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Ida’s Nearabout Opens on Queens Boulevard, offering a bluesy-southern vibe

IDAS

Aug. 8, 2016 By Hannah Wulkan

Ida’s Nearabout, a new restaurant and bar with a bluesy-southern vibe, is opening where Molly Bloom’s used to be at 43-13 Queens Boulevard.

While the bar is in a soft opening phase to start feeling out how everything will work, it will be fully operational starting the weekend of August 19th, said Paul Longo, who bought Molly Bloom’s in January along with his brother Westyn and Paul McDaid.

The bar was completely renovated over the past several months, and has a completely different layout, menu, and vibe, but “it’s similar in the sense of we love the neighborhood and the people who live here, and we wanted to keep it as a place for everyone to come together,” Longo said.

He added that they expanded the cocktail menu and will continue to serve craft beers. The food menu will have a “bluesy-southern undertone,” but will essentially remain simple and classic, with “a killer fried chicken sandwich,” Longo said. They also plan on serving a large brunch menu and late night snacks.

Most curious about the new bar is its name. Longo explained that his friend had a ranch in Montana, and there used to be a wolf that would pester their cattle. His friend’s mother loved the wolf and named it Ida, but one morning they found it dead on the property. To preserve it’s memory, she had it stuffed and eventually the stuffed wolf ended up in his friend’s apartment. Longo loves wolves, and when his friend was moving, gave him the wolf. Ida has now found a home watching over the bar.

“Nearabout” came from Longo’s love of blues music, which uses the word often to mean “almost somewhere,” he explained. The play on blues music, combined with the ranch legend of Ida, combined to create the rest of the décor for the restaurant, with lots of copper and Americana symbols.

Longo said that the soft opening has gone very well so far, and will continue for the next few weeks. All are welcome to come out, but the walls are still somewhat bare and the kitchen is not open yet, as they finish up working out the kinks.

“It’s personal, and it takes longer than it should and costs more than it should, but we wanted to create space that’s like a home away from home,” Longo said of his connection to the bar, and the process of renovating it. “We wanted to create somewhere where everyone is welcome, everyone knows everyone, and it’s just really homey.”

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38 Comments

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Sammy

had a pint in this new pub. was good. barkeep is irish and has a great welcoming manner.
I believe he is the owner. Good luck.

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Phil

Went for a beer. Very expensive. Nothing southern or bluesy about it. Bad 80s music was blasting.

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R.e. agent

OSCAR- if they own other real estate, or businesses,they may be using the empty store as a tax write-off. They might be doing well and need to show a loss. Or, they just might be asking market value which is probably too high in the eyes of a potential tennant . The prices of rents skyrocketed with the increase of property values. It may not be feesible financially. Its hard to stay in business when your rent is 10k-15k. Remember,a 1 bedroom apartment is $1800-2k now. Thats why mom n pop stores are drying up and more and more big corps are taking over. Now big corps are leaving (ex:mcdonalds,wendys,ect),if you cant buy the property its just not worth it

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There goes the neighborhood

Its a dumb name and it doesn’t look like a bar from outside you would drive right past it.

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noodle

Went last night for a beer… ambiance is nice, bartender was friendly. Music was too loud for 7pm and the tap selection just Ok, but overall seems like a good addition to the area. Looking forward to the kitchen and backyard opening

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more cowbell

you’ve buried the lead! the headline should be: ‘killer fried chicken sandwich coming to QB.’ I hope they open that kitchen quick. I’ve got a fever and the only cure is killer fried chicken sandwich.

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Gastronomad

I wish them well but please, enough of the craft beer! Give me a nice German or Czech pilsner.

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Southside Johnny

Do you mean one of those mass-produced beers that they sell in every supermarket in America, one of those generic pilsners that dominated the beer market for so long that many of us forgot what a real beer tastes like? No thanks, I’ll tale a real beer any day, one with natural foam, not artificially carbonated.

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Southside Johnny

Those mass-produced pilsners dominated America before the craft/microbrew revolution hit, and you know it. We really didn’t have good pilsner bier for many years.

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Seriously

But those were not German/Czech pilsners.
Pilsner Urquel, Spaten, Hofbrau, Bitburger, Czechvar and many others are available.

Southside Johnny

Can’t they find a tenant for that empty meat store? Landlord must have been thrilled when the former tenant painted it bright red before giving up on the whole enterprise and moving away. Just looking into that empty space is depressing.

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Phil

They’re probably vastly overcharging–why is so much of Queens Blvd empty? Only so many bank branches and cheesy national chains can fit in one 8 block stretch–and they’re the only ones likely able to afford the asking prices now.

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befereinde

Exactly correct. Allegedly the next door landlord wants to charge an exorbitant rent and since no one is dumb enough to pay it they’d rather leave it empty and unproductive. Capitalism and avarice, ain’t they grand? That’s why the boulevard and New York has more and more pharmacy’s and banks and less and less character.

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beachpotato

this is true, rents are sky high and makes one wonder just how many small business owners will keep lining up to try to fill these small spaces..one by one we see them come and go over the years …definitely not easy when your rent is in the stratosphere and customers have many similar options within a few block radius….Alcove on 49 str off Skillman av is creating a buzz and the storefront is on a side street which may keep their rent reasonable…I wish the owners of Ida’s good luck and hope to visit there soon..

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Oscar

I’ve never understood why landlords would rather leave a place vacant for months or years on end than charge a competitive rent to get someone in there. Is there some loans of tax break or vacancy bonus that I’m missing? Can any RE professionals chime in?

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Southside Johnny

Ida’s Nearabout certainly isn’t a bank or a chain. Maybe if we all go there, it will thrive and more places like this will come to Queens Blvd. That’s the only way things will change. If everyone keeps patronizing Burger King and Wendy’s, independent restaurants will close down. Maybe it’s easier to do nothing and blame the landlords?

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Phil

You’re presenting a false choice. I patronize mostly local businesses, and I can, in addition to that, blame landlords and a system that encourages them to let rentable property sit empty.

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Southside Johnny

Do you think more people patronize Burger King and Wendys or the local restaurants on QB in Sunnyside? Whatever the landlord is charging is charging the 3 guys who are opening Ida’s seems to be affordable. Not sure if your theory holds up.

Oscar

I’ve never understood why landlords would rather have a vacancy for months (now over a year?) on end than charge a more competitive rent. Is there some kind of vacancy kickback or tax break that I’m missing? Can any RE people chime in?

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Hmmm

For anyone who thinks they are over-charging I know the owners personally
They are wonderful people and are in no rush to lease the space
At one point I’d brought them a local bagel and coffee tenant looking for space. This client offered a low number which was subsequently rejected.

They are a kind older couple who aren’t looking for any kind of hassle this late in life

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Eleni

Sounds interesting!! Good luck, and welcome to the neighborhood. Can’t wait to give it a try!

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Phil

This sounds promising in that it might actually play tolerable music at a reasonable volume. Sadly, with few exceptions, places in this neighborhood try to make up in volume what they lack in taste.

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