter Aschkenasy,{{cite web |date=November 6, 1988 |title=A Landmark Restaurant in Brooklyn Is Sold |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/06/nyregion/a-landmark-restaurant-in-brooklyn-is-sold.html |access-date=August 17, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817232120/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/06/nyregion/a-landmark-restaurant-in-brooklyn-is-sold.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Wiener |first=Caryn Eve |date=November 8, 1988 |title=Gage & Tollner Buyer Builds on Past |pages=46 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-gage-tollner-buyer-builds-on-p/130195484/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-date=August 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818001403/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-gage-tollner-buyer-builds-on-p/130195484/ |url-status=live}} who promised to preserve the restaurant's character. In addition to Aschkenasy, the partnership included his wife Marcy Blum and retired city official James F. Capalino. The acquisition was in part a real-estate investment,{{cite magazine |last=Lebow |first=Joan |date=November 28, 1988 |title=Brooklyn After Chase: Deals and Big Dreams |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=4 |issue=48 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|219096631}}}} as Aschkenasy wanted to attract the growing number of office workers in Downtown Brooklyn.{{cite web |last=Lueck |first=Thomas J. |date=January 22, 1989 |title=Transforming Downtown Brooklyn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/22/realestate/transforming-downtown-brooklyn.html |access-date=August 18, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818010849/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/22/realestate/transforming-downtown-brooklyn.html |url-status=live}} He briefly considered moving the interior to Manhattan, but this was not possible because the building was a landmark. Aschkenasy instead renovated the restaurant,{{cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=October 4, 1989 |title=Four Seasons Is Designated A Landmark |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/04/nyregion/four-seasons-is-designated-a-landmark.html |access-date=August 18, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920121304/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/04/nyregion/four-seasons-is-designated-a-landmark.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Frost |first=Polly |date=July 5, 1990 |title=The Cooks Real Food in Brooklyn Cuisine: Landmark restaurant has a landmark chef who believes in real food with real taste. |page=20 |work=Los Angeles Times |issn=0458-3035 |id={{ProQuest|281040457}}}} saying the landmark status made Gage and Tollner "a more desirable destination".{{cite news |last=Murray |first=Caryn Eve |date=October 4, 1992 |title=Mixed Blessing Arguing pros, cons of landmark benefits |page=1 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278575906}}}}

To attract a wider range of clients, Aschkenasy pushed back the closing time and added common American fare such as lobster and steak.{{cite web |last=McAleer Vizard |first=Mary |date=June 14, 1992 |title=Commercial Property: Downtown Brooklyn; Planning Strategies for a New Retail Environment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/14/realestate/commercial-property-downtown-brooklyn-planning-strategies-for-new-retail.html |access-date=August 18, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818010829/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/14/realestate/commercial-property-downtown-brooklyn-planning-strategies-for-new-retail.html |url-status=live}} He also hired chef Edna Lewis, who expanded the restaurant's menu by adding Southern cuisine such as cornbread, catfish, and she-crab soup.{{cite news |last=Collins |first=Geneva |date=January 3, 1991 |title=For Chef Edna Lewis, Taste is What Counts |page=H1 |work=Orlando Sentinel |id={{ProQuest|277818719}}}} According to The New York Times, Aschkenasy "was widely credited with reviving the restaurant" after hiring Lewis.{{cite web |last=Cooper |first=Michael |date=June 4, 1995 |title=Neighborhood Report: Downtown Brooklyn; A Last Supper: Why Couldn't Gage & Tollner Turn a Profit? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/04/nyregion/neighborhood-report-downtown-brooklyn-last-supper-why-couldn-t-gage-tollner-turn.html |access-date=August 19, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819003012/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/04/nyregion/neighborhood-report-downtown-brooklyn-last-supper-why-couldn-t-gage-tollner-turn.html |url-status=live}} The Brooklyn Eagle retrospectively wrote that Aschkenasy's decision to hire Lewis, who was black, was "quite the statement for a restaurant where African-Americans once weren’t allowed".{{cite web |last=Zorn |first=Sarah |date=March 1, 2019 |title=Gage & Tollner: A prestigious past charts an inspired future |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/03/01/gage-tollners-reopening/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180851/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/03/01/gage-tollners-reopening/ |url-status=live}} To obtain ingredients for the restaurant, Aschkenasy traveled to the Fulton Fish Market, while Lewis went to local greenmarkets. Lewis, who had promised to retire when she turned 75, retired in 1992.{{Cite magazine |last=Hayes |first=Jack |date=February 7, 1994 |title=Edna Lewis: The soul of soul food |magazine=Nation's Restaurant News |volume=28 |issue=6 |page=33 |id={{ProQuest|229278970}}}}

Even though total business had increased from the 1980s,{{Cite news |last=Evans |first=Judith |date=July 12, 1993 |title=High Hopes Aren't Matched by Reality, Yet |pages=31 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-high-hopes-arent-matched-by-rea/130290631/ |access-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819194431/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-high-hopes-arent-matched-by-rea/130290631/ |url-status=live}} the restaurant filed for bankruptcy protection in March 1993, with $1.37 million in liabilities and less than $330,000 in assets.{{Cite news |last=George |first=Tara |date=June 2, 1995 |title=A Summer Face-lift for Gage & Tollner |pages=1478 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-a-summer-face-lift-for-gage/130284134/ |access-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819183242/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-a-summer-face-lift-for-gage/130284134/ |url-status=live}} The restaurant remained open throughout the bankruptcy proceedings. The Independent Savings Bank foreclosed on Gage and Tollner in 1995 and spent six months looking for a new owner. At the time, Gage and Tollner was competing with numerous cheaper fast-food restaurants on Fulton Mall; most of the major department stores on the street had closed; and the nearby MetroTech office development had not spurred as much economic activity as Aschkenasy had expected. Gage and Tollner's business was particularly impacted by the closure of the Abraham & Straus department store, whose executives regularly booked four tables at lunchtime.{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=January 8, 1995 |title=A.& S. Layoffs Prompt Worry in Brooklyn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/08/nyregion/a-s-layoffs-prompt-worry-in-brooklyn.html |access-date=August 19, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526142249/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/08/nyregion/a-s-layoffs-prompt-worry-in-brooklyn.html |url-status=live}} Aschkenasy had spent $10,000 to replace old pipes and claimed that utility bills cost more than $6,000 per month.

= Chirico ownership =

File:Downtown Brooklyn Jul 2024 89.jpg

Joseph Chirico, a restaurateur who was purportedly associated with the Gambino crime family,{{cite web |last=Marzulli |first=John |date=December 6, 2008 |title=Mob-tied Brooklyn restaurateur avoids jail with help from Marty Markowitz |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mob-tied-brooklyn-restaurateur-avoids-jail-marty-markowitz-article-1.354156 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=New York Daily News |archive-date=October 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016152530/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mob-tied-brooklyn-restaurateur-avoids-jail-marty-markowitz-article-1.354156 |url-status=live}} bought the restaurant in June 1995 and closed it for renovations. Chirico spent $653,000 on the restaurant and another $500,000 on renovations.{{cite magazine |last=Kamen |first=Robin |date=March 4, 1996 |title=Bridge, tunnel fare: Dining boom nourishes Brooklyn locales |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=12 |issue=10 |page=3 |id={{ProQuest|219154421}}}}{{cite news |last=Shelby |first=Joyce |date=February 13, 2004 |title=Landmark Eatery to Reopen in New Locale |page=59 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|305862178}}}} The restaurant's lenders allowed Chirico to buy the restaurant's mortgage at a discount, and the Brooklyn Union Gas Company restored the restaurant's gas pipes for free. Chirico said he "tried to retain the historic flavor of the restaurant while providing modern amenities".{{Cite news |date=April 28, 1996 |title=Neighborhood Report: Brooklyn Heights/Downtown Brooklyn: Dining;Gage & Tollner: The Same, but Different |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/28/nyregion/neighborhood-report-brooklyn-heights-downtown-brooklyn-dining-gage-tollner-same.html |access-date=December 11, 2022 |archive-date=December 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211171519/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/28/nyregion/neighborhood-report-brooklyn-heights-downtown-brooklyn-dining-gage-tollner-same.html |url-status=live}} Raymond Caliendo designed the restoration, for which he won an architectural award in 2003.{{cite news |last=Herzlich |first=Jamie |date=December 29, 2003 |title=Something Old, Something New / Architecture awards honor both modern works and a restoration to an original look |page=A27 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|279793127}}}}{{Cite news |last=Paquette |first=Carole |date=December 7, 2003 |title=In the Region/Long Island; Awards for Local Library Addition, House and Store |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/realestate/in-the-region-long-island-awards-for-local-library-addition-house-and-store.html |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180850/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/realestate/in-the-region-long-island-awards-for-local-library-addition-house-and-store.html |url-status=live}} Several dozen seats were replaced with a cocktail bar, a modern air-conditioning system was installed, and the kitchen was replaced. In addition, the woodwork, lights, and mirrors were refurbished, and the ceiling was restored.{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Whitney |date=May 1, 1996 |title=Gage & Tollner in Stirring Comeback |pages=106 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-gage-tollner-in-stirring-co/130292208/ |access-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819195613/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-gage-tollner-in-stirring-co/130292208/ |url-status=live}} Chirico expected to reopen the restaurant by September 1995, but he found the space to be in "very bad condition",{{cite news |date=February 18, 1996 |title=Brooklyn Update |page=CY9 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|109611363}}}} and Gage and Tollner remained closed at the end of the year.{{cite web |date=December 31, 1995 |title=Neighborhood Report: Looking Back, Looking Ahead; Brooklyn Beat: Mo More She-Crab Soup |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/31/nyregion/neighborhood-report-looking-back-looking-ahead-brooklyn-beat-mo-more-she-crab.html |access-date=August 19, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526151142/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/31/nyregion/neighborhood-report-looking-back-looking-ahead-brooklyn-beat-mo-more-she-crab.html |url-status=live}}

