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Steve’s New Grill House Opens on Stillwell in Coney Island

Posted in Food & Drink, Redevelopment, tagged BK Festival, Coney Island, restaurant, Steve Bitetzakis, Steve's Grill House, Stillwell Avenue, Thor Equities on April 9, 2012| 2 Comments »

Steve's New Grill House at the BK Festival on Stillwell Avenue. April 8, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

On Easter Sunday, Steve Bitetzakis opened his new Grill House at the BK Festival on Stillwell Avenue next to Scream Zone. The menu is the same as his previous spot on the Boardwalk– hamburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, shish-ke-bab, chicken wings, french fries and knishes. Old friends and longtime customers were happy to see him back in business. The eatery is housed in a newly purchased concession trailer. The decorative flags, hand-painted signage and seating that gave the Boardwalk eatery a homey ambiance appear to be the next order of business.

Steve’s was among several food stands and trailers opening for Easter on Thor Equities’ Stillwell East lot leased to the BK Festival. On Memorial Day Weekend, rides and attractions are expected to fill the festival lot and it will be called “Steeplechase Amusement Park.”

Located on the Coney Island Boardwalk since 1993, Bitetzakis was one of the “Coney Island 8” evicted by Zamperla. In February he called off plans to have his modular building moved down Stillwell and instead sold it to Zamperla, which is remodeling it and the adjoining Beer Island to create their own beach bar on the Boardwalk.

Steve Bitetzakis, the owner of Steve’s Grill House on the Coney Island Boardwalk since 1993, with his son at their new location. April 8, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Steve’s family has a long history of operating food concessions in Coney Island. His father Gregory Bitetzakis was the co-owner of Gregory & Paul’s and operated the G & P’s on West 10th Street opposite the Cyclone until his retirement in 2009.

As ATZ reported over the weekend, the majority of the original “Coney Island 8″ eateries are coming back this season. The relocated Cha Cha’s, the Grill House’s neighbor on the Boardwalk, also opened on Sunday. When we stopped by the new bar and restaurant on the north side of Surf across from Nathan’s Famous, John “Cha Cha” Ciarcia was holding court at a front table and regulars were dropping by for their first drinks of the season. Cha Cha’s new address is 1315 Surf Avenue, the space formerly occupied by Surf N Turf Grill.

Steve's New Grill House at the BK Festival on Stillwell Avenue. April 8, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

UPDATE June 25, 2012:

We’re sorry to report that Steve’s is ~~temporarily~~ closed. After losing his spot on Stillwell when the BK Festival closed to make way for the new Steeplechase Park, Steve’s trailer was relocated to Thor Equities’ Surf Avenue lot at West 12th Street. While Cha Cha’s Steeplechase Park finally managed to open on Mermaid Parade Day after a four week delay, the satellite locations on Surf remain closed for now. In addition, Steve’s new location has literally left his trailer up against a fence. The original plans for the new Steeplechase park and the other two locations called for opening the fencing during business hours. It turns out that city regulations will not permit it.

Cheers! First Drink at Relocated Cha Cha’s of Coney Island

Posted in Food & Drink, Redevelopment, tagged bar, Cha-Cha's, Club Atlantis, restaurant, Surf Avenue on April 7, 2012| 4 Comments »

First Drink at Relocated Cha Cha's of Coney Island. April 7, 2012. Photo © Diana Shumate

Today, Cha Cha’s of Coney Island served its first drink in its new location on the north side of Surf Avenue across from Nathans Famous. Opening day is Easter Sunday at 12 noon, when longtime bartender Mila will host her first Bloody Mary Sunday of the season, toasted by friends. The address is 1315 Surf Avenue, the space formerly occupied by Surf N Turf Grill.

Brick-oven pizza at $2.00 per slice along with beer and drinks will be served, says Diana Shumate, who sent us these photos. The restaurant will be open weekends only for the next few weeks while renovations are underway. A more extensive menu is planned, Cha Cha says. Cha Cha’s Club Atlantis, a beach bar similar to the original and with the atmosphere of a reincarnated Beer Island, is expected to open at Stillwell Avenue’s BK Festival. Live music will be featured at both the Surf and Stillwell locations.

Last October was the last hurrah for John “Cha Cha” Ciarcia’s “Home of Wild Women and Wise Guys” on the Coney Island Boardwalk. One of the “Coney Island 8” evicted by Zamperla, Cha Cha’s former Boardwalk location was the site of the original Club Atlantis and is slated to become Tom’s Restaurant.

The good news is that in addition to family-owned Brooklyn establishments like Tom’s of Prospect Heights and Grimaldi’s Pizzeria opening in Coney Island, the majority of the original “Coney Island 8” eateries are coming back this season. Ruby’s Bar and Paul’s Daughter were offered 8-year leases by Zamperla and are currently undergoing renovations. Steve’s Grill House sold his building to Zamperla, bought a concession trailer and plans to relocate nearby. Gyro Corner Clam Bar has a second location at the corner of the Bowery and 12th Street.

Chalkboard sign for Cha Cha's of Coney Island. New Location is 1315 Surf Avenue, the former Surf N Turf Grill. April 7, 2012. 2012. Photo © Diana Shumate

Coney Island Murals by Street Artists Await Their Fate

Posted in art, Food, Redevelopment, tagged Coney Island, mural, ND'A, NO Longer Empty, OverUnder, Plaza Mexico Dona Zita, restaurant, street art, Thor Equities on March 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Last summer, street artists OverUnder and ND’A painted murals for the restaurant Plaza Mexico Doña Zita on the Bowery and Henderson Walk in Coney Island. Giant tropical flowers blossomed on a fence on the Henderson side of Thor Equities’ construction site and brought a garden of street art to Doña Zita’s. Unlike some of its neighbors, this popular little eatery has managed to survive the upheaval brought about by Coney Island’s rezoning and redevelopment. Yet Doña Zita’s proximity to Thor’s empty lots made the seating area less than scenic. Then the murals appeared, almost miraculously, and transformed the view.

Since construction on Thor’s building is completed and the fencing was taken down, the Doña Zita murals have been piled up in the lot across the street, awaiting their fate. Murals from the Bowery, Surf and Stillwell sides of the building, which were painted by OverUnder, ND’A, Veng, Radical and Ephameron for a project curated by Keith Schweitzer for No Longer Empty, have already disappeared. Last month, some panels were spotted in a botched reassembly at another Thor construction site in Bensonhurst.

Do street artists have a tough skin when it comes to the fate of their work? ATZ contacted the No Longer Empty muralists to find out.

The artist known as OverUnder told ATZ: “Although it is saddening to see the handling of one’s public work by people, critics, and the weather, it is also inherent to the work. I would take seeing the sun and rains effect on a mural over a construction workers lack of reassembly any day but beggars, errr, street artists can’t be choosers.”

At the same time, OverUnder and the other artists are sad to see colorful, handmade, authentic signage of Coney Island replaced by pre-fab or generic signs.

“I was very pleased and honored to be able to paint something out at Coney Island,” wrote ND’A in an email. “Ever since I moved to New York the old signs and murals have always stopped me in my tracks. I think in our line of work it is a hope, not an expectation, that things will be a fixture and not ephemeral.”

“That being said,” ND’A added, “If the construction site remains unable or unwilling to put everything back to its original state I know we are all generally chomping at the bit to paint big outdoor projects. If you know of any spots where we could do more murals I’d love to put more work out there.”

Coney Island mural O V E R U N D E R with ND'A

Thor Equities new building remains vacant and is now encased in plywood except for the side on Henderson Walk, which is the back of the building and has no windows. “I see a blank canvas for No Longer Empty,” wrote one of the commenters on our recent post about the building. We’d like to see more murals too, but Thor is already throwing up advertisements. This week, signs touting “CONEY ISLAND – The RETAIL RIDE of a LIFETIME – for leasing contact..” went up on the Stillwell side. Thor debuted the odious slogan last May.

Doña Zita’s is located on Coney Island’s Bowery at Henderson Walk, one of the few historic “walks” remaining in Coney. We love her food and so did the artists. The restaurant also gets high marks on Yelp, Serious Eats (“Tacos plus sandy feet and the smell of the ocean equals the perfect summer combination”) and Time Out (“the finest quesadilla this side of Sunset Park”).