The Long Island Bar and Restaurant, on the corner of Atlantic Ave. and Henry St. in Cobble Hill, has reopened under new management after a six-year hiatus.
According to the New York Daily News, the iconic neighborhood spot owned by Toby Cecchini, the former owner of the now-closed Passerby bar in Manhattan, and partner Joel Tompkins will now be serving drinks and foods to "hipsters."
Former owner Emma Sullivan and her cousins Pepita and Maruja Fernandez served Spanish-American inspired dishes to the workers off the nearby docks.
The Daily News reported that Cecchini and Tompkins made the cautious decision to keep everything the same, except Spanish-American food is out, and $12 cocktails are in. The pair even kept the original bar, complete with cigarette burn marks. Cecchini and Tompkins memorialized the former owners with ceremonial barstools bearing their names.
"We wanted to keep the palette they had," Tompkins said. "The terrazzo flooring, Formica walls, the booths."
Tompkins, an experienced barkeep who lives in Cobble Hill, said everything is the way is was before, but with a new shine on it. The men rewired the place and updated the kitchen, but the most noticeable change is in the name. The chose to drop "restaurant" from the name, though food will be on the menu in short order.
"It was called that for 54 years," Cecchini said. "We're taking a different slant."
The bar, owned since the 1950's, closed in 2007 after the widowed Sullivan took a break and returned to Spain. According to the Daily News, Sullivan considers returning to the bar, but Tompkins convinced her to pass the torch a year ago.
"I feel like this place will become a pretty big draw," said Dana Bulkenstein, an ad exec who lives in the neighborhood, as she sipped one of the first drinks served. "It will become another place for the hipster set, people with strollers. The beer, babies and brunch set once they have a food menu."