The restaurant finally opened in May 1996, with Marvin James as the restaurant's new chef.{{cite web |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=May 8, 1996 |title=Food Notes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/08/garden/food-notes-031046.html |access-date=August 19, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819194432/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/08/garden/food-notes-031046.html |url-status=live}} Although he kept much of Lewis's older menu, James said he wanted "to make the food become familiar so that anyone shopping at Macy's or even paying a fine at the courthouse can come right on in". Food consultant Bea Beasley was hired later that year to help update the menu.{{cite web |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=October 16, 1996 |title=Food Notes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/16/garden/food-notes-820822.html |access-date=August 19, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819194431/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/16/garden/food-notes-820822.html |url-status=live}} The revived Gage and Tollner soon became popular among customers who wanted seafood dishes like clam bellies and she-crab soup. Initially, the restaurant attracted Europeans, though a growing proportion New Yorkers were visiting Gage and Tollner by the late 1990s.{{cite news |last=Shriver |first=Jerry |date=May 15, 1998 |title=History with a twist Legendary restaurants reopen to '90s acclaim |page=8D |work=USA Today |id={{ProQuest|408786172}}}} The Brooklyn Club moved to the upper stories of the restaurant building in the mid-1990s, remaining until 1999, when the club was dissolved.{{cite web |last=Lewine |first=Edward |date=January 24, 1999 |title=Neighborhood Report: Brooklyn Heights; A Club Dies; So Does Part Of Brooklyn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/24/nyregion/neighborhood-report-brooklyn-heights-a-club-dies-so-does-part-of-brooklyn.html |access-date=August 20, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820004155/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/24/nyregion/neighborhood-report-brooklyn-heights-a-club-dies-so-does-part-of-brooklyn.html |url-status=live}} Rad Matmati succeeded James as the chef in October 1997.

In 1998, Gage and Tollner became one of the first members of Landmark Restaurants, a nationwide organization of historically significant restaurants.{{Cite magazine |date=May 18, 1998 |title=Organization to promote historic eateries formed |magazine=Nation's Restaurant News |volume=32 |issue=20 |page=30 |id={{ProQuest|229248166}}}} Gage and Tollner also participated in local festivals such as Brooklyn Eats,{{cite news |last=Farrell |first=Bill |date=October 11, 2000 |title=Foodies Are in for a Delicious Evening |page=3 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|305605173}}}} Taste of Italy,{{Cite news |last=Farrell |first=Bill |date=June 27, 2000 |title=Dash of rivalry adds to Italian banquet |pages=457 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-dash-of-rivalry-adds-to-itali/130400413/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180846/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-dash-of-rivalry-adds-to-itali/130400413/ |url-status=live}} and a red-wine-and-red-meat festival.{{Cite news |last=Kim |first=Rose |date=May 31, 2002 |title=New Korean Restaurant With Spices and Good Prices |pages=118 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-new-korean-restaurant-with-spice/130400480/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821182352/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-new-korean-restaurant-with-spice/130400480/ |url-status=live}} In addition to dinners, the restaurant hosted private parties by the 2000s.{{Cite news |date=June 10, 2001 |title=Postings: A Web List of Places to Hold a Reception; Have a Party In a Landmark |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/10/realestate/postings-a-web-list-of-places-to-hold-a-reception-have-a-party-in-a-landmark.html |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180850/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/10/realestate/postings-a-web-list-of-places-to-hold-a-reception-have-a-party-in-a-landmark.html |url-status=live}} Nonetheless, the restaurant struggled to attract customers because of the prevalence of fast food outlets on Fulton Mall, and because Gage and Tollner was the only non-fast-food eatery for several blocks.{{Cite news |last=Elliott |first=Andrea |date=March 1, 2004 |title=Where White-Cloth Dining Faltered, Chain Looks to Thrive |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/01/nyregion/where-white-cloth-dining-faltered-chain-looks-to-thrive.html |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180848/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/01/nyregion/where-white-cloth-dining-faltered-chain-looks-to-thrive.html |url-status=live}} The restaurant introduced valet parking, but that did not bring in enough customers to sustain the business. According to Chirico, "the business was dragging every day" by 2004. As a result, the restaurant closed on February 14, 2004.{{cite news |last=Goldman |first=John J. |date=February 15, 2004 |title=The Nation; Famed New York French Restaurant and Patrons Bid One Another Adieu; Manhattan's Lutece, named the nation's best for six consecutive years in the '80s, shuts down after a 43-year run |page=A22 |work=Los Angeles Times |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-famed-new-york-fre/130401357/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |issn=0458-3035 |id={{ProQuest|421852772}} |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821185353/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-famed-new-york-fre/130401357/ |url-status=live}} Chirico promised to reopen the restaurant elsewhere, albeit in a place that was easier to access via car.

= Use by other businesses =

In the decade after Gage and Tollner closed, the first floor became what Crain's New York called "a revolving door for tenants",{{cite magazine |last=Pasquarelli |first=Adrianne |date=September 7, 2015 |title=This old house is the new storefront |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=31 |issue=36 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|1710724379}}}} and the second story became a tattoo parlor. Joseph Jemal bought the restaurant building for $2.8 million in early 2004,{{Cite news |last=Newman |first=Barry |date=October 18, 2012 |title=Nobody Can Say Gage & Tollner, Brooklyn Landmark, Looks Its Age |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443684104578062773538100236.html |access-date=August 17, 2023 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=November 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122111742/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443684104578062773538100236.html |url-status=live}} intending to rent it to an upscale restaurateur.{{cite web |date=May 26, 2017 |title=Dining under Gas Lamps at Gage & Tollner's |url=https://www.bklynlibrary.org/blog/2017/05/26/dining-under-gas-lamps |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Public Library |archive-date=July 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706222017/https://www.bklynlibrary.org/blog/2017/05/26/dining-under-gas-lamps |url-status=live}} Potential tenants had to preserve the interior of the restaurant because it was a landmark. The building was ultimately rented to a T.G.I. Friday's fast-food franchise,{{cite web |last=Dai |first=Serena |date=July 20, 2018 |title=Landmarked Brooklyn Restaurant Space May Finally Be Revived Again |url=https://ny.eater.com/2018/7/20/17596034/gage-and-tollner-revival-project |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817233620/https://ny.eater.com/2018/7/20/17596034/gage-and-tollner-revival-project |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Eater NY}} which opened in September 2004 following some modifications to the tables. Despite serving American cuisine and adding jukeboxes and TVs, the T.G.I. Friday's franchise was unable to make a profit, in part because landmark regulations prevented the franchisees from adding large signs. In addition, many local residents opposed the T.G.I. Friday's.{{Cite news |last=Bleyer |first=Jennifer |date=April 22, 2007 |title=In Big Mac Country, Gilded Age Yearnings |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/nyregion/thecity/22stre.html |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821210004/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/nyregion/thecity/22stre.html |url-status=live}} The T.G.I. Friday's franchise closed suddenly in early 2007.{{cite web |last=Rizk |first=Christie |date=April 7, 2007 |title=Fridays quits Gage & Tollner site on Fulton |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/fridays-quits-gage-tollner-site-on-fulton/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817232117/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/fridays-quits-gage-tollner-site-on-fulton/ |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper}}

