Armando's Is Returning, Its Sign May Not
After hanging outside 143 Montague Street for seven decades, the Armando’s sign was taken down last year when the restaurant and building owner decided to lease the space to the now-closed Spicy Pickle restaurant. Now owner Peter Byros wants to re-open Armando’s but there’s one little problem: the Landmarks Preservation Commission needs to approve the…
After hanging outside 143 Montague Street for seven decades, the Armando’s sign was taken down last year when the restaurant and building owner decided to lease the space to the now-closed Spicy Pickle restaurant. Now owner Peter Byros wants to re-open Armando’s but there’s one little problem: the Landmarks Preservation Commission needs to approve the installation of the sign first, and that’s not necessarily a lay-up. “It may need to be smaller and it may need to be modernized,” said Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association. Community Board 2 will weigh in with an advisory opinion before LPC renders its verdict, a date for which has not been set.
Is It Lights Out for Armando’s? [Brooklyn Paper] GMAP
Armando’s Lobster Needs Landmarks OK [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
Photo by brownwindsor
“I know a little of Judy Stanton and this is pretty much par for the course. She has spent over 20 years trying to re-fashion an entire neighborhood into her personal ideal and is completely unable to deal with something this with any sense of nostalgia or good humor.”
Partisan, you put that so well. And she won’t ever stop, completely predictable in every word out of her mouth. No matter the cost to whomever.
mopar, thank you so much for your edifying suggestion.
I look forward to reading your “Get Hip for Dummies” manual.
The problem here is that Armando’s no longer exists. So a new, old Armandos would have to be a recreation, and I bet it is difficult to find the right period formica and patched red vinyl banquettes.
Somehow trendy and hip may not go over so well on Montague Street. I’m just hoping for good non-trendy food and an excellent friendly bar.
mopar…i walked by the Subway bar last week and thought to myself “Who brought this place up on brownstoner?”
Sam, get with it! It’s all the rage for new hipster Brooklyn joints (and Manhattan ones too) to open in old places like this and never change the sign and not get a new one. Like with the Stuart & Wright store in the drycleaner store (old neon drycleaner sign) in Fort Greene and this Swedish restaurant near Canal Street in a place with an old Chinese barbershop sign (actually the restaurant closed last month after a long run).
My absolute favorite all time sign (though it’s not in Brooklyn) is the Subway Inn bar sign across from Bloomingdale’s. Fortunately, the bar is still going strong. Someone like the Dumont chain should open here and do Armando’s better than Armando’s.
Oh, but then people who live in Brooklyn Heights would have someplace decent to eat and we couldn’t make fun of them anymore, so that wouldn’t be any good.
oooohhhhh- bring it by all means! 🙂
This was a place to “meet for a drink” – dinner was just to soak up the alcohol.
Montague Street has changed so much. There were several really nice restaurants there at one time- I guess most of them are now bar/cafe places?
I also want to add that the landmarks commission is composed of fairly youngish folks. They are nowhere as stodgy and reactionary as the Brooklyn Heights Association and in my experience, they pay them no mind.
It was also in NYPD Blue one time.