Photo: QueensPost
March 25, 2014 By Christian Murray
The Wild Turkey, a Sunnyside bar/restaurant located at 39-35 47th Avenue, has closed after being in business for about two years.
The bar/restaurant was owned by Rae Arora, a Flushing real estate developer, who bought the bar with a business partner in April 2012.
At the time, Arora said: “Everyone talks about Skillman Avenue as the place, but I think this section of Sunnyside is the next hotspot. There is a lot of potential here.”
The bar/restaurant’s best known feature was its large patio area in the back. Arora held many summer events in that patio.
Tomorrow, there will be an auction at the bar/restaurant, with many of its items being auction off.
The bar, which was popular among this neighborhood’s gay community, had been listed for sale in September for $110,000
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26 Comments
no surprise… they never seemed like they had their act together, at all
It was a nice place but it had issues from the beginning… limited drink menu, and food was good but VERY heavy.
It needed a bit more ambiance, and lighter fare.
I worked here for a brief time last summer, but I left because I got a job in the city that offered a better long term plan. Anyway, this was a great place and I was treated very well. Unlike some of the more popular bars in the neighborhood (one especially), I was paid in full for the time I worked.
For whatever its worth, I am sad that it has closed. It is rare that a bar treats its employees well, and this place did that.
sad to see them go but no unexpected. too many quiet nights there from what i can tell. its a shame though because the food was solid and a major upgrade from restaurants in Sunnyside
oh no. this place would have really done well if it were in a different part on the neighborhood. very hospitable
This is a real loss for the neighborhood. Always sad to see a business close. Met a lot of good people in this place, hope to see them around but this was a nice quiet place where you could meet people.
Not sure whats coming here next, my guess is it might not be a restaurant/bar anymore. Just seems like too quiet of a block.
This place had potential and a great back yard. But for a bar it never seemed to be open or be able to serve a decent drink consistently. You would have thought that with a name like Wild Turkey they would have had drinks and a decent beer selection but the last time I went there I ordered a margarita–I got tequila with 7up. I’m surprised they lasted this long.
When it first opened the original owners/staff got it right, they had dark and stormys, blue lagoons and a decent beer selection. It would be nice if someone with know how would give it a serious go.
Cat lover, at 110k you don’t own the actual property, just the business. You still have to pay rent. Meow!
Big deal. Who cares? Went in once, nobody was there and walked out.
Sayonara.
Let me guess: the rent was too expensive in our overpriced Business Improvement District. Should we start a petition to change the name to Empty Storfront/Greedy Landlords District yet?
It seems the south side isn’t nearly as gay as the north.
@ ca$h munnee; yeah, the large Budweiser and Bud Light neons in the window made it really difficult to find without a sign!
i remember my wife calling and trying meet her friends at this place
she kept passing it, back and forth, the place has no sign outside!!
eventually she found it…
to the owner, sunnyside is not hip enough yet to go sans signage.
This was a great place, very sad to see them go. Lot of good competition in the neighborhood, and they definitely could have used better adversing but it was nice place. My friends and I enjoyed going there, it was a nice place to get together
Twenty years from now, the south side will still be the same sh-t hole.. I assure you.
Unless you provide something original, of quality, competitive that makes people want to spend money in your establishment
or unless you have enough local regulars to keep you afloat, you will not survive.
Sunnyside is too close to Manhattan, Astoria, LIC and even Williamsburg for people to feel like they have just the local options if those options are not up to par.
They will simply go elsewhere.
$110k???? You can’t touch anything in our neighborhood for less than 200k! Love to buy it and turn it into a home 🙂
Molly Blooms is definitely “gay friendly” (or as I like to call it, “friendly”), but I haven’t found many “gay unfriendly” parts of Sunnyside other than some of the comments on this site.
Went into Wild Turkey with my s/o and had a few drinks a few months ago. Good prices, not an amazing atmosphere. I hope this space doesn’t stay empty, as many of these empty storefronts/business venues tend to do here.
And another one bites the dust…and another one gone and another one gone.
Skillman was a pit for most of my life. The first upscale place was the Aubergine ten years or so ago. It took over from a bodega that had been the hangout for drug dealers for years and years and years.
Never say never. If Skillman can become chic, any place can.
But, the people who have lived in the area for a long time will mourn the day it does. They will be targeted for removal by real estate barons looking to flip their homes.
I thought Molly Blooms was the designated gay hangout. But I’m straight, what do I know?
That’s too bad. The staff was nice and the back area was really great. The atmosphere of the bar needed some help. The location isn’t really the best either. Hopefully someone else will find success with another business over there.
This guy was a terrible owner. Had no clue how to run a restaurant. Should stick to real estate.
“The bar, which was popular among this neighborhood’s gay community, ”
Apparently, the gay community’s patronage wasn’t enough to keep the bar open.
Sorry to see this place go, but I’m not surprised, 47th Ave is no Skillman and probably never will be.
This place NEVER seemed to be open when I would pass. The one time I do recall seeing it open was around 9 pm on a Friday night and the only person inside was the bartender. I’d love for a place like this to succeed on the south side of the blvd but I don’t seeng that happening unless an established bar owner/manager decides to open up a space in that area.
that’s too bad. i liked this place–had a great patio. it was a nice quiet spot to meet up with friends. i think it need a little more publicity or something to get more people in the door. sad–it had potential. i hate seeing places close on that side of the blvd.