Jemal leased the building to Amy Ruth's, a soul food restaurant based in Harlem, in October 2007;{{cite web |last=Hutton |first=Adam F. |date=October 20, 2007 |title=Soul food to Gage & Tollner site |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/soul-food-to-gage-tollner-site/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223808/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/soul-food-to-gage-tollner-site/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=October 25, 2007 |title=Harlem soul food restaurant finds 2nd home in Brooklyn |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/harlem-soul-food-restaurant-finds-2nd-home-brooklyn-article-1.229101 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=New York Daily News |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223808/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/harlem-soul-food-restaurant-finds-2nd-home-brooklyn-article-1.229101 |url-status=live}} the restaurant was to have opened the following February.{{cite web |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=December 19, 2007 |title=Off the Menu |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/dining/19off.html |access-date=August 17, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223807/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/dining/19off.html |url-status=live}} The opening of the Amy Ruth's restaurant was delayed several times,{{cite web |last1=Portlock |first1=Sarah |last2=Lipkin |first2=Michael |date=August 22, 2008 |title=Downtown is soul-less! |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/downtown-is-soul-less/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223806/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/downtown-is-soul-less/ |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper}} and the operators failed to obtain a liquor license due to procedural errors.{{cite web |last=Hutton |first=Adam F. |date=January 26, 2008 |title=Romance at Amy's without booze • Brooklyn Paper |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/romance-at-amys-without-booze/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223808/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/romance-at-amys-without-booze/ |url-status=live}} The New York City Marshal's office evicted Amy Ruth's operators in August 2008 due to non-payment of rent, and Chirico began considering reopening Gage and Tollner within the space.{{cite web |last=Buiso |first=Gary |date=September 8, 2008 |title=A second helping of Gage & Tollner in the works • Brooklyn Paper |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/a-second-helping-of-gage-tollner-in-the-works/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223810/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/a-second-helping-of-gage-tollner-in-the-works/ |url-status=live}}

In January 2009, Raymond Chera signed a lease to operate an Arby's sandwich franchise at the building, and he submitted alteration plans to the LPC.{{cite web |last1=Kaufman |first1=Sarah R. |last2=Sederstrom |first2=Jotham |date=March 11, 2009 |title=Arby's to move into famed Gage & Tollner digs in downtown Brooklyn |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/arby-move-famed-gage-tollner-digs-downtown-brooklyn-article-1.371529 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=New York Daily News |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223813/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/arby-move-famed-gage-tollner-digs-downtown-brooklyn-article-1.371529 |url-status=live}} The plans were delayed by disputes over such matters as the floor color, counter, and booths,{{cite web |last=Kludt |first=Amanda |date=May 20, 2009 |title=Not so Fast Arby's |url=https://ny.eater.com/2009/5/20/6767319/not-so-fast-arbys |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Eater NY |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223807/https://ny.eater.com/2009/5/20/6767319/not-so-fast-arbys |url-status=live}} as well as an illuminated menu. The LPC approved the plans in May 2009.{{cite news |last=McLaughlin |first=Mike |date=November 6, 2009 |title=Arby's Steaks Claim to Historic Home of Gage and Tollner |page=56 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|306319235}}}} The Arby's franchise opened in January 2010{{cite web |last=Marx |first=Rebecca |date=January 20, 2010 |title=Surprisingly, the Gage & Tollner Arby's Looks Pretty Nice |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/surprisingly-the-gage-tollner-arbys-looks-pretty-nice/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=The Village Voice |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223828/https://www.villagevoice.com/surprisingly-the-gage-tollner-arbys-looks-pretty-nice/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Bortolot |first=Lana |date=January 20, 2010 |title=Arby's will open Thursday in historic Gage & Tollner space in Brooklyn |url=https://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/arby-s-will-open-thursday-in-historic-gage-tollner-space-in-brooklyn-f62905 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223810/https://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/arby-s-will-open-thursday-in-historic-gage-tollner-space-in-brooklyn-f62905 |url-status=live}} but lasted only until that August.{{cite web |last=Kludt |first=Amanda |date=August 12, 2010 |title=Ghosts of Landmarked Building Win, Brooklyn Arby's Shutters |url=https://ny.eater.com/2010/8/12/6723185/ghosts-of-landmarked-building-win-brooklyn-arby-s-shutters |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Eater NY |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223807/https://ny.eater.com/2010/8/12/6723185/ghosts-of-landmarked-building-win-brooklyn-arby-s-shutters |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Rutkoff |first=Aaron |date=August 12, 2010 |title=Arby's Inside Gage & Tollner Landmark Building in Brooklyn Has Closed |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-METROB-6932 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223808/https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-METROB-6932 |url-status=live}} Jemal attributed the difficulty of renting the building's ground floor to the fact that it was small, and that any modification required approvals from the LPC.{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=C. J. |date=November 23, 2011 |title=The Tricky Task of Renovating a Building's Landmark Interior |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/realestate/commercial/the-tricky-task-of-renovating-a-buildings-landmark-interior.html |access-date=August 17, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129185733/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/realestate/commercial/the-tricky-task-of-renovating-a-buildings-landmark-interior.html |url-status=live}} Although the LPC mandated that the ground floor remain in use as a restaurant, the space was too small for a conventional restaurant.{{cite web |last=Egan |first=Patrick |date=January 31, 2011 |title=Families plot Fulton Mall face-lift |url=https://therealdeal.com/magazine/new-york-february-2011/families-plot-fulton-mall-face-lift/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=The Real Deal |archive-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616002328/https://therealdeal.com/magazine/new-york-february-2011/families-plot-fulton-mall-face-lift/ |url-status=live}} The Wall Street Journal reported in 2012 that "brokers who know Fulton Street say [Jemal] was able to expect $30,000 a month in rent" and that many restaurants, other than fast-food chains, could not afford that rent.

Ladies & Gents Costume Jewelry moved into the building in July 2011{{cite web |last=Bush |first=Daniel |date=July 19, 2011 |title=Gage and Tollner now a discount jewelry store |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/gage-and-tollner-now-a-discount-jewelry-store/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223808/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/gage-and-tollner-now-a-discount-jewelry-store/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Carlson |first=Jen |date=July 19, 2011 |title=Sigh: Gage & Tollner Space Reincarnated As A Discount Jewelry Shop |url=https://gothamist.com/news/sigh-gage-tollner-space-reincarnated-as-a-discount-jewelry-shop |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Gothamist |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223810/https://gothamist.com/news/sigh-gage-tollner-space-reincarnated-as-a-discount-jewelry-shop |url-status=live}} and renovated the interior without receiving the LPC's approval, prompting the agency to threaten to fine the store.{{cite web |last=Short |first=Aaron |date=August 31, 2011 |title=Schlock an awwww at Gage and Tollner site |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/schlock-an-awwww-at-gage-and-tollner-site/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223808/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/schlock-an-awwww-at-gage-and-tollner-site/ |url-status=live}} The store's operators submitted an alteration application, which the LPC rejected in 2012 because the application was not detailed enough. The LPC voted in January 2013 to reject the changes that had already been made to the restaurant space.{{cite web |last=Geberer |first=Raanan |date=January 23, 2013 |title=Landmarks pans discount store's hot-pink revamp of historic Gage & Tollner space |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2013/01/23/landmarks-pans-discount-stores-hot-pink-revamp-of-historic-gage-tollner-space/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819183846/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2013/01/23/landmarks-pans-discount-stores-hot-pink-revamp-of-historic-gage-tollner-space/ |url-status=live}} Jemal considered leasing the space to an upscale restaurant in mid-2016, citing the revival of business in Downtown Brooklyn,{{cite web |last=Dai |first=Serena |date=April 5, 2016 |title=Landlord Wants to Turn Gage and Tollner Space Into a Restaurant Once Again |url=https://ny.eater.com/2016/4/5/11361608/gage-tollner-revival-restaurant-brooklyn |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Eater NY |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817232120/https://ny.eater.com/2016/4/5/11361608/gage-tollner-revival-restaurant-brooklyn |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Gill |first=Lauren |date=December 6, 2016 |title=Kitsched out! Landmarked Gage and Tollner finally free of gaudy jewelry store |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/kitsched-out-landmarked-gage-and-tollner-finally-free-of-gaudy-jewelry-store/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821191952/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/kitsched-out-landmarked-gage-and-tollner-finally-free-of-gaudy-jewelry-store/ |url-status=live}} and evicted Ladies & Gents Costume Jewelry that November.{{cite web |last=Leon |first=Alexandra |date=November 29, 2016 |title=Landmarked Gage and Tollner Site Could Get New Restaurant, Landlord Says |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161129/downtown-brooklyn/gage-and-tollner-new-restaurant-fulton-street |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127195733/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161129/downtown-brooklyn/gage-and-tollner-new-restaurant-fulton-street/ |archive-date=November 27, 2022 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=DNAinfo New York}} By then, Jemal had received proposals from numerous restaurateurs, and workers quickly removed the former jewelry store's displays and decorations. Jemal hosted several survey panels at the former restaurant space in mid-2017.{{cite web |last=Zimmer |first=Amy |date=May 11, 2017 |title=Landmark Gage & Tollner Space Hosts Foodie Panel to Lure Prospective Chefs |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170511/downtown-brooklyn/gage-and-tollner-fulton-street-downtown-brooklyn-partnership |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=November 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129221237/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170511/downtown-brooklyn/gage-and-tollner-fulton-street-downtown-brooklyn-partnership/ |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |last=Crowley |first=Chris |date=May 12, 2017 |title=Historic Building Once Home to Gage & Tollner Will Host a Series of Food Panels |url=https://www.grubstreet.com/2017/05/gage-and-tollner-space-food-panels.html |access-date=August 21, 2023 |website=Grub Street |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821191953/https://www.grubstreet.com/2017/05/gage-and-tollner-space-food-panels.html |url-status=live}}

