12 replies to this topic

[block921]

Port 44

The brewery that's only about a year old has closed??



http://blog.nj.com/n...ions_aside.html


"But Scully’s is under contract and in the process of being sold. "
"That’s gone, closed for a year."

"Then there was the City Chop House on Commerce Street, imagined as a white-tablecloth restaurant, complete with a rooftop Tiki bar, offering wine and top-of-the-line entrees, edgily named for the Palace Chop House — where gangster Arthur Flegenheimer, aka Dutch Schultz, was gunned down.

The City Chop House never got beyond the imagining stage.

"Downtown wasn’t ready for a place like that," says McGovern."


At 60 Park Place, one of his partners — his maitre’d — was Richard Codey, the former governor and still state senator. Codey came into the business with a splash, talking about the "investment in Newark’s future" and suggesting the place would be a mecca for political and news junkies who would mingle with sports fans and jazz devotees.

Never happened. "The worst investment I ever made," said Codey. He didn’t explain and didn’t respond to a request for a comment for this article.

The fate of 60 Park Place is the most worrying. It didn’t make it five years ago as Arthur’s Downtown; it didn’t make it three years ago as The Savoy Grill. Now it is once again shuttered and gathering dust, a symbol of a downtown that, unlike similar areas in Philadelphia and Baltimore, hasn’t been able to draw crowds for nearly five decades.

Edited by block921, 30 August 2011 - 07:14 PM.

[DevsMan84]

Apparently that is the situation with Port 44. I am not happy nor am I surprised. Basically it was 2 retired cops (or was it a retired cop and one fireman or both firemen?) who had never run a business before and it certainly showed in my two times there. Great beer but terrible food, bland menu, so-so service, and the place always looked half-finished. It was like they did a soft open and have been waiting to do a grand opening since and never came. I heard from various boards and from other people that the kitchen has been in disarray from day one. Owning a restaurant is a tough business, especially in this economy in a city that is just starting to become something. It was clear the owners had no clue at what they are doing and like many first-time owners, probably thought it would be simple and let the managers/staff run the show. Obviously this is speculation but I have friends whose families are in the restaurant business and they have told me many of their competitors fail because of that mentality. It is hard work.

I hope a new brewpub will open in the city soon. When Edison Ale House opens, they will have a good selection but nothing still beats a fresh brewed beer. I really hope someone buys Port 44, invest a little money in it, hire a good head chef, and keep the brewmaster. We will just have to wait and see.

[mouse]

Apparently that is the situation with Port 44. I am not happy nor am I surprised. Basically it was 2 retired cops (or was it a retired cop and one fireman or both firemen?) who had never run a business before and it certainly showed in my two times there. Great beer but terrible food, bland menu, so-so service, and the place always looked half-finished. It was like they did a soft open and have been waiting to do a grand opening since and never came. I heard from various boards and from other people that the kitchen has been in disarray from day one. Owning a restaurant is a tough business, especially in this economy in a city that is just starting to become something. It was clear the owners had no clue at what they are doing and like many first-time owners, probably thought it would be simple and let the managers/staff run the show. Obviously this is speculation but I have friends whose families are in the restaurant business and they have told me many of their competitors fail because of that mentality. It is hard work.

I hope a new brewpub will open in the city soon. When Edison Ale House opens, they will have a good selection but nothing still beats a fresh brewed beer. I really hope someone buys Port 44, invest a little money in it, hire a good head chef, and keep the brewmaster. We will just have to wait and see.

+ 1. I met one of the owners, and he was a really nice guy, but they were still a mess. Took forever to get my food, and when I tried to get my fiancee a mixed drink they didn't have a bunch of staples, and I wasn't asking for particular brands. Good beer, and I love having more local breweries/brewpubs, but they need a real restaurateur to run things.

[block921]

I'm waiting for Uber Burger and the coffee place to close.. a place can't survive with a light crowd 1-2 days out of the week and dead emtpy all the rest. Once the tax cuts are gone these shops are going to close.. further proving enough people do not live downtown for these businesses to survive.

Edited by block921, 30 August 2011 - 09:23 PM.

