E.L.A. Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Looks like a very interesting place...inside the old Bank of America building...a lot of information below...anyone been? I am thinking of stopping in tonight for a drink, LOL. http://www.boozyburbs.com/2015/07/13/fish-urban-dining-ridgewood/ http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/bank-repurposed-for-big-catch-1.1323143?page=all Thanks in advance. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 The Asbury Park location is very good. Haven't been to the new one yet Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 Stopped in for a drink last night -- impressive space. Very nice. Still the interior, shell, of the bank, with the vault/vault door wide open and visible straight ahead when you walk in. The long bar, taking up almost the entire side/wall, is on the right. Hi-top tables, a couple of rows are just off the bar, making up a bar area, and then dining room tables throughout the remainder of the space. It's a very open, expansive space, high ceilings, impressive, unique. Yes, you get that loud, almost echo-type thing going on. The Pig and the Prince -- in the old Lackawana Station in Montclair -- dealt with the same issues, and addressed it with a variety of sound-absorbing interior design. Something I would look into here. As soon as you walk in, just past the hostess station, is a raw bar station, showcasing their offerings. The place was crowded. Every dining room table was taken, every hi-hat in the bar area was as well, and every seat at the bar was occupied. My friend and I got lucky when we approached as two people were just paying their bill and leaving, so we were able to take their seats at the bar. The bartender was quick to clear their plates, glasses, etc. We were quickly given a drink/wine menu, and what appeared to be a bar menu that listed their various specials/happy hours/etc. They are going to be offering a lot of specials -- an all day happy hour on the weekend (Saturday I think) for example. Service was very good. Drinks were good as well. My friend notices a lot of people having appetizers at the bar and commented to the bartender, who told my friend while they've only been open about a month, they are attracting a very nice clientele, and a varied one -- drinks before and after dinner, appetizers/light bite at the bar, people having dinner at the bar, etc. While my friend has a sense of humor, he couldn't help notice that the entire place was mostly "couples" so in his mind, there wasn't "a lot of action" so to speak, LOL. The menu looked interesting -- raw bar items and a variety of appetizers. I did not see the full dinner menu. They offer various wine flights, a lot of wines by the glass, and an extensive wine list. The vault is for private dining/parties, and I thought I read something somewhere about other private rooms -- did I hear or read something about intimate, private balconies or something overlooking the main floor? When you walk in and walk to the bar or toward the back of the place, and you turn around -- above the entrance is a large, second level/floor mezzanine type space. This looks like a nice space for private parties/functions. I don't know if there is any other upstairs space, kitchen, etc. One other thing I noticed -- several couples from Roots came over to Fish, and vice a versa. After our drink, we decided to walk over to Roots, and two couples from Fish decided to do the same. Might tell you a bit about the clientele. Overall, a new, interesting and nice space and addition to the Ridgewood dining scene. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 Also...an interesting side note for the resident "liquor license police"...see the article below...specifically the following comments...I cannot speak to accuracy, truth, or anything of the like...but, the article clearly states the purchase price and where, and from who the license was obtained from...From North Jersey.com "Real estate investment and development firm Onyx Equities, however, wants to return the building back to its heyday. Onyx acquired the bank and property in April 2013; its principals paying nearly $2 million for the deed to the land. According to the Village of Ridgewood website, the combined property and improvements were most recently assessed at more than $3.9 million. Two years after the transaction, plans are falling into place for the building's first tenants in half a decade. FISH Urban Dining, an Asbury Park-based upscale seafood eatery, expects to move in and open later this year — once a repurposing of the building's interior to accommodate a restaurant and other retailers is completed. "When Onyx closed on the purchase, our vision was that the vault infrastructure, 34-foot ceilings and classical architecture would make for a great dining and retail backdrop," according to Joel Dicker, the firm's vice president of retail leasing and development. "With Onyx's development expertise, we knew we could turn this vision into reality." It was unclear whether the ongoing renovations will ultimately reflect FISH's current establishment in Asbury Park, but the restaurant in the New Jersey shore town will more than likely serve as a model for the Ridgewood space. The Asbury Park restaurant, too, is contained inside a former bank building with high ceilings. Its focal point: a large former vault that opens to a large, banquet-style table. FISH will occupy only a portion of the building, specifically the areas where former bank operations took place. Jim DeGilio, managing partner at FISH, was unable to return calls and emails by press deadline for comment. ... Sonenfeld indicated that Ridgewood has had preliminary discussions with FISH management regarding potential valet parking for the restaurant. Several downtown restaurants, including Roots Steakhouse, Park West Tavern and Smith Brother's Steak and Chophouse, currently use valet service. ... Earlier this year, Onyx purchased a coveted liquor retail distribution license for use at the bank building. Company officials paid $255,000 for the license during a public auction of assets owned by the former Harding Pharmacy and Liquor." Here's the link to the entire article: http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/bank-repurposed-for-big-catch-1.1323143?page=all Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 Also, another side note -- last night they were offering/utilizing valet parking. It seemed to be working well. I saw the valet staff taking cars, driving them away, and also a few staff running and getting cars to return them. I walked there so I didn't use the valet parking service. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 My friend said that he visited their facebook page -- and it says they offer "cozy booths" -- that based upon the picture seem to be upstairs. I am not sure that I saw them. Perhaps they are not finished or they are not open and don't overlook the main dining floor. I don't know. A second level, mezzanine, area, that overlooks the main dining area would be very nice. Almost reminding me of the old Michael Jordan Steakhouse space inside Grand Central. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Anyone? Every single time I walk by, the place is crowded...new, novelty, nice space. Anyone? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Also...an interesting side note for the resident "liquor license police"...see the article below...specifically the following comments...I cannot speak to accuracy, truth, or anything of the like...but, the article clearly states the purchase price and where, and from who the license was obtained from...From North Jersey.com "Real estate investment and development firm Onyx Equities, however, wants to return the building back to its heyday. Onyx acquired the bank and property in April 2013; its principals paying nearly $2 million for the deed to the land. According to the Village of Ridgewood website, the combined property and improvements were most recently assessed at more than $3.9 million. Earlier this year, Onyx purchased a coveted liquor retail distribution license for use at the bank building. Company officials paid $255,000 for the license during a public auction of assets owned by the former Harding Pharmacy and Liquor." Here's the link to the entire article: http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/bank-repurposed-for-big-catch-1.1323143?page=all Anyone else here anything about the purchase/sale of this liquor license? Is there more than one type of license (in Ridgewood)? If so, what type of license did Harding have? $255,000? I actually spoke with someone else and when asked about the price of the license, he said "around a quarter of a million" -- so that number is out there. Anyone know anything about this? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Rosie reports on a recent dinner at Fish in Ridgewood. Loved the decor and architecture, food did not match up with the decor. http://njmonthly.com/articles/eat-drink/table-hopping-with-rosie/beautiful-venue-lackluster-food-at-fish-urban-dining/ ===================== ELA - In general package store licenses are treated as "off premises consumption" so you can't drink wine or beer in the same premises where you bought it. Towns have some latitude in how to handle this, however. At Sesame, etc in Montclair (liquor store had a door into the restaurant and a door onto the street) and you placed a dinner order, then walked over to buy wine and you brought it back to your seat. I believe Matisse in Rutherford does it the same way. The premises for the liquor might only be 100 square feet, enough to display and sell, using a separate register. An "on premises consumption" license is a bar or restaurant permit. You're not supposed to mix the two types, but, this is NJ, so... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Elisa Ung gave it two stars in the Record. Food was uneven, the atmosphere of the place was wonderful. The lighting was dim, and the typeface on the menu was small, often a bad combination. The words soggy, gelatinous, and gummy appear in the review. Also loud. The monkfish wasn't up to expectations, either. The service appears to be very good. It's mentioned favorably in several places, and may have salvaged the review from an even lower score. http://www.northjersey.com/food-and-dining-news/restaurant-reviews/restaurant-review-fish-urban-dining-ridgewood-1.1459504 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Stopped in for a drink -- during prime-dinner time. For dining, at the tables, the place never seems to be crowded. The bar area has been relatively crowded each time I've been. I haven't had any food yet. However, I had a few friends -- who are in the business -- and they've been. Reports are "so so" and "fair" so to speak. My one friend said he went and wasn't impressed, that the food didn't rise to the occasion of the space, and he wouldn't go back. So be it. The times I've been there, I found the service at the bar a bit lacking. That, and more than once I was there and they seem to "close early" as the bar still had people but the tables were all finished and cleaned for the night. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Rosie reports on a recent dinner at Fish in Ridgewood. Loved the decor and architecture, food did not match up with the decor. http://njmonthly.com/articles/eat-drink/table-hopping-with-rosie/beautiful-venue-lackluster-food-at-fish-urban-dining/ ===================== ELA - In general package store licenses are treated as "off premises consumption" so you can't drink wine or beer in the same premises where you bought it. Towns have some latitude in how to handle this, however. At Sesame, etc in Montclair (liquor store had a door into the restaurant and a door onto the street) and you placed a dinner order, then walked over to buy wine and you brought it back to your seat. I believe Matisse in Rutherford does it the same way. The premises for the liquor might only be 100 square feet, enough to display and sell, using a separate register. An "on premises consumption" license is a bar or restaurant permit. You're not supposed to mix the two types, but, this is NJ, so... Thanks Paul. I understand the package goods/store licenses and how they were classified, treated, etc. I understand them generically of course as I am not an expert. I've dealt with some of these issues professionally as far as my work -- tax, trust, estate, insurance planning, asset protection, etc. I am not familiar with the latitude that towns may have, but I've heard the wine tasting thing can be OK, and a few other things as well. I have no idea if anything completely egregious or abusive occurs. I don't see a problem with the way Sesame and Cafe Matisse do it -- and I would have simply guessed that it was being done correctly. However, in reality, I don't know. Would be a bit surprising if it isn't. That said -- still, in this case, I don't see how this situation went down. I thought a retail license -- for a bar/lounge/restaurant -- in Ridgewood, sold for $750,000 I believe. However, here, in this case -- you have one store closes, not a bar/restaurant, but a "liquor store" so to speak, assets get auctioned off, the license is purchased for $255,000 (for a "liquor retail distribution license" according to the article)...and next thing you know, you are in business serving drinks at the bar? I would be surprised if the answer was "but, this is NJ, so..." It is interesting and my curiosity was piqued. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
picnicchef Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Gotta agree...the license seems a bit "fishy" How is it the Blend transfer/auction to Roots went for close to 500K and suddenly this license that was package goods turns into consumption? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Gotta agree...the license seems a bit "fishy" How is it the Blend transfer/auction to Roots went for close to 500K and suddenly this license that was package goods turns into consumption? I thought that one was higher than $500k? Maybe not. However, that may have been part of a package or something. I remember there were various assets there, so perhaps it was the license and something else. I don't remember what I had read. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 NYT liked it, with a good. The review reads like a very good. I'd be disappointed. Lots to like, but I haven't been able to calibrate Ms Vora yet. Link to follow Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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