June 9, 2016 By Christian Murray
A budding entrepreneur is putting her life savings on the line to take an old store on 43rd Avenue and create a new upscale bar/restaurant.
Esther Hwang, who plans to convert 49-09 43 Ave. into a restaurant, went before Community Board 2’s Public Safety and City Services Committee last night seeking a full liquor license.
Hwang said the venue would be called Logan’s Run Restaurant & Bar and would consist of “modern American cuisine with a Mediterranean and Asian-inspired twist.”
She said it would be upscale, yet unpretentious.
“Imagine you enter and you hear Dean Martin playing in the background, a classic Alfred Hitchcock film is playing on the TV screen and you order a nice juicy burger with a whiskey cocktail,” Hwang said. “And it doesn’t cost half a week’s pay.”
She said that there would be a specialty cocktail program and that there would be cocktail and food pairings. The food will be free of chemicals and there will be quality music, she added.
Hwang asked the Committee to allow her to be open from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. daily. She said she was targeting the late-night crowd, particularly service workers. She also wanted to be open as many hours as possible to maximize her business.
“I am putting my entire life savings into this, a huge project building from scratch,” she said.
Details as to how many tables and chairs there will be were not mentioned during the meeting, or when she planned to open.
However, the Committee was concerned with the hours she requested, since her restaurant is located below an apartment and is adjacent to residential buildings. Furthermore, she did not have a track record operating a restaurant in the community.
The Committee decided to restrict her hours until midnight on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It granted her until 2 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
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33 Comments
As a Sunnyside native, let me just say, Skillman Avenue has at least one bar on every block from 51st street to 46th Street they have existed for over 40 years, with the exception of Claret. Somehow or another, residents have managed to deal with the noise. Believe me there has been noise! There was a bar business on the block in question years ago called Joxer Daleys, a.k.a. o’Rourke’s. The place survived a long time and the people upstairs managed to live there without calling the precinct, because they were brilliant enough to understand they lived above a bar, which has patrons, who get louder and the night goes on. There was no early closing for any of these spaces, and some even had after hours goings on. I wish Ms. wang luck in her new venture, and always welcome a cool spot to have a burger. Although I can’t understand why someone’s not making use of Murphys corner with the existing kitchen and bar/lounge?? As far as you hipsters go, you live in NYC, there’s noise, stop being wusses or go home!!!
Wow! I live next door, hope its not too loud late at night. That said, I wish the owner lots of luck and hope the place is a success. The more thriving businesses in the area, the better. Only thing is that space is very small and narrow too. Then again, look at the Alcove, that place is killing it and its teeny.
She will not make it. wrong street, rung place.
The apartment above is a prostitution place. Men go in and out of this apartment all day every day. I’m sure they won’t mind having a bar under their apartment.
You are misinformed. The place is occupied by a fortune teller, she can tell the future…, it has nothing to do with prostitution.
Then she must know whether the restaurant will be successful or not!
I bet it opens before The Lowery. What are they planning to do there that it takes so long to get the paperwork processed – have abortions in the back.
Hey Nobody Special you need to check into the old age home already.
Good luck Esther!
Don’t people look around before they move into an apartment? If you are near the corner of 43rd St & 43rd Avenue, you will notice that it’s a commercial strip, with an existing bar and a restaurant or two nearby. What did you expect? Besides, the people who go to bar 43 are your neighbors and part of the community. Long before someone started talking about “hipsters” there were bars and restaurants in Sunnyside and they weren’t sitting around empty.
I’m the first to admit: I’m a total idiot.
We moved across the street from a bar, and every summer night I am closing the avenue facing window, and turning on the fan or AC for white noise. I’d love to keep the windows open, but the noise is completely obnoxious if I don’t — yet I can’t fully blame the bar. I’m a total dope for not looking for an interior unit, or an off avenue home.
I hate that freaking bar, but I don’t blame a bar for acting like a bar.
We as a community need to complain to the Community Affairs office, our man Jimmy or the Community board 2! Just as Ann said the cafe/liquor license should be limited to decent hours especially during the week. Bar 43 has themed nights nearly every night and when ppl on the block call pd they don’t respond until the following day when the bar is opening again (I’m told). Families are losing sleep to the hipsters who gotta party. Let’s regain the community-SPEAK UP AND LET KEEP SUNNYSIDE A FAMILY AREA.
Looks like we don’t agree. Try Upper Ditmars. Real quiet. Good place to die.
I understand this community is undergoing a transformation but this still mostly a residential neighborhood. Just as Ann said Cafe/Liquor licenses should be limited to decent hours during the week. Places like Bar 43 have themed nights nearly every night of the week & even though ppl I have spoken with have made noise complaints, the police department does not respond in a timely fashion, many times as the bar is reopening for business. We as a community need to voice this more to the police council/community affairs officers and to the community board.
Best of luck to you! Looking forward to checking out your new restaurant.
Are people over 30 allowed in Logan’s Run?? (Google it you millenial hipsters! 🙂
Lets hope it has better service than white cake.
I agree fully. I’ve never encountered more unfriendly people
So I’m not alone. “the kitchen” as it’s now known, has about as much character as wet cardboard.
Only in Queens could a restaurant playing Dean Martin and a bunch of TVs, named after a post-apocalyptic sci-fi film from 1976 be described as “sophisticated.”
Self Important back to you..
Let’s try the reverse, since the apartment renters were there first. Keep businesses away from residential buildings, or at least restrict their hours. Being open and making noise to 2 am or 4 am with a bunch of drunk patrons at a bar is just a nuisance. If you want to keep those kinds of hours, find a spot on Queens Boulevard.
Why do people always think it’s ok to stick the noise on QB? I live above a bar on QB and the noise from that (and the traffic “, and the subway) sometimes drives us nuts. The last thing we need is more bars on QB
Actually, I’ll be drinking heartily until the wee hours, but will be sotally tober. So, watch your tone.
Keep your homes off business streets or get over it.
Stupid Much? What an eejit you are.
You made a great point. Your logic cannot be overcome.
The food sounds good. But I don’t like what opening a restaurant in what used to be a drug store did to my corner. It used to be quiet after 8pm. The whole strip of stores closed by 9. The restaurant keeps the street busy now until midnight and it has shattered what used to be a peaceful spot. Business is important, but so is peace and quiet. People need to be away from commerce to rest. Please keep late-night places in one district, away from homes.
You sound like a ton of fun. I guess you want Sunnyside to be like Staten Island. You return home to sleep and that’s it.
you sound like a jerk. There are loads of things to do that do not involve a restaurant or drinking. It is called living.
Wow! Good luck. Sunnyside is really changing quickly. Sounds great.
But I still can’t imagine why people aren’t looking more into putting good solid businesses on Skillman Ave. It’s such a good looking avenue with good solid foot traffic most times – and there’s so many empty store fronts.
The rent is probably more expensive on Skillman.
I fully agree. Skillman makes much more sense to me.
Because there is nothing available on skillman and the landlords are morons who can’t see a deal when it’s on there lap. You don’t just build a restaurant where there’s no open space!
Nothing available? I can count at least 8 empty store fronts on my fingers right now? And there’s no way the rent can be high on them….look at the caliber of the rest of the places on Skillman!