[DevsMan84]

I'm waiting for Uber Burger and the coffee place to close.. a place can't survive with a light crowd 1-2 days out of the week and dead emtpy all the rest. Once the tax cuts are gone these shops are going to close.. further proving enough people do not live downtown for these businesses to survive.

Thing that helps uber burger is that the prices are good and the food is quite good as well. Those two factors will keep them in business for a while.

However you are right about the light crowds during the off days and that is a concern as well as the location. However I just think for the points before they will survive.

[Marv4Life]

I also heard about Port 44 screwing over a group of Devils fans to placate Ohio State at the NCAA tournament at the last minute.

[DaneykoIsGod]

I had heard about Port 44 closing, but Scully's too? That's a big shock, even if it is just for a year while new ownership gets sorted out (though that sounds like a slow painful death rather than a quick one).

And 60 Park? Well, I guess 60 Park shouldn't surprise me. I went there with a handful of friends a couple times and we always more than doubled the number of patrons in the place. Shame. It had a lot of potential.

I had never heard of City Chop House. Did anyone else? If Scully's and 60 Park can't make it work, then a place like that probably wouldn't have either.

[Marv4Life]

60 Park sucked. Was there in 08 before a Saturday night game. People running the place(and the previous 2) had no idea what they were doing.

[DaneykoIsGod]

60 Park was weird. It was clean and looked nice, but the walls looked empty except for a handful of sports things. So it was like they were doing a half-assed job of being a sports bar, but their location seemed to lend itself more to the PAC crowd. Neither seemed to catch on.

I never got food there, so I can't comment on that. We would just sit at the bar and put a few back before heading to the next watering hole. 60 Park served that purpose just fine. But it was a ghost town in there.

Scully's, on the other hand ... that just shocks me. Not only did that do great business pre- and post-game, but they also seemed to draw a solid lunch crowd.

[DevsMan84]

I also heard about Port 44 screwing over a group of Devils fans to placate Ohio State at the NCAA tournament at the last minute.

Yeah they had a Devils viewing party scheduled, but cancelled a few days before because they had either the players or fans of Ohio State come in during the NCAA tournament.

I can understand they are business people who want to make as much money as possible and March Madness always trumps hockey in March, but to have to make Devils scramble to a new place ( I think it was McGovern's) that is further away from Penn Station and therefore inconvenient for me and possibly other Devils fans didnt sit right. They basically annoyed fans who are there a good 8 months out of the year for a 1-time deal.

IDK maybe it was a good thing it wasn't held there. Place was kinda small and again the food there was pretty bad.

[block921]

I had heard about Port 44 closing, but Scully's too? That's a big shock, even if it is just for a year while new ownership gets sorted out (though that sounds like a slow painful death rather than a quick one).

And 60 Park? Well, I guess 60 Park shouldn't surprise me. I went there with a handful of friends a couple times and we always more than doubled the number of patrons in the place. Shame. It had a lot of potential.

I had never heard of City Chop House. Did anyone else? If Scully's and 60 Park can't make it work, then a place like that probably wouldn't have either.

oh man i was half asleep when i read this... scully's is that irish place on clinton ave right?

That is a massive blow! I remember it opening when I lived in 1180 and that place would have a decent crowd on a devil's game night... now imagine that closed think how Uber Burger is going to last and they don't even come close to pulling the same size crowd.

Its reality.

[block921]

A little out of the way but in the same city, Blockheads hair cuts is closed I think or is restaggering their already staggered summer hours as I drove by at 3pm and saw a closed sign.. they already have summer hours of 11-7pm


http://blockheadhair.com/


Again folks you can't just day dream that redevelopment is going to happen. YOu have to plan things very carefully... anyone that followed my ID by now knows I've been calling out all these stores that are opening up with 0 to no business model on top of all the crime.

[newarkdev01]

Anyone that follows your ID block knows you will find every negative post and jump on it...you wonderfully ignore things like Scullys actually being SOLD not going under. It was posted for a while at 300k. Lots of restaurants are closing or going under in this environment, not a big suprise.