Bringing the Soul Back to Brooklyn

Harlem soul food restaurant Amy Ruth's will be heading downtown to Brooklyn's Fulton Mall.

The restaurant, famous for its fried chicken and waffles meal named for Al Sharpton, will take the spot of Gage and Tollner, which was the oldest restaurant in Brooklyn, and briefly the home of a T.G.I. Friday's.

At the W. 116th St. location almost every item on the menu is named after a Harlem politician, artist, businessman or preacher.

Whether the chicken will be named after Jay-Z or the pie after Denzel Washington, is unknown. representatives from the restaurant have declined to make comments. However a press conference will be held soon.

The 122-year-old Gage and Tollner opened in 1882 with gaslights, mirrored walls, and cherry wood trim. It was renovated in 1995 but closed its doors on Feb. 14, 2004 due to lack of patronage. T.G.I. Friday's only lasted at the location two years.

President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership Joe Chan believes the restaurant will succeed in the location.

"It's a real destination for dining, drawing from the Harlem community and the city as a whole," said Chan. "Amy Ruth's has a high rating in terms of food quality and it's very affordable and accessible."

Now I have been to Gage and Tollner's and T.G.I. Friday Downtown Brooklyn. The Gage and Tollner was a classy place, my father took me there for special occasions and what not. I went to the T.G.I. Friday's and it was a hot ghetto mess, I understand why it closed. But I don't know how to feel about the opening of this soul food restaurant. There is a lacking throughout this city for reasonable priced soul food that taste good, especially in Brooklyn. I'll go when this place opens, I don't think it can ever replace Gage and Tollner but it's worth trying.