=Revival=

File:Sunken_Harbor_Club_2.jpg

In July 2018, restaurateurs St. John Frizell, Sohui Kim, and Ben Schneider started a crowdfunding campaign on Wefunder to revive the restaurant.{{cite news |last1=Simonson |first1=Robert |title=Trying to Revive Gage & Tollner, a Landmark Brooklyn Restaurant |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/dining/gage-and-tollner-restaurant-crowdfunding-landmark-brooklyn.html |access-date=March 4, 2019 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |date=July 20, 2018 |archive-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818013028/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/dining/gage-and-tollner-restaurant-crowdfunding-landmark-brooklyn.html |url-status=live}} Frizell, Kim, and Schneider, had intended to open a bar when they learned that the restaurant was up for lease.{{cite magazine |last=Miller |first=Stuart |date=August 19, 2019 |title=Restaurants Find New Way to Eat: Getting Fed With Regulated Crowdfunding |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=35 |issue=33–34 |page=3 |id={{ProQuest|2277556546}}}}{{Cite news |last1=Patronite |first1=Rob |last2=Raisfeld |first2=Robin |date=September 2, 2019 |title=How to Open a Restaurant in a Legendary Space Without Causing a Riot |work=New York |id={{ProQuest|2309794363}}}} The team aimed to raise $600,000 through crowdfunding, out of a total renovation budget of $1.8 million{{cite web |last=Crowley |first=Chris |date=July 20, 2018 |title=New Owners Have a Plan to Bring Back One of Brooklyn's Greatest Restaurants |url=https://www.grubstreet.com/2018/07/gage-and-tollner-revival-nyc.html |access-date=August 21, 2023 |website=Grub Street |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821210004/https://www.grubstreet.com/2018/07/gage-and-tollner-revival-nyc.html |url-status=live}} or $2 million. In exchange for their contribution, the investors would receive interest payments from the restaurant once it was operational. The group planned to serve cuisine from Edna Lewis's tenure at the restaurant, as well as "traditional fare, with possible dishes including Welsh rarebit and clams casino". Although investors were required to give at least $1,000, the campaign soon received many donations because of media coverage of the effort. The group had raised $400,000 by January 2019,{{cite news |last1=Quinn |first1=Anna |date=January 16, 2019 |title=Brooklyn's Historic Gage & Tollner Revived By $400K Raised Online |publisher=Patch Brooklyn Heights DUMBO |url=https://patch.com/new-york/heights-dumbo/brooklyns-historic-gage-tollner-revived-400k-raised-online |url-status=live |access-date=March 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308080839/https://patch.com/new-york/heights-dumbo/brooklyns-historic-gage-tollner-revived-400k-raised-online |archive-date=March 8, 2019}} and Frizell, Kim and Schneider signed the lease with landlord William Jemal.{{cite web |last=McGoldrick |first=Meaghan |date=January 14, 2019 |title=Gage & Tollner to reopen in original Downtown Brooklyn location |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/01/14/gage-tollner-to-reopen-in-original-downtown-brooklyn-location/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |archive-date=June 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230614172921/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/01/14/gage-tollner-to-reopen-in-original-downtown-brooklyn-location/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Ramirez |first=Jeanine |date=January 18, 2019 |title=Landmark Brooklyn restaurant to reopen |url=https://ny1.com/nyc/brooklyn/news/2019/01/18/landmark-brooklyn-restaurant-to-reopen |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Spectrum News NY1 |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817232118/https://ny1.com/nyc/brooklyn/news/2019/01/18/landmark-brooklyn-restaurant-to-reopen |url-status=live}} By that August, the team had raised $484,091; more than a quarter of donations came from three ZIP Codes surrounding the neighborhood.

The LPC and the local community board had to approve plans for the site,{{cite news |last1=Cuba |first1=Julianne |title=It's Gage on! Restaurateurs forge ahead with revival of Gage and Tollner after inking lease for historic space |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/42/5/all-gage-and-tollner-lease-signed-2019-01-25-bk.html |access-date=March 7, 2019 |publisher=GO Brooklyn |date=January 24, 2019 |archive-date=February 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204000009/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/42/5/all-gage-and-tollner-lease-signed-2019-01-25-bk.html |url-status=live}} and the LPC approved the restaurant's restoration in May 2019.{{cite web |last=Vianna |first=Carla |date=May 3, 2019 |title=Shuttered 125-Year-Old Brooklyn Restaurant Gets the Okay to Reopen This Fall |url=https://ny.eater.com/2019/5/3/18528244/gage-tollner-landmark-reopen-nyc |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Eater NY |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817213312/https://ny.eater.com/2019/5/3/18528244/gage-tollner-landmark-reopen-nyc |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Spivack |first=Caroline |date=May 1, 2019 |title=Brooklyn's historic Gage & Tollner restaurant to get 'magical' restoration, owners say |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2019/5/1/18524249/brooklyn-gage-tollner-restaurant-restoration-lpc-landmark |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Curbed NY |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817214814/https://ny.curbed.com/2019/5/1/18524249/brooklyn-gage-tollner-restaurant-restoration-lpc-landmark |url-status=live}} Kim planned to take over as the new restaurant's chef, while Frizell was to become the bartender. Frizell, Kim, and Schneider, along with 35 equity investors and 200 smaller stakeholders, planned to modify the interior and add an exterior sign. The interior modifications included extending the 1990s-era cocktail bar, refurbishing the original bar into a seafood bar, adding dining booths, and adding a cocktail lounge on the upper level. To preserve the original design, the owners looked through 11 boxes of archive materials at the Brooklyn Historical Society; they discovered another box of memorabilia in the attic during the renovation.{{cite news |last=Gill |first=John Freeman |date=March 6, 2020 |title=Found in the Attic at Gage & Tollner: Historic Treasure |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/realestate/found-in-the-attic-at-gage-tollner-historic-treasure.html |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824002627/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/realestate/found-in-the-attic-at-gage-tollner-historic-treasure.html |url-status=live}} A new outdoor "Gage & Tollner" sign was erected in January 2020.{{cite web |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2020/01/09/gage-tollners-new-sign-is-up-february-opening-planned/ |title=Gage & Tollner's new sign is up, February opening planned |last=Frangipane |first=Paul |date=January 9, 2020 |website=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |access-date=January 17, 2020 |archive-date=January 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110140711/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2020/01/09/gage-tollners-new-sign-is-up-february-opening-planned/ |url-status=live}} The grand reopening was announced for March 15, 2020.{{Cite news |last=Simonson |first=Robert |date=March 4, 2020 |title=The Return of Gage & Tollner, a Victorian Haunt With a New Vibe |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/dining/gage-and-tollner.html |access-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424030201/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/dining/gage-and-tollner.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Singer |first=Noah |date=March 2, 2020 |title=Around Brooklyn: Gage & Tollner prepares to reopen |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2020/03/02/around-brooklyn-gage-tollner-prepares-to-reopen/ |access-date=August 15, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |archive-date=August 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816000551/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2020/03/02/around-brooklyn-gage-tollner-prepares-to-reopen/ |url-status=live}} With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the reopening was indefinitely postponed one day before it was to occur, and Frizell had to furlough all staff members because of a ban on indoor dining.{{Cite news |last=Russolillo |first=Steven |date=March 17, 2020 |title=A Bartender Was Set to Reopen a Storied Restaurant; Coronavirus Forced Him to Lay Off Entire Staff Instead |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-bartender-was-set-to-reopen-a-storied-restaurant-coronavirus-forced-him-to-lay-off-entire-staff-instead-11584453455 |access-date=August 21, 2023 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821210004/https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-bartender-was-set-to-reopen-a-storied-restaurant-coronavirus-forced-him-to-lay-off-entire-staff-instead-11584453455 |url-status=live}}

