- The Bruckner Bar & Grill at 1 Bruckner Blvd.
Storm damage, infighting, may force loss of iconic eatery
Customers of the Bruckner Bar & Grill might have to bid the 14-year-old restaurant farewell.
An ongoing feud between Alex Abeles, the managing owner; James Gidding, the restaurant co-owner and landlord for the grill; and Joseph Pryor, the grill’s managing building owner, has left the future of the Mott Haven hotspot in limbo.
The three men have been quarreling over who is responsible for paying for damages caused by Hurricane Sandy, according to Abeles, 37, who said the grill might be closing its doors for good if the disagreement is not resolved.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “No one wants to cooperate. It’s going to go to court. The judge will have to decide who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s very complex.”
When the superstorm hit the city in October, the Bruckner Blvd. eatery, which is below sea level, was completely flooded. Heavy freezers were floating in water, according to Joseph Diaz, the grill’s manager. Thousands of dollars worth of liquor and food were wasted, the grill’s wood floors were soaked in water and sewage and all kitchen and bar appliances were destroyed beyond repair, according to Diaz.
In November, Diaz anticipated that the business would reopen within two weeks, but nearly five months later, repairs remain stagnant.
Abeles said that he received a letter in January from Gidding stating that he had three days to pay rent for December and January or face eviction, though the business had been closed since late October when Sandy hit.
Neither Gidding nor Pryor was available for comment.
News of the closure and dispute came as a shock to patrons, many of whom learned that the grill’s future was in jeopardy through the restaurant’s Facebook page.
It began on January 17, with Abeles updating a concerned patron that he was “negotiating with the landlord” and that the meeting “didn’t go very well.” On February 9, he wrote in a post that the grill was facing eviction from their 1 Bruckner Blvd. location.
“I was surprised,” said Amira Mustapha, 28, an administrative assistant at Lehman Stages, which held Bruckner Sessions, a singer-songwriter concert series at the grill for a year before Sandy hit. “We knew about the hurricane and they were kind of closed for some time, and we kept calling and they just said ‘Oh we don’t have it together.’ There were no real answers.”
If the eatery closed down, it would leave a void in the neighborhood, customers said.
“It would be a terrible loss in Mott Haven,” said Lektra Laboratories President David Silverberg, 57, who held a photography group at the space. “It’s by far the best place there and one of the best places in the Bronx. It’s a wonderful meeting place.”
“I have so many memories,” added Brielle Maxwell, who is eight months pregnant and was planning to hold her baby shower at the space before hearing the news on Facebook. “It’s a home away from home. It glued the neighborhood together. It always had its charm.”
Abeles said that the grill has come a long way since it first opened in 1999. Abeles, who said he has over 11 years experience managing restaurants such as Union Square’s Coffee Shop and the Heartland Brewery, took over the business in 2006. The Bruckner’s location was a huge challenge in the beginning, he said.
“You can stand in the corner for hours and have nobody walk by,” he said of the grill’s desolate location under the Major Deegan Expressway. “ I saw the potential.”
Patrons have posted messages on the grill’s Facebook page expressing their support for its return. The restaurant was instrumental in helping to bring the community together, they said.
“It’s really the first establishment of its kind there,” said Michael Max Knobbe, 43, executive director of the public television channel BronxNet. “It kind of paved way for other great spots in Mott Haven. There was quality and consistency in terms of what they would offer but it really was the quality of the people” that made it popular. “You’d see elected officials there. You’d see artists in there and leaders form different communities that represent the diversity of the Bronx.”
Even competitors, like Michael Brady, who manages the Clock Bar in Port Morris, said that the neighborhood hasn’t been the same since the Bruckner closed.
“The Clock is very upset that a restaurant that is so near and dear to the fabric of our community is closed,” he said. “It’s certainly a loss for the community and long-term residents who have called the Bruckner Bar & Grill home for so many years.”
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