Maspeth’s O’Neill’s Nears Re-Opening
After two years of rebuilding from a devastating fire in 2011, a Maspeth restaurant with deep roots in the neighborhood is set to re-open in mid-June.
On May 2, 2011, O’Neill’s Restaurant & Bar and two adjacent buildings succumbed to a five-alarm fire that left nothing but rubble. The bar-turned-restaurant had been open since 1928, according to owner George O’Neill.
The establishment that has risen from O’Neill’s Restaurant’s ashes will look much like the previous eatery, with one exception-the addition of a 250-seat catering hall, O’Neill remarked. He said the hall’s chandelier, decorative ensconces and other flourishes will give it a formal air that’s fitting for wedding receptions and other landmark events.
“It’s going to be really nice, inside and out,” he said.
The establishment re-opens June 14-Flag Day-at 4 p.m., according to O’Neill. He said the Fire Department will present him with the old restaurant’s flag, which they were able to recover before it was deand stroyed during the 2011 inferno.
The menu will remain largely unchanged, offering seafood and prime cuts of meat, according to O’Neill.
Since the fire, O’Neill hasn’t had time for anything except rebuilding, he said. It’s clear getting the restaurant operational has been at the forefront of his mind.
“Two years and 25 days-that’s how long we’ve been closed,” he said.
According to O’Neill, the process was difficult and anxiety-ridden. As an employer, the thought of his staff being out of work weighed on O’Neill, who helped many of them find interim jobs. He said nearly all his old employees-about 75 people- will be returning to work at the new O’Neill’s Restaurant once it opens. With the addition of the catering hall, O’Neill will be hiring too, but he is unsure how many new heads he’ll take on, he said.
Then there was Hurricane Sandy. O’Neill said, after Sandy, his contractors moved on to bigger jobs, leaving him to scramble for help in the wake of the disaster. The uncertainty got to O’Neill, he said.
“I don’t know how many people have asked me when we’re re-opening,” he said. “I must have given 97 different dates. But, we’re set now.”