The revived Gage and Tollner opened in February 2021 but initially only provided delivery and take-out service.{{cite web |last=Geberer |first=Raanan |date=March 1, 2021 |title=Gage & Tollner finally open — for takeout and delivery |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2021/02/28/gage-tollner-finally-open-for-takeout-and-delivery/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223812/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2021/02/28/gage-tollner-finally-open-for-takeout-and-delivery/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=February 16, 2021 |title=Gage & Tollner and Its Bar Open for Delivery and Pickup |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/dining/nyc-restaurant-news.html |access-date=August 17, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223807/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/dining/nyc-restaurant-news.html |url-status=live}} The restaurant officially reopened for dine-in service on April 15, 2021,{{cite web |last=Duggan |first=Kevin |title=Classic chophouse Gage & Tollner finally opens in Downtown Brooklyn |website=Brooklyn Paper |date=April 16, 2021 |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/gage-tollner-opening-downtown-brooklyn/ |access-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424015208/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/gage-tollner-opening-downtown-brooklyn/ |url-status=live}} after restrictions on indoor dining capacity were decreased and COVID-19 vaccinations were available for restaurant workers.{{cite web |last1=Raisfeld |first1=Robin |last2=Patronite |first2=Rob |title=Persistent Brooklyn Chophouse Gage & Tollner Will Open April 15 |website=Grub Street |date=March 25, 2021 |url=https://www.grubstreet.com/2021/03/legendary-chophouse-gage-and-tollner-will-reopen-april-15.html |access-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424024700/https://www.grubstreet.com/2021/03/legendary-chophouse-gage-and-tollner-will-reopen-april-15.html |url-status=live}} The operators initially planned to serve dinner only and to open the cocktail lounge and an upper-level dining room at a later date.{{cite web |last=Ramirez |first=Jeanine |date=March 4, 2020 |title=Exclusive Look at the Landmark Gage & Tollner Restaurant Set to Reopen |url=https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2020/03/05/exclusive-look-at-the-landmark-gage---tollner-restaurant-set-to-reopen |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817232124/https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2020/03/05/exclusive-look-at-the-landmark-gage---tollner-restaurant-set-to-reopen |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Spectrum News NY1}} Because of extremely high patronage, the second floor was converted into the Sunken Harbor Club, which opened that November.{{cite web |last=Simonson |first=Robert |date=November 5, 2021 |title=Sunken Harbor Club, a Tiki Bar, Opens Above Gage & Tollner |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/05/dining/sunken-harbor-club-tiki-bar-brooklyn.html |access-date=August 17, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223807/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/05/dining/sunken-harbor-club-tiki-bar-brooklyn.html |url-status=live}} The New York Landmarks Conservancy gave the restaurant's owners a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award in 2022.{{cite web |date=February 23, 2022 |title=Gage & Tollner's restoration to be honored with prestigious award |url=https://www.bkmag.com/2022/02/23/gage-and-tollner-restoration-award/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Magazine |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223810/https://www.bkmag.com/2022/02/23/gage-and-tollner-restoration-award/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Geberer |first=Raanan |date=February 22, 2022 |title=Gage & Tollner to receive award from Landmarks Conservancy |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2022/02/22/gage-tollner-to-receive-award-from-landmarks-conservancy/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223811/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2022/02/22/gage-tollner-to-receive-award-from-landmarks-conservancy/ |url-status=live}} The restaurant started serving lunch on Fridays through Sundays in 2023,{{cite web |last=Sutherland-Namako |first=Amber |date=April 19, 2023 |title=One of NYC's best and toughest-to-book restaurants begins lunch service this weekend |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/gage-tollner-begins-lunch-service-this-weekend-041923 |access-date=August 15, 2023 |website=Time Out New York |archive-date=August 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816000549/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/gage-tollner-begins-lunch-service-this-weekend-041923 |url-status=live}} and it started selling take-out pastry boxes on weekends in early 2024.{{cite web | last=Sutherland-Namako | first=Amber | title=NYC’s best restaurant now offers weekend pastry boxes to go | website=Time Out New York | date=February 12, 2024 | url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/nycs-best-restaurant-now-offers-weekend-pastry-boxes-to-go-021224 | access-date=March 14, 2024}}

Architecture

Gage and Tollner is housed in a four-story late Italianate style brownstone building at 372–374 Fulton Street in the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S.{{cite aia5|pages=591}} The interior of the restaurant is designed in the Victorian style.{{cite landmarks |page= |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=o8ym5NeiylkC&dq=gage+and+tollner+nyc+architect&pg=PA245 245–246]}} The identities of the original architect(s) are not known. The restaurant is one of the few restaurants in New York City designated as an interior landmark, as well as the only restaurant outside Manhattan designated as an interior landmark {{As of|2023|lc=y}}.{{cite web |last=Vries |first=Susan De |date=December 21, 2016 |title=See the Amazingly Preserved, Mellowed Grandeur of Gilded Age Chop House Gage & Tollner (Photos) |url=https://www.brownstoner.com/neighborhood/downtown-brooklyn/gage-and-tollner-brooklyn-restaurant-landmark-interior-372-fulton-street/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brownstoner |archive-date=August 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816000554/https://www.brownstoner.com/neighborhood/downtown-brooklyn/gage-and-tollner-brooklyn-restaurant-landmark-interior-372-fulton-street/ |url-status=live}}

= Exterior =

Only the northern elevation of the facade, facing Fulton Street, is visible. The wooden ground-level storefront was likely added when the restaurant moved into the building and is designed in the Neo-Grec style. At the center of the storefront are a pair of Doric columns which support a slightly projecting portico. To the left is a double door and a window, while to the right is another door; they are separated by colonettes, which in turn are topped by capitals with foliate decoration. These support a frieze with alternating eight-pointed stars and decorative brackets. A cornice runs horizontally above the facade.{{harvnb|National Park Service|1982|ps=.|p=2}}{{cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0836.pdf |title=Gage & Tollner |date=November 12, 1974 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |access-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-date=May 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517234007/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0836.pdf |url-status=live}}

The three upper stories are clad in brownstone and have molded frames. Corbels support the sills at the bottom of each window, while cornices protrude above each window. There is a cornice with modillions and fascia running horizontally above the fourth story. On the western and eastern sides of the restaurant building are party walls that abut neighboring buildings. The southern, or rear, elevation cannot be seen from the street.

= Interior =

The interior retains its original Victorian design. Rather than emphasizing elegant design, the restaurant's original architect(s) wanted to make the space appear comfortable through the quality of the workmanship, such as mirrors and woodwork furnishings. In particular, the main dining room was intended to resemble the interior of a railcar.{{Cite news |last1=Michaelson |first1=Jan |last2=Michaelson |first2=Jerry |date=November 12, 2000 |title=Dining in the Big Apple; Varied cuisine keeps New York scene lively |page=F2 |work=News Sentinel |id={{ProQuest|305605173}}}} By the 1990s, the first floor had a total capacity of 110 people, while another 70 people could fit on the second floor. As of 2021, the main dining room seats 70 people, while the bar has 40 seats.

== Main dining room ==

File:Gage and Tollner.jpgThe main dining room is a relatively small space of {{Convert|2083|ft2}}; it measures roughly {{cvt|90|ft}} deep by {{cvt|25|ft}} across. The wainscoting on the side walls is about as high as the dining tables.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|p=1}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1982|ps=.|p=2}} Above the wainscoting, the side walls are decorated with arched mirrors, while the rear or southern wall features a large flat arched mirror flanked by smaller recessed mirrors. There are dark-red cherry frames around each mirror and dark red velvet panels between the mirrors.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|pp=1–2}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1982|ps=.|p=2}} The mirrors were intended to make the space look larger than its actual size.{{cite web |date=February 2, 1992 |title=Sunday Brunch; For Brunch, Add Snails and Fajitas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/02/news/sunday-brunch-for-brunch-add-snails-and-fajitas.html |access-date=August 18, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819003015/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/02/news/sunday-brunch-for-brunch-add-snails-and-fajitas.html |url-status=live}} Their presence is credited to Tollner, who, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, said that although customers might become disillusioned with murals, they never got tired of seeing themselves.

