For 125 years, Gage and Tollner was the most famous restaurant in Brooklyn
1879
Charles M. Gage opens an eating establishment in the heart of Brooklyn at 302 Fulton Street.
1884
Gage brings one of his regulars on as partner, a likable cigar salesman named Eugene Tollner, and the restaurant is officially renamed Gage & Tollner.
1892
Gage & Tollner reopens at its current location at 372-374 Fulton Street, featuring a unique Neo-Grec storefront and ornate interior design, characteristic of the late Victorian Era.
1911
Gage and Tollner retire, and sell the restaurant to two gentlemen named Cunningham and Ingalls. Tollner returns to work shortly after his "retirement” and remains a fixture of the restaurant until his dying day.
1919
Shortly after WWI, Cunningham and Ingalls sell Gage & Tollner to Seth Bradford “Brad” Dewey (backed by his father, Hiram S. Dewey), from a family of prominent American restaurateurs and winemakers, on the condition that he uphold the name, customs, and traditions established by the restaurant’s founders.
1934
Prohibition is repealed, and Gage & Tollner earns a quality reputation for the liquors they serve as well as their fresh, delicious food.
1949
Ed Dewey, not yet 30 years old, takes over management of Gage & Tollner after his parents’ passing; the beginning of his 40-year tenure.
1952
The first annual Restaurant Awards are announced by Holiday Magazine, heralding Gage & Tollner as “one of the world’s best seafood restaurants,” and the only Brooklyn restaurant to make the list. G&T went on to receive this award for three more decades.
1954
Headwaiter Leon Gaskill celebrates his 50th year with Gage & Tollner. He continues to work at the restaurant for another 11 years, earning him the title of longest-running employee in Gage & Tollner history.
1973
John B. Simmons joins Ed Dewey in the ownership and management of the restaurant.
1974-1975
The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission grants Gage & Tollner both individual and interior landmark status; it is the third-ever space to be designated an interior landmark (following the New York Public Library and Grant’s Tomb) and the only standalone restaurant in NYC history to hold both designations.
1977
Ed, his wife Trudy, and John Simmons convert the second floor of the building into two private dining rooms.
1988
The Deweys sell Gage & Tollner to restaurateur Peter Aschkenasy, who hires Edna Lewis, the 72-year-old grande dame of Southern cooking, as chef.
1995
Joe Chirico purchases Gage & Tollner from Peter Ashkenasy, and lovingly restores the restaurant to its Gilded Age grandeur.
2004
On Valentine’s Day 2004, Mr. Chirico serves guests their last meal at Gage & Tollner. Developer Joseph Jemal buys the building and converts the top two floors to office space.
2004-2016
For the next 12 years, various fast-casual restaurants and bargain retailers cycle through the former ground floor dining room, including a TGI Fridays and an Arby’s, until the space is vacated in 2016 and the Jemals announce they are looking for a restaurant to move in.
2017
Restaurateurs Ben Schneider and St. John Frizell stumble onto Gage & Tollner while looking for a space to open a small cocktail bar in Downtown Brooklyn.
2018
St. John, Ben, and his wife, chef Sohui Kim, partner together and launch a Wefunder campaign to begin raising money to reopen Gage & Tollner.
2019
They complete their capital raise courtesy of G&T’s incredible community of 336 Wefunders and 48 equity investors, and begin renovations in February 2019.
2020
Gage & Tollner is set to reopen its doors on March 15, when the city shuts down due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
2021
Gage & Tollner finally returns to Downtown Brooklyn, in all its glory.