550-Seat Restaurant Overlooking Gowanus Canal To Open In Spring

GOWANUS, NY — A 550-seat restaurant on the banks of the Gowanus Canal that has been in the works for nearly five years finally plans to open its doors at the end of this spring, its owner said.

The restaurant, at the dead end at 421 Bond St., plans to serve high-quality casual food with rooftop seating that overlooks the badly polluted canal. While the cleanup of the water that started this year isn't expected to finish until 2022, the owner of the spot said he's already seen great improvements and believes it will become the next Venice.

"I love the area and I think our canal should be Venice," said Alex Donskoi, a furniture company owner working on the restaurant. "It has all the potential to be there and it's going to get there. It's not that far away."

The restaurant, which he will call 421 Bond, plans to offer "high-quality, casual meals" at cheaper prices and plans to focus on a truffle menu when it's in season.

"What I’m going to open there, Brooklyn never seen anything like this," he said. "Everybody is going to come inside the place."

He also plans to attract popular jazz musicians while they're in the city to play at the spot, but stressed it would be focused on a family-friendly environment and not a club.

The spot has been a labor of love for Donskoi for nearly five years and he's pumped more than $5 million to transform the 113-year-old former ice factory into an eatery similar to ones found in Aspen or Europe. He was originally slated to finish the project last year, but construction on the building has stretched the timeline.

"If I really pushed it I could’ve finished it before," Donskoi said. "I like to do everything the best possible way, the way they do it in Europe."

So far he's had to drill out concrete wall to install windows and remove coats of paint to expose the brick of the building's facade. However, the biggest delay has been to install piping for the kitchen and bathrooms because he's right next to the canal and the building has no basement.

He's currently working on installing the kitchen, which he said will rival the best from restaurants around the world, then will focus on bringing in a high-quality chef to run it.

The delays have force Donskoi to go in front of Community Board 6 two times before to get his liquor license because he hasn't been able to get a certificate of occupancy from the Department of Buildings in time for final approval.

He appeared in front of the board's permits and licensing committee for a third time on Thursday night, but members at this meeting were worried that music from the rooftop could travel through the canal late at night and disturb nearby residents.

Donskoi and his lawyer argued that no residents live close enough to the spot to be bothered by the sound, but members weren't convinced and approved his application under the condition that he cut off music on the rooftop after midnight.

Image: Google Maps