The eastern or left wall contains a niche with a mahogany serving bar, salvaged from the original restaurant at 302 Fulton Street, which was extended in the 2020s. A {{convert|15|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}} mahogany and cherry-wood cocktail bar was installed at the front of the room in the mid-1990s. The rest of the restaurant had mahogany tables,{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|p=2}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1982|ps=.|p=2}} which could seat two to four people each.{{cite web |last=Otey |first=Sarah |date=March 19, 1971 |title=Focus On Dining Out At Gage & Tollner |url=https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2024/Brooklyn%20NY%20Home%20Reporter%20and%20Sunset%20News/Brooklyn%20NY%20Home%20Reporter%20and%20Sunset%20News1971/Brooklyn%20NY%20Home%20Reporter%20and%20Sunset%20News1971%2000959.pdf |access-date=January 1, 2023 |work=Home Reporter and Sunset News |page=24A |via=fultonhistory.com |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824155627/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2024/Brooklyn%20NY%20Home%20Reporter%20and%20Sunset%20News/Brooklyn%20NY%20Home%20Reporter%20and%20Sunset%20News1971/Brooklyn%20NY%20Home%20Reporter%20and%20Sunset%20News1971%2000959.pdf |url-status=live}} These tables were converted to cherry-wood booths in the restaurant's 2020s renovation. The spandrels at the tops of the arched mirrors contain embossed gold-colored Lincrusta Walton coverings,{{cite news |last=Sheraton |first=Mimi |date=February 19, 1982 |title=The 9 Oldest Restaurants in the City: a Critic's Guide |page=C1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|424290412}}}} which The New York Times described as "the poor man's stamped leather".{{cite web |last=Burros |first=Marian |date=April 21, 1999 |title=Preservation Chic: Tables With a View of the Past |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/21/dining/preservation-chic-tables-with-a-view-of-the-past.html |access-date=August 19, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013234622/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/21/dining/preservation-chic-tables-with-a-view-of-the-past.html |url-status=live}} The cornice at the top of each wall is made of dark red cherry wood, supporting a coved ceiling. The ceiling is covered in gold leaf. The carpet was originally decorated in green-and-blue on a red background.

The interior lighting scheme consists of 36 gas lamps, as well as electric lighting installed in 1888. The light fixtures are attached to nine chandeliers that are placed on the ceiling at regular intervals. At the ends of each chandelier's arms are a pair of gas jets with cut glass diffusers, as well as an incandescent lamp between each jet that pointed downward at a 45-degree angle. Glass bowls were placed around the light bulbs at some point after the restaurant opened. The gas lights were illuminated every night at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m.{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Beverley |date=September 28, 2003 |title=Hip Shoppers Keep Fulton Mall Hopping 100,000 to 125,000 Hit Stores Each Day |page=4 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|305851743}}}} The electric lights supplemented the gas lights in the 20th century.{{cite news |last1=Stern |first1=Jane |last2=Stern |first2=Michael |date=September 25, 1985 |title=Belle Epoque Cuisine At Gage & Tollner: A Taste of America |page=E11 |work=The Hartford Courant |issn=1047-4153 |id={{ProQuest|758707777}}}} The gas lights were no longer used after the original Gage and Tollner closed in the 2000s, and the gas lights were deactivated in 2020 to comply with modern fire-safety regulations.{{cite web |last=Roundy |first=Bill |date=March 4, 2020 |title=Second serving: Brooklyn's famous Gage & Tollner restaurant returns on March 15 • Brooklyn Paper |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/second-serving-brooklyns-famous-gage-tollner-restaurant-returns-on-march-15/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817232117/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/second-serving-brooklyns-famous-gage-tollner-restaurant-returns-on-march-15/ |url-status=live}} In addition, the original carpeted floor was replaced with a stained-wood floor, and there is a non-functional payphone next to the bar.

== Other spaces ==

Just inside the entrance were originally two seating bays, one on either side of the main doorway, for guests waiting to be seated. These bays occupied the wood-framed storefront windows facing Fulton Street. Their walls were decorated with swirling motifs, while the ceilings had sunburst motifs and embossed Lincrusta Walton coverings. The restaurant did not have a coat room; instead, guests' belongings were placed on spikes affixed to the wall.{{Cite news |last=McHarry |first=Charles |date=July 18, 1959 |title=On the Town |pages=72 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-on-the-town/130537778/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823232212/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-on-the-town/130537778/ |url-status=live}}

On the second floor is the Sunken Harbor Club, a cocktail lounge themed to a tiki bar.{{cite web |date=October 12, 2015 |title=The Essential Cocktail Bars of New York City |url=https://ny.eater.com/maps/nyc-best-essential-cocktail-bars-manhattan-brooklyn |access-date=August 21, 2023 |website=Eater NY |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180850/https://ny.eater.com/maps/nyc-best-essential-cocktail-bars-manhattan-brooklyn |url-status=live}} It was designed in a Victorian style and contains flags, maps, rattan furniture, and wooden paneling. When the lounge opened in 2021, a friend of the restaurant's owners painted a mural within the bar.{{cite web |date=August 4, 2022 |title=A Day at a 143 Year-Old Restaurant With NYC's Most Iconic Desserts |url=https://www.bonappetit.com/video/watch/on-the-line-a-day-at-a-143-year-old-restaurant-with-nycs-most-iconic-desserts |access-date=August 21, 2023 |website=Bon Appétit |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821180847/https://www.bonappetit.com/video/watch/on-the-line-a-day-at-a-143-year-old-restaurant-with-nycs-most-iconic-desserts |url-status=live}} In addition, there are glass fishing trawlers and fish mounted onto various surfaces. A dumbwaiter connects the second floor with the ground-level kitchen.

Cuisine

Gage and Tollner's early menu consisted of seafood, meat chops, and steaks; the restaurant originally did not serve roasted or fried dishes.{{Cite news |date=March 23, 1935 |title=Brooklyn Landmark |pages=15 |work=The Tablet |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tablet-brooklyn-landmark/130428506/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822010639/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tablet-brooklyn-landmark/130428506/ |url-status=live}} Seafood was prepared in a wide variety of ways and cooked right in front of the guests. To ensure that the restaurant's food was of high quality, hard coal was used to boil dishes; a 1956 news article noted that the restaurant used {{convert|12|ST|LT t}} of anthracite per month.{{Cite news |date=September 16, 1956 |title=A-Fuel? Prime Steak Calls for Anthracite |pages=457 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-a-fuel-prime-steak-calls-for/130537894/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823232653/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-a-fuel-prime-steak-calls-for/130537894/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=July 5, 1958 |title=(()) |url=https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252023%2FBrooklyn%2520%2520NY%2520Daily%2FBrooklyn%2520%2520NY%2520Daily%25201956%2FBrooklyn%2520%2520NY%2520Daily%25201956%2520-%25202866.pdf |access-date=January 1, 2023 |work=Brooklyn Daily |page=5 |via=fultonhistory.com}} In addition, foods were purchased in small amounts to ensure freshness, and they were cooked to order.{{cite news |last=Hanes |first=Phyllis |date=July 4, 1985 |title=Dickensian restaurant in the heart of Brooklyn: US independence Day |page=36 |work=South China Morning Post |id={{ProQuest|1538004936}}}} Recipes for some of the restaurant's meals were featured in a 1982 cookbook by the Master Chefs Institute.{{Cite news |last=Santangelo |first=Mike |date=December 3, 1982 |title=Borough is Really Cooking |pages=161 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-borough-is-really-cooking/130546538/ |access-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824011034/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-borough-is-really-cooking/130546538/ |url-status=live}} Although the original iteration of Gage & Tollner was generally willing to swap out ingredients if diners had dietary restrictions, some items could not be substituted, such as skim milk in place of whole milk, or margarine in place of butter.{{cite news |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=January 7, 1984 |title=Consumer Saturday; Preserving Diet While Dining Out |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/07/style/consumer-saturday-preserving-diet-while-dining-out.html |access-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524151346/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/07/style/consumer-saturday-preserving-diet-while-dining-out.html |url-status=live}}

