EatsNew York

Cool Ass Building: Arby's on Fulton Street

The Bay's best newsletter for underground events & news

For fast food in a fancy atmosphere, there are two options: 1. Wait until Valentine’s Day when White Castle on Metropolitan covers their tables in with cloths and offers table service. 2. Go to Arby’s in downtown Brooklyn. It’s the exact same menu that’s been a staple of suburban high school lunches for years, but it ditched the regular pre-fab truck stop aesthetic. The Fulton Street Arby’s is in a brownstone that housed of Gage and Tollner, a restaurant that was a fixture in Brooklyn from 1879 to 2004. The franchise owners painted the columns on the entrance white, but kept most of the Gage and Tollner’s interior details intact.

Initially, the Arby’s takeover was controversial. After several meetings with the Historic Landmark Commission, the finished product is the most beautiful Arby’s EVER. The entire restaurant is covered in mahogany paneling, tin ceiling tiles, twisty metal chandeliers and wooden booths with an actual class partition. While you’re getting condiments you can stare at yourself in the mirrors that would reach the ceiling if