58 newyork| march2–15, 2020
seeinga spacethatonanearliervisithad
shownpromisebutre vealeditselftobea
leaky-roofeddisasterzone,fateintervened.
Almostona lark,orjust togetoutofthe
rain,theirreal-estatebrokerledthemtothe
re volvingdoorof372-374 FultonStreet.
Just like that, any notionsofa modest little
cocktailloungevanishedasthey stepped
insidethehallowed spaceandsaw its
unvarnishedpotential.Althoughthey both
representedthebearded,bootstrapping
newbreedofBrooklynrestaurateur,it
becametheirmissiontoresuscitate thebor-
ough’s most venerableeating-and-drinking
establishment.Schneider,a formercabinet-
makerwhohadbuilthisownrestaurants,
wouldorchestratetherenovations;cocktail
maestroFrizellwouldhandlethefrontof
thehouseandopena secondbar,the
SunkenHarborClub,upstairs;andKim
(withchef decuisineAdamShepard and
pastry chef Caroline Schiff )
wouldcreatea menuthat paid
homagetoGage & Tollnerrelics
likeclam-bellybroilandshe-
crabsoup,andbuilda larderof
housemadecondiments,pickles,
andferments.It wasNewBrook-
lyn Cuisine meets Ye Olde
BrooklynCuisine,withthetype
of pre-Prohibitioncocktailsasso-
ciatedwithboth.
There was only onehitch:
They neededa lotmore cash.“We
werelookingforoneortwobig
investorswho couldfootthe
wholebill,”saysFrizell.It didn’t
workoutthatway.Brooklyn’s
old-moneyEstablishmentwasn’t
interested in investing, and
younger venture capitalists
weren’t willingtoinvestenough
(plustheywantedspecialperks).
Sothepartnersdecidedtotry
Wefunder, a newish crowd-
fundingplatform that allows
start-upstosolicitonlineinvest-
mentsassmallas$100.(TheGage & Tollner
teamsetitsminimumat $1,000;early-
roundlendersofthatamountwillgetback
$1,500,withre turnscomingfroma 4 per-
centshareofrevenues.)“WedeterminedInitsday, Gage &Tollnerwasa placeof
powerlunchesandcelebratorydinners;of
beefsteaksandmuttonchopsandcountless
crustaceanscreamed,steamed,andfricas-
seed;ofseasonedstaff whosejacketsbore
serviceinsigniamarkingtheirtypically
lengthy tenure.Today,it’s remembered
chiefly foritsanachronisticgaslights,which
wererituallylitevenintothecurrentcen-
tury,andfortheauthorandcookEdna
Lewis’sstintasheadchef inthelate ’80sand
early’90s.Atthatpoint,it lookedmuchas
it did 100 yearsprior,onaccountof meticu-
lousstewardshipandits 197 5 landmark
designation:symmetricalrowsofmahog-
any tables running thelengthoftheGilded
Age dining room, its wallsembellishedwith
ornate Lincrusta coverings,cutvelvet, and
cherry-trimmed arched mirrors that
re flected the cut-glasschandeliers’glow.
Or as the late New Yorkcontributingeditor
Seymour Britchky summedit up,
“turn-of-the- century splendor,
darkandhandsomeanda little
bitgrand.”
Whenit closedforgood,a vic-
timofchangingtastesaswellas
thetraffic-restrictingconstruc-
tionofthepedestrianFulton
Mall, this grandeur quickly
faded.Thespacewasleasedto
TGIFridays,Arby’s, andcut-rate
jewelry andclothingshopsuntil
thelandlorddecidedin 2016 that
boomingDowntownBrooklyn
wasreadyforfinediningagain.
Itwasrightaroundthat time
thatSt.JohnFrizell,ownerof
RedHook’sFortDefiance,was
leavingKingsCounty Supreme
Courtduringdivorceproceed-
ingsandinneed ofa drink.
Noticingthe lackofa decent
cocktailbarinthevicinity, he
decidedit wouldbea goodidea
toopen onehimself,andhe
enlistedhisfriendandfellowres-
taurateurBenSchneider—co-ownerwith
hischefwife,SohuiKim,ofInsaandthe
GoodFork—tohelphimfillthevoid.
They beganscoutinglocations,butit
wasn’t goingwell.Onestormyday, after
food / openingsBy the timetheoyster-andchophouseGage & Tollnerclosed
in 2004 aftera 125-yearrun,it hadhadeightdifferentowners.
When it reopensonMarch 15 at thesameDowntownBrooklyn
address, it willhave378.Well,actually,it willhavethreeowners
and 375 investors,themajority of whomwere enticedtokickinasmuch
by the ease and accessibilityof moderninternet crowdfundingasbythe
antiquated, nostalgiccharmofthegonebutnotforgottenrestaurant.1950s–1960sA Timeline of
MatchbookCoversToday1970sthat we didn’t know ten people who could
give us $100,000 each, but we might know
1,000 people who could give us $1,000
each,” says Frizell. Plus, “They’d be advocat-
ing on our behalf to everybody they know
and probably coming here a lot.”
The partners advertised the project on
Facebook and Instagram and at a series of
Saturday-morning open houses on location,
fomenting excitement among old customers
and history buffs and turning the money-
raising mechanism into its own form of
marketing campaign. And the $477,000
they raised through Wefunder helped
attract 40 equity investors who paid
$32,500 per share. While they were scram-
bling to raise money, though, the landlord
was agressively marketing the space to other
prospective tenants, Brooklyn restaurateurs
Andrew Tarlow and Noah Bernamoff
among them. The biggest scare for Frizell
and Schneider came when they bumped
into someone surveying the space one day
with actual blueprints for a medical-
marijuana dispensary in hand. “We were
like, Oh God, the clock is ticking here,” says
Frizell. “We have to put this together.”
Finally, funding target met and lease
signed, the partners got to work on restora-
tion (new, Landmarks Preservation
Commission-sanctioned additions: marble
high-tops at the bar, Venetian-plaster ceil-
ing,WilliamMorriswallcoverings).And
theycontinuedthehistoricalresearch,com-
pilingoralhistoriesofdescendantsofpast
owners,formeremployees,andnewinves-
tors.Frizelldescribestherestaurant’sback-
ersas“arealmixedbag,andit’s great.”They
includeElizabethWarren’sdigital-media
director,JoeRospars,andhiswife,Georgia,
wholiveinFort Greene.“Theywere thefirst
tocontactus,” saysFrizell.Thencamea
painterfriendofhisnamedBeauStanton,
whoseworkwillhangintheSunkenHarbor
Club;children’s-bookauthorTadHills,
whoseseriesDuck&Gooseis alltherage
amongthepreschoolset;cocktail-world
royaltylike writerDavidWondrichand
entrepreneurGregBoehm;and,ofcourse,
assortedrelatives,high-schoolclassmates,
andregularsfromthetrio’s othersspots,
includingactorMichaelShannon,who
thoughtit wouldbecooltokeepthe21-foot
Arby’s signhangingoutsideasa memento
(request denied).Youngandold,famous
andnot,familyandstranger,they allshare
thedreamof helpinglaunchBrooklyn’s old-
est new restaurant—andthankstothephe-
nomenonofcrowdfunding,thefeelingthat
it belongstoallofthem.
372 FultonSt., DowntownBrooklyn. PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF RICHARD TOLLNER (VINTAGE); MELISSA HOM/NEW YORK MAGAZINE (MATCHBOOKS)