The Los Angeles Times wrote in 2001 that, at the beginning of the 20th century, the restaurant "sold oysters fried three ways, stewed five ways and broiled six ways". Seafood could be served as bisque, fricassee, fritters, or patties.{{cite news |last=Perry |first=Charles |date=December 26, 2001 |title=Special New Year's Issue; as American as Roasted Oysters; in the 19th Century, Oyster Dishes Were Our National Staple, Especially at the Holiday Season |page=H1 |work=Los Angeles Times |issn=0458-3035 |id={{ProQuest|421693332}}}} A menu from 1919 listed twenty-four ways that Saddle Rock oysters could be prepared, while menus from the 1940s and 1950s listed dozens of oyster, soft-clam, littleneck clam, and cherrystone clam dishes. The Albany Times Union wrote in 1942 that the menu was six pages long.{{cite web |last=Durling |first=E. V. |date=April 15, 1942 |title=On the Side |url=https://fultonhistory.com/Login_18/Albany%20NY%20Times%20Union/Albany%20NY%20Times%20Union%201942/Albany%20NY%20Times%20Union%201942%20-%202627.pdf |access-date=January 1, 2023 |work=Albany Times-Union |page=Editorial Page |via=fultonhistory.com |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824155654/https://fultonhistory.com/Login_18/Albany%20NY%20Times%20Union/Albany%20NY%20Times%20Union%201942/Albany%20NY%20Times%20Union%201942%20-%202627.pdf |url-status=live}} By the 1960s and 1970s, there were large numbers of meat entrees, salads, potato dishes, and vegetable dishes in addition to the wide variety of seafood servings.{{Cite news |last=Sokolov |first=Raymond A. |date=September 12, 1971 |title=A Moveable Feast of Kings |language=en |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/12/archives/a-moveable-feast-of-kings-savoring-brooklyns-moveable-feast.html |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=April 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424160747/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/12/archives/a-moveable-feast-of-kings-savoring-brooklyns-moveable-feast.html |url-status=live}} Gage and Tollner also had an extensive wine collection in the mid-20th century, but it did not generally stock rare wines. As late as 1981, the restaurant also had only three frozen dishes on its menu.{{cite news |last=Sammons |first=Robert L. |date=May 10, 1981 |title=New York, N.Y.'s Cuisine, Cuisine |page=F5 |work=Los Angeles Times |issn=0458-3035 |id={{ProQuest|152755006}}}} Waiters showed the steak to the diners before broiling it, and meat dishes were accompanied by French fries. When Ed Dewey operated the restaurant, all diners received champagne when they finished eating.{{Cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Lionel |date=November 26, 1983 |title=Mouth-watering menu at Bklyn landmark restaurant |page=16 |work=New York Amsterdam News |id={{proQuest|226284355}}}}

Gage and Tollner was primarily a seafood restaurant in the 1980s; by the end of that decade, it served dishes such as clam bellies; she-crab soup; coleslaw; chicken with mushrooms and vegetables; Smithfield ham; crab cakes; and pan-fried quails. Other courses included egg dishes, fried rock shrimp, BBQ ribs, and brisket. There was a California wine menu with à la carte dishes. The desserts included bitter chocolate souffle with whipped cream,{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Bryan |date=January 20, 1989 |title=Diner's Journal; Gage & Tollner |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/20/arts/diner-s-journal-gage-tollner.html |access-date=August 17, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817232121/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/20/arts/diner-s-journal-gage-tollner.html |url-status=live}} in addition to strawberry preserves and sweet corn pudding. When Marvin James became the restaurant's chef in 1996, he introduced new dishes such as lobster sausage, fricassee of Florida gulf shrimp, and fried chicken, and the restaurant continued to serve seafood and Southern food. Gage and Tollner's menu at the time included chicken dishes, dumplings, oysters, and grilled vegetables. as well as desserts like chocolate truffle cake and dessert sorbet.{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=Jessica B. |date=August 20, 1996 |title=Facelift |page=V14 |work=The Village Voice |id={{ProQuest|232237866}}}} In the early 2000s, dishes included an appetizer named "Oysters Diamond Jim Brady", as well as entrees like T-bone steak and rack of lamb.{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=William A. |date=October 25, 2000 |title=New York's Underrated Borough Comes Into Its Own |page=C7 |work=Boston Globe |id={{ProQuest|405367537}}}}File:Baked Alaska at Gage and Tollner.jpg, maraschino cherry, and dark chocolate Baked Alaska in 2023]]

After the restaurant reopened in 2021, it served seven cocktails and numerous types of seafood, including oysters, caviar, shellfish, clams, and chilled lobsters.{{cite web |last=Wells |first=Pete |date=June 14, 2021 |title=A Brooklyn Landmark Holds Its Head High Again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/dining/gage-and-tollner-review.html |access-date=August 15, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217175947/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/dining/gage-and-tollner-review.html |url-status=live}} The menu included steaks such as ribeye on the bone, as well as several types of salads, crab soup, chicken-liver pâté. Some of the dishes, such as Charlestonian crab soup and fried chicken with hush puppies, were intended as throwbacks to the cuisine served at the restaurant in the late 1980s and early 1990s, under the tenure of Edna Lewis. Other dishes, including clams with bacon and kimchi butter, were inspired by Kim's Korean ancestry.{{cite magazine |last=Goldfield |first=Hannah |date=April 29, 2022 |title=Nostalgia with a Twist, at Gage & Tollner |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/09/nostalgia-with-a-twist-at-gage-tollner |access-date=August 17, 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817223811/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/09/nostalgia-with-a-twist-at-gage-tollner |url-status=live}} Desserts included baked Alaska, ice cream with cheese, as well as cakes and tarts. The Sunken Harbor Club sold cocktails, bar snacks, and two types of dinner packages.

Clientele and traditions

In the early 20th century, Gage and Tollner attracted customers like businessmen Diamond Jim Brady, C. K. G. Billings, and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt; clergyman Henry Ward Beecher; newspaper editor Theodore Tilton; mayors Frederick A. Schroeder and William Jay Gaynor; New York governor Al Smith; author Truman Capote; singer Nora Bayes; and actors Fanny Brice, Jimmy Durante, Mae West, Marie Dressler, and Lillian Russell. Members of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team also ate at the restaurant.{{Cite news |last=Gross |first=Ken |date=June 3, 1985 |title=Another Age Relived At a Dodger Reunion |pages=15 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-another-age-re/130564739/ |access-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824155606/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-another-age-re/130564739/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Berkow |first=Ira |date=June 4, 1985 |title=Players; Old Dodgers Swing Away |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/04/sports/players-old-dodgers-swing-away.html |access-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-date=November 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122023115/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/04/sports/players-old-dodgers-swing-away.html |url-status=live}} By the early 1990s, the restaurant attracted guests such as politician Wilson Goode and publisher John F. Kennedy Jr.{{Cite news |last=Stasi |first=Linda |date=September 29, 1991 |title=Inside New York |pages=11 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-inside-new-york/130253330/ |access-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819183239/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-inside-new-york/130253330/ |url-status=live}} According to the New York Herald Tribune, politicians who ate at the restaurant tended to separate themselves by political party. Democrats tended to sit on the west or right side of the dining room, while Republicans sat on the east or left side. Although the restaurant had a casual dress code, "short shorts" were banned.{{Cite news |date=August 2, 1978 |title=A Restaurant Dress List |language=en |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/08/02/archives/a-restaurant-dress-list-east-side.html |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821191951/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/08/02/archives/a-restaurant-dress-list-east-side.html |url-status=live}} Ike Gaskill, a head waiter from 1900 to his death in 1960, memorized the names of over 5,000 customers, including some who had visited only a few times.{{Cite news |last=Sheaffer |first=Lew |date=July 23, 1946 |title=Night Life |pages=18 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-night-lifelew/130482915/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823000032/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-night-lifelew/130482915/ |url-status=live}}

Waiters' uniforms consisted of white aprons and black jackets. All waitstaff wore bars, stars, and eagles on their uniforms, which indicated how many years they had been working at the restaurant, a tradition that dated to at least the late 19th century. Each staff member added a bar to their uniform for every year they had worked at Gage and Tollner. The uniforms were also decorated with stars, which represented every 5 years of service, and eagles, which represented every 25 years of service.{{Cite news |last=Bjorn |first=Bob |date=October 30, 1960 |title=Gage & Tollner's Tradition Survives March of Years |pages=32 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/130399966/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821182351/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-gage-tollner/130399966/ |url-status=live}}{{Efn|Sometimes incorrectly cited as 10 years}} Gaskill had a double gold bar indicating his status as headwaiter, as well as two eagles. By the early 2000s, the insignia no longer accurately represented waiters' tenures: the New York Times cited a waiter who had worked at Gage and Tollner for one month but was wearing a jacket that indicated 20 years of service.{{cite web |last=Schrambling |first=Regina |date=October 17, 2001 |title=The Great Escape, at Vintage Tables |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/17/dining/the-great-escape-at-vintage-tables.html |access-date=August 20, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820012905/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/17/dining/the-great-escape-at-vintage-tables.html |url-status=live}}

Waiters formerly carried plates on their arms, but they used trays by the 1990s. The restaurant originally did not use tablecloths; instead, dishes were placed directly on the mahogany tables, and napkins were provided for guests. The restaurant continued its tradition of giving separate linen napkins to each diner through the 1960s, but the tables were covered with white linen by the 1980s. In addition, during its first century of operation, Gage and Tollner had a pair of cats on its property. Tollner personally fed the cats on Sundays when the restaurant was closed.

Reception

= Architectural =

Of the restaurant's architecture, Alice Smith of Women's Wear Daily said in 1971 that the decorations "evoke a genuine, rather than decorator's, vision of the era of Diamond Jim Brady, once a regular customer".{{cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Alice |date=March 17, 1971 |title=At Table: Gage-Tollner's |magazine=Women's Wear Daily |volume=122 |issue=52 |pages=14 |id={{ProQuest|1523569581}}}} Paul Goldberger of the Times wrote in 1979 that other restaurants "come off as showy and false; Gage & Tollner—quiet, graceful, with never a detail exaggerated—is the real thing. ... The landmark facade is an attractive, although not particularly unusual, Italianate building dating from the eighteen-seventies in the style of many of the city's brownstones." Another Times writer called the restaurant "probably the most celebrated" New York City landmark in which to eat, while food critic Mimi Sheraton called it "by far the city's most beautifully intact landmark restaurant".

New York Daily News writer Joan Shepard described the restaurant's atmosphere as "grand but [not] stuffy" in 1976,{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Joan |date=September 17, 1976 |title=Food Lives Up to Billing |pages=434 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-food-lives-up-to-billing/130542957/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824010603/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-food-lives-up-to-billing/130542957/ |url-status=live}} and another reporter from the same paper called Gage and Tollner "the original theme restaurant" in 1996. In 2000, a writer for The Boston Globe said Gage and Tollner "still looks as it did when Queen Victoria was on the throne, right down to the gaslight chandeliers and the beautifully restored, 100-foot-long mirrored dining room." A Times critic praised the food and decor in 2001, saying Chirico's renovation had "given it real luster that is all the more surprising when you come upon it next to a Wiz store on the seedy Fulton Mall".

= Cuisine and service =

== Original restaurant ==

The Times Union wrote in 1917: "The persistent popularity of Gage and Tollner's, despite its rigid adherence to old-fashioned rules and customs, indicates that there is still among us a great part of the population that likes to eat without the thrills of the cabaret and thrills of the string orchestra, if only the food is of the best quality and the service polite, attentive, and efficient."{{Cite news |date=March 23, 1917 |title=Edward R. Gage |pages=8 |work=Times Union |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-edward-r-gage/130413668/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821210339/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-edward-r-gage/130413668/ |url-status=live}} A critic for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote in 1934, "When we say a visit to this chop and chowder house is an epicurean treat we are putting it mildly",{{Cite news |date=March 20, 1934 |title=Reverting to Type |pages=26 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-reverting-to-ty/130428003/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822011228/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-reverting-to-ty/130428003/ |url-status=live}} while a critic for local newspaper The Tablet wrote in 1937 that the restaurant's "clams have never been so good, and you may lay to that".{{Cite news |date=February 20, 1937 |title=Gage and Tollner's |pages=13 |work=The Tablet |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tablet-gage-and-tollners/130480910/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822233720/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tablet-gage-and-tollners/130480910/ |url-status=live}} In 1952, one magazine dubbed the restaurant "one of the world’s best seafood restaurants". Holiday magazine also gave Gage and Tollner a dining distinction award on several consecutive years in the 1950s and 1960s.{{Cite news |date=July 13, 1962 |title=(()) |pages=4 |work=Brooklyn Daily |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-daily-untitled/130539082/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823231154/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-daily-untitled/130539082/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=June 28, 1962 |title=10th 'Holiday' Award |pages=2 |work=Brooklyn Heights Press |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-heights-press-10th-holiday-aw/130539677/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823231152/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-heights-press-10th-holiday-aw/130539677/ |url-status=live}}

Alice Smith wrote in 1971 that "the seafood is deliciously diversified" and that "desserts are Americana at its best", while Joan Shepard wrote in 1976 that the restaurant was "recommended without qualification" despite being "moderately expensive". Mimi Sheraton rated the restaurant as "good" in 1979.{{cite news |last=Sheraton |first=Mimi |date=June 8, 1979 |title=Restaurants: Brooklyn landmark, Village vegetarian. |page=C18 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|120843425}}}} Although Sheraton criticized the potatoes, salads, and wine list and found many of the dishes to be lacking flavor, seasoning, or warmth, she praised other dishes such as the broiled fish and thick mutton chop. A 1983 article from the New York Amsterdam News stated: "This is an old-fashioned restaurant where everything is served extra, but it's well worth the cost." The Hartford Courant wrote in 1985 that "the menu is a nostalgic roster of long-forgotten dishes once popular in the luxurious eating establishments of the mid-Atlantic coast, and a writer for the South China Morning Post said the same year: "It is the food that should be declared a historic landmark."

After Lewis was hired as chef in 1988, Bryan Miller wrote: "A recent visit found the menu in transition and still uneven—the traditional menu is supplemented by daily specials that are Mrs. Lewis's contributions." A critic for Newsday wrote in 1989 that the relic menu was "antiquated" and best avoided and that, "except for the broiled clam bellies and some of the broiled fish, this menu is an excellent example of why cooking shouldn't be landmarked".{{Cite news |last=O'Neill |first=Molly |date=March 10, 1989 |title=Dining Out |pages=231 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-dining-out/130196207/ |access-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-date=August 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818001358/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-dining-out/130196207/ |url-status=live}} The Times wrote in 1992 that the dining room was "delightfully democratic: No good tables, no bad tables, just long rows of symmetrically arranged white linen, like a college dining hall." In 1994, the restaurant received a Distinguished Restaurants of North America award.

After the restaurant's renovation in 1995, a writer for The Village Voice criticized the menu and said: "Even if the new Gage & Tollner looks a little bit like Eleanor Roosevelt in Speedos, I know my old classic is in there somewhere." Conversely, a Times reporter wrote that "It's not likely to be the best lobster or the best steak you'll ever eat, but at Gage & Tollner it's the history and beauty, not the food, that's really the point."{{cite web |date=March 5, 1999 |title=Eating Out; Near the Courts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/05/arts/eating-out-near-the-courts.html |access-date=August 19, 2023 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819212020/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/05/arts/eating-out-near-the-courts.html |url-status=live}} According to Nation's Restaurant News writer Milford Prewitt, Gage and Tollner was one of the "romantic dining environments in the city, contributing to its ranking as one of the top restaurants for marriage proposals". Another writer, L.J. Davis, said: “You go to Gage’s (as many regulars call it) for the experience, the way you go to heaven for the climate and to hell for the company."{{cite web |title=Bklynr – Empty Places |url=http://bklynr.com/empty-places/ |website=Bklynr.com |access-date=March 2, 2015 |archive-date=March 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316133132/http://bklynr.com/empty-places/ |url-status=live}}

== Modern-day restaurant ==

After the 2021 reopening, Times restaurant critic Pete Wells wrote that "everything about this reincarnation glows... the whole restaurant radiates confidence, capability and relevance." A reviewer for Grub Street stated of the reopened restaurant: "thanks to a series of diligent owners, the rituals of the place survived—oysters and clam-belly broil, beefsteaks with all the trimmings, ice cream for dessert—the way they do in an old church as the neighborhood changes around it." A critic for The New Yorker wrote in 2022: "Now as then, the restaurant is a chophouse..." The Michelin Guide wrote: "Seafood towers, big steaks, crab cakes and a superb platter of fried chicken with cornmeal fritters take their cues from the legendary Edna Lewis ... Dessert is essential and all of them, from the coconut layer cake to the baked Alaska, will make for a fond farewell.{{cite web |title=Gage & Tollner – New York |website=MICHELIN Guide |date=October 6, 2022 |url=https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/new-york-state/new-york/restaurant/gage-tollner |access-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-date=August 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817213312/https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/new-york-state/new-york/restaurant/gage-tollner |url-status=live}} In 2023, Wells ranked Gage and Tollner as the city's 43rd best restaurant.{{cite news |last1=Wells |first1=Pete |date=April 18, 2023 |title=The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/dining/best-nyc-restaurants.html |access-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418033550/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/dining/best-nyc-restaurants.html |url-status=live}}

References

=Notes=

= Citations =

= Sources =

{{cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0885.pdf |title=Gage & Tollner |date=March 25, 1975 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |archive-url= |archive-date= |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975}}}}
{{cite report |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82003362.pdf |title=Gage and Tollner Restaurant |date=June 3, 1982 |publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1982}}}}