Streetlevel: Amy Ruth's for Gage & Tollner Spot

So excited about this.

I think it's going to be a big hit!

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 2:34 PM

FAN tastic.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 2:39 PM

Perfect location for a great restaurant. My guess is also that it will be a great success.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 2:41 PM

This is great! It's got some of the best southern food in the city.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 2:54 PM

Finally I can get good chicken and waffles in Brooklyn? I can't wait!

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 2:55 PM

Another location in the city for chicken and waffles? Heaven!

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:08 PM

Soul food?
Maybe this will draw white folks to Fulton Street. Soul food is tres au courant.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:21 PM

Wait... Bed Stuy is a black neighborhood?

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:27 PM

I've seen white people on Fulton Street. Personally.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:33 PM

Hope it fares better than Gage & Tollner. The food there was very good, the service was great (wait staff had been there forever) but the place was empty at dinner. Don't know how it did at lunch Forget exactly when Gage & Tollner closed (early 90s I think), but Fulton St. clientele was primarily black back then too.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:33 PM

I have heard that Bed Stuy used to be a black neighborhood. But that may be just an urban myth, seems so unlikely.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:35 PM

Ive made the trek up to Amy Ruths a few time for the chicken and waffles.

and im white

but from the south

also excited.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 3:56 PM

Gage & Tollner was expensive and cabs could not reach it easily. Now the hotel is here (with more coming) and cabs are more familiar with downtown Brooklyn. The timing was just bad.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:23 PM

Plus people have heard of Ruth's....

This will most certainly be a destination restaurant...

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:26 PM

The hotel was there when G&T was there. It only closed in the early 2000's, unless I'm mistaken. The problem is the area is dead at night. I hope Ruth's does well.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:48 PM

G&T closed in 2004.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 4:53 PM

I just hope they serve some real motherf**ing iced tea!

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=103650&title=wilmore-at-sylvias

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 5:14 PM

Bed Stuy has destination restaurants,Brooks Valley,Le Toukeleur,Foulanie,Applebees,Petit Bassam,the restaurant/jazz club on Halsey and Stuyvesant( forgot the name).They should get some business on weekends from the Brooklyn Tabernacle members and during the week from the various businesses especially if they are smart and do delivery.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:08 PM

If Applebees is a destination restaurant, then the nabe is in serious need of restaurants!

Applebees - you're joking!

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:12 PM

So exciting!

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 6:13 PM

The Fulton Mall is a product of brain-dead 1970's urban planning.
It is not a real place.
You can't catch a cab and have it drop you off in front of the place.
It is a "pedestrian mall"
a cementery at night.
Scary, unattractive, the oposite of what people want.
It isn't New York. It is like...Cleveland or some other failed city.
Once Fulton Street is restored to a real street, things will change there.
I could never drag my wife to C & T. She did not want to walk in nice shoes and she thought the street was creepy and menacing.
Nothing has changed.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 7:36 PM

Hopefully they do better than the briefly lived TGI Fridays at that location.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 8:04 PM

I think Amy Ruth's will do well here. I bet most of the clientele won't necessarily be area residents. Not those who'd be able to walk their from home anyway. I will hop the Q train from Ditmas Park to patronize them. I've driven all the way to Harlem for the fare where the ambience can't compare to the Gage & Tollner spot.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 11:01 PM

The irony is wonderful. When my family lived in that part of Brooklyn in the (very) early 1900s, black folks could not eat at Gage and Tollner.

Now with downtown Fulton Street having perhaps more African American shoppers than any business strip this side of 125th, G & T finally decides to throw up its hands.

And to Amy Ruth no less.

I can't wait for its most famous patron Rev. Al Sharpton to come regularly to eat there. And maybe he'll bring all his Republican friends and his favorite journalists like Bill O'Reilly.

The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership must be overjoyed.

--Brooklyn Ron

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 11:03 PM

Amy Ruth's, Yuck. I'm Black and I love Soul Food, could someone resurrect MECCA (that was soul food) Amy Ruth's, YUCK! however I'm sure folks will line up for the sub par food, both Black and White Folks will eat sub par food if there is some cache to an eatery. Unfortunatly Amy Ruth's has cache. BUT YUCK! EEEWWWWWW! PHEWWWWW! ok I've said my peace. Good Luck Carl.

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 1:01 AM

Brooklyn Ron,

G&T folded because Fulton Street Mall is a failed 1970's poor urban planning wasteland at night with no commercial activity. That's why TGIF folded too after G&T shut down in 2004. While I wish Amy Ruth's well, don't hold high hopes. If they can stick it out until downtown is revitalized and returned to its former vibrant status where people can shop for a variety of goods, both low cost and high quality expensive goods, not just cell phones and hip hop gear, then Amy Ruth's will do well. Hopefully increased residential presence will help them as well.

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 10:14 AM

not an expert on soul food but wahooooooo to amy ruth coming to brooklyn. I've eaten at the one on 116th and have raved about it. line out the door, equal numbers of b/w folks just wanting some yummy food. i had waffles w/ the fried chicken and it was delicious. would go back again and now it's easier when they come to brooklyn. i don't think it will be divided by race...just folks wanting something good to eat!

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 10:20 AM

I can't speak to Amy Ruth's food, having never dined there--but I was down on Fulton Mall yesterday to get some sneakers(!) and I never stop marveling at how good it could be and how awful it is. as 10:14 said, until there are a variety of goods and services available (and traffic!), forget about it...

not to say i didn't mind being able to comparison shop for my kicks at fourteen different stores. as always, Dr. Jay's has the prices!

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 11:02 AM

The Dallas Jones BBQ on Livingston is about the size of a football field and is there is often a wait to get in with a mostly African-American cliental.Junior's Restaurant seems to be doing quite well.Amy Ruths is replacing the stodgy,poorly run G&T( although I was sad to see it go), and the crappy Fridays.As a white resident of the area,I predict a vibrant multi everything crowd will be keeping the joint jumping.I for one am thrilled to see an apropriate use of this fabulous landmarked interior.

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 1:18 PM

you don't need a cab to get there people. I live around the corner from G&T and you can take several trains. The Q & R go to Dekalb, A C,& F to Jay st/Borough Hall. And for those of you not to frail or scared it's a 5 minute walk from the 2/3 & 4/5 at Nevins st or Borough Hall. And yes the Fulton Mall is dead after 7pm and yes it is frequented predominently by the black community, but the BBQ on Livingston and the Diner on the corner of Livingston and Smith get a brisk business at night and weekends, so no worries. And I'm a white/Latin 5'2" 112lb woman, and have no problems walking in the neighborhood at night.

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 4:06 PM

Fulton Mall won't be as dead at night once all those residential high rises get built. By the way, the mall has the second highest rents in the borough, and store owners are still raking in mad loot. It doesn't have to look like fifth avenue to be "successful." there's more foot traffic there than beford, montague and smith street.

Posted by: guest at October 25, 2007 10:20 PM

Im sorry but without Chef Redding in the kitchen it will not be the same. If you want the real deal I suggest heading to Englewood NJ and taking a seat at Ruthie Mae's. (http://ruthiemaes.com/default.htm)

Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 2:11 AM

I'm happy to see something other than a chain restaurant in the space. I'm a 44 year old African-American woman and I've lived in Brooklyn all my life. I'd passed G&T for years and never knew what was there. I became truly aware of it only when I was getting married in 1993 and wanted to hold my wedding at a downtown Brooklyn location (pre-Marriot)and Parker's Lighthouse, where I had originally contracted, went out of business. A friend who's family was checking out Bar Mitzvah locations told me about G&T. It was a wonderful space and my wedding reception was beautiful. It was actually fun to step out of a limo on Fulton Street -- the shoppers wondered who we were! We'd go back for special occasions. I literally cried when it was a TGIF. I wish them luck -I'm not a big soul food fan, but if they can combine it with the fantastic service of the old G&T and keep the decor classy, they might survive at the location.

One more thing - G&T suffered from the loss of the big department stores on Fulton Street, and the booming restaurant business on Smith Street. Marriot also didn't help.

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 9:27 PM

Amy Ruth's should do great at G & T. I look forward to it.
Carl R. hasn't been in the kitchen for years and years and years. The cook remains the same.

Posted by: guest at November 10, 2007 10:31 AM

How come AMy Ruth's hasn't opened as yet. They were supposed to open on February 14th. Does anyone know?

Posted by: guest at May 28, 2008 6:35 PM

I have no idea. I also heard they were supposed to open on Mother's Day (May 11). I STILL don't think its open yet.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 12:03 PM