Fast food chain Arby’s plans to open a roast-beef emporium on the Fulton Mall in the landmark former Gage and Tollner restaurant site moved ahead on Wednesday night.
Community Board 2’s Land Use Committee voted 8-to-1 to support the chain’s application to slightly modify the historic 1892 interior of the storefront near the corner of Smith Street after noshing on a presentation from the architect, the Brooklyn Heights Blog reported late Wednesday night.
Arby’s told the board that it would introduce its own furniture and free-standing menus to the handsome dining room of arched mirrors, chandeliers and red cherry wood paneling.
The committee’s decisive vote came on the eve of a review next Tuesday by the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission.
Since the legendary Gage and Tollner closed in 2004, the site has become a restaurant graveyard. A T.G.I. Friday’s lasted three years in the site and a proposed Amy Ruth’s soul food restaurant never materialized.
