Gage and Tollner, NY's Oldest Restaurant in Brooklyn, May 2008

Gage and Tollner was a restaurant on Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn. It had been in business since 1879 and in the same location since 1892 until it closed on February 14, 2004. The Brownstone where it was housed has been in existence since 1875.

Gage and Tollner's began when Charles Gage opened an "eating house" at 303 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, in 1879. In 1880, Eugene Tollner joined him and the restaurant became known as Gage and Tollner's in 1882. The restaurant moved to 372-374 Fulton Street in 1892.

It attracted customers like Diamond Jim Brady, Jimmy Durante and Mae West. In the 1980s it was bought by Peter Aschkenasy who brought in famed chef Edna Lewis. She helped "transform" the restaurant by adding her famed Southern cuisine, such as cornbread, catfish and a "legendary she-crab soup." Joseph Chirico, who owned the restaurant since 1995, made the hard decision to close the restaurant since "the business was dragging every day."

It had 36 gaslamps, meaning it could stay open in a blackout, cherry framed mirrors and tables made of mahogany.

Beginning in the fall of 1995, Chirico made some renovations and closed down the restaurant until April/May 1996. He said "he has tried to retain the historic flavor of the restaurant while providing modern amenities."

The interior had been granted landmark status by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.


Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gage_and_Tollner