Gaging Arby's Takes Its Tollner

The dining room is a vestige of late-nineteenth century splendor. Tall arched mirrors with cherry frames adorn its Lincrusta-covered walls. Intricate chandeliers, with dual fixtures for gas and electricity, emit a pleasing glow over the hundred-foot-long space. Above it all, a vaulted ceiling rounds out the overall appearance of a posh Pullman dining car from the Gilded Age. This Downtown Brooklyn landmark has ushered in two new centuries and has served the likes of Diamond Jim Brady, Lillian Russell, Mae West, Fanny Brice, Jimmy Durante, and your humble Comestiblogger along the way. Though the legendary Gage and Tollner has faded into history, its classic appointments, mirabile dictu, have been preserved.

Gage and Tollner's historic main dining room

The story begins in the City of Brooklyn, four years before the completion of the Great Bridge. In 1879, Charles M. Gage opened an oyster and chop "eating house" at 302 Fulton Street. A year later, he was joined by Eugene Tollner, a cigar salesman who had been a regular customer. In 1892, Gage and Tollner's restaurant moved into a nearby four-story Italianate row house at 372–374 Fulton Street, where it remained until closing in 2004.

Dominated by seafood and steaks, the menu included such favorites as Crabmeat Dewey, Lobster Thermidor, Scallops Baltimore, and Soft Clams Chicago. In the late 1980s, owner Peter Aschkenasy made an unprecedented change by hiring renowned chef Edna Lewis to give the old Brooklyn stalwart a Southern accent. (Miss Lewis was one of the founders of the highly acclaimed Café Nicholson on Manhattan's East Side.) The native Virginian's influences were evident in her down-home cookin' that included cornbread, catfish, and her famed Charleston-style she-crab soup. In 1992, after five years as Gage and Tollner's executive chef, Miss Lewis retired.

In 1995, following a bank foreclosure, the restaurant shut down temporarily. That year, Joseph Chirico purchased Gage and Tollner and became its final owner. After an ambitious restoration, Brooklyn's most elegant eatery reopened in 1996. Gay Nineties swank, however, was inconsistent with the changes that had taken place along Fulton Street. Owing to "dragging" business, Mr. Chirico shuttered the venerable establishment six years ago on Valentine's Day.

Following the demise of G&T, T.G.I. Friday's took over the space and closed after only three years. Prospects for the future were uncertain. Could this address ever serve as a restaurant again? The answer came nearly three years after Friday's departure, when a hat-wearing roast beef sandwich gave the old place a new lease on life. On Thursday, 21 January 2010, Gage and Tollner's landmark doors were reopened as Arby's. Yes, Arby's.

Takeout: Arby's Express at the old mahogany and marble bar

It's clear that times have changed. Roast beef sandwiches and melts have replaced prime rib, lobster, and crab. Meat is no longer presented before being cooked. Counter clerks wearing bright-red Arby's T-shirts have taken the place of uniformed waiters sporting service emblems (a gold eagle represented 25 years; a gold star, five years; and a gold bar, one year). Modern utilitarian furniture has displaced turn-of-the-century mahogany tables and bentwood chairs, and, of course, paper napkins now serve in place of white linens.

Despite the foregoing changes, the landmark interior has managed to retain some of its earlier dignity. This is undoubtedly the most impressive restaurant in the Arby's chain. Though he won't discuss how much it cost to refurbish the dining room, franchisee Raymond Chera says he spent six months to reverse years of neglect. He is encouraged by all the positive response to his new fast-food venture, calling the early enthusiasm "heartwarming." If it takes roast beef sandwiches and toasted subs to preserve this space, even heartburn can be heartwarming.