BBQ Eatery To Open Friday At Former Forest Hills Irish Pub

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — After standing vacant for over a year, the site of a former Irish eatery in Forest Hills will reopen as a barbecue restaurant this week.

Mighty Quinn's BBQ, a New York City-based chain, will open its doors at the corner of Queens Boulevard and 71st Road on Friday, the restaurant announced, adding that 10 percent of sales from its Grand Opening will benefit NYC Health and Hospitals.

The eatery will replace Banter, an Irish restaurant that closed in Dec. 2020 after seven years of business at 108-22 Queens Boulevard, much to the dismay of locals.

Mighty Quinn's announced its plan to open in Forest Hills last summer, marking its first outer-borough outpost amid a nationwide expansion.

The chain, which launched in 2012, serves barbecue in 11 locations — five of which are in Manhattan, with other outposts in New Jersey and Dubai. Mighty Quinn's also operates stadium kiosks at Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, and UBS Arena.

Opening in Forest Hills, though, has been a long time in the making, Mighty Quinn co-founder and CEO Micha Magid told Patch in August.

"Our franchisee Michael Dolan has been searching for the perfect spot in Forest Hills and this corner location, right off the Austin Street dining strip, met everything we look for in a new restaurant," he wrote, adding that the team is "looking forward to bringing our style of 'que to the borough."

The restaurant prides itself on a menu of slow cooked meats, with BBQ-style sides like fries, slaw, and baked beans. Mighty Quinn's in Forest Hills will include all of that, plus a full bar and indoor and outdoor seating, Magid said.

To find out more about Mighty Quinn's BBQ in Forest Hills, follow the restaurant on social media.

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