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For the record, The Queen's Hideaway has closed, following a reportedly raucous closing party Saturday night. Opened about four years ago, the seasonally-minded restaurant put an isolated little corner of Franklin Street in Greenpoint on the dining map, becoming kind of a big deal after a slam dunk review in the Times in 2005.
Chef and owner Liza Queen took a break from dismantling her restaurant yesterday to tell us she has no idea what's going to happen to the place: "That's up to my prick of a landlord," who raised the rent "astronomically." Queen says she's talking to people about chef gigs in Manhattan, but nothing is "set enough to be able to say." She says most locals (but not all of them) seem sad to see her go:
"People have been very sweet and sad about it. I think we're the last of those kind of vaguely scruffy places, you know what I mean? I don't know if you've seen T.B.D. [Ed.:The big, slick bar next door].In the meantime, Franklin Street desperately needs a Duane Reade!"Some people, I think, also feel fairly vindicated, so there's that too. I made the mistake of looking at some blog stuff and I shouldn't have done that. And I'd say the reality of it is that we were kind of too expensive for this neighborhood as it evolved. So now I think some people are like, 'See, we told you it was too expensive!' I am definitely a little heartbroken but I do think ultimately something good is going to come out of it and I will be taking over another kitchen probably at least within the next year."
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The Queen's Hideaway will definitely be missed, but to be fair, T.B.D. staff has always been very friendly and courteous.
I only hope the rent won't limit the options to...a vanity "boutique" with exactly three astronomically priced gold-plated notebooks. Some amazing businesses have been moving into the area, and it would be a shame to see them disappear so quickly.
This is a great loss for the neighborhood. Okra Fritters.
The restaurant was okay, but I agree that it was overpriced for the quality. I only went there once because of the pricing.
Good riddance, I say. We went here a couple of times and while the food was decent, the service was beyond awful.
The last time, myself and three friends waited 90 minutes(!!) for our food. For the first hour, we didn't notice so much, we were chatting, having glass of wine. Then the waiter came by and asked us if we wanted to order desert. We told him we hadn't gotten our entree's yet and with annoyance he told us the kitchen was slow. No apology, no nothing. Then he disappeared, finally 30 minutes later, some other random woman delivered our food, in fact our waiter never reappeared.
It takes more then good food to have a good restaurant. If you poke around on the web, you'll see our experience there was not unusual. oh well.
Why is the landlord a prick if he's raising rents astronomically? He's not a charity.
You know what annoys the shit out of me more than most things? People who have enough expendable income to dine out but also are stingy enough to complain about prices.
And then the complaints about service. I swear, blogging is such a pox on the restaurant industry (which I am not in, I am just a frequent diner). Every a-hole with a laptop can sit in a crusty cafe and bitch about "poor service" and high prices. Aww, an overworked waitress forgot to refill your water for 5 minutes. Grab your tits and cry.
None of these people have the slightest inkling of what it takes to open a restaurant, pay suppliers, rent and utilities on time, let alone to get a decent staff that shows up for work on time and doesn't put a manager in the spot of playing host and waiter/waitress for half their shift.
For what it's worth, I've met Liza and she is a very cool, down to earth person who was trying the best she could and apparently was just handed a raw deal. I wish her the best.
I am glad to see this place go. Greenpoint does not need such pricey restaurants. We are regular folks and need regular food! Plus, I went there as part of a large group and they couldn't even accommodate me as a vegetarian, not even to the point of making me an entree sized dish of one of their vegetarian appetizers. I know they don't have to do that, but it would have been nice and neighborly! I live less than one block away, after all...
To Comment #6
I'm not saying anything personal about the owner. And I actually have worked as both a bartender and waiter....nonetheless...
The service at this place was legendarily crappy. That is not the case with many of the other GP neighborhood spots.
The prices there were high, but not astronomical for the quality food. That said, to pay restaurant prices a part of the experience is good service. If you can't pull that off, well, your not going to survive. I don't feel at all sorry for them.
I am glad to see this place go. Greenpoint does not need such pricey restaurants. We are regular folks and need regular food!
With a rent increase at that location? Yeah I'm sure it will be replaced with chinese takeout.
Good luck with that.
Not that I'm a fan of "prick landlords", but if if a tennant's business gets hot, you raise the rent to juice them a bit. That's on page 2 of the greedy landlord's handbook. And no doubt their original rent was pretty modest: this is Greenpoint, after all.
So because the Wii is in high demand and people on eBay sell it for $100 over retail, they're "greedy"? That's the free market, Nanny.
I would look at the counterpoint and say she is greedy for wanting cheaper rent. Because with cheaper rent her bottom line is higher.
Again, the landlord is not a charity.
Sincerely,
Adam Smith
^ I think you made my point: The landlord is certainly greedy and these operators were greedy too. The key is that the landlord should juice them "a bit", not double or triple the rent. Now he has no tennant. That's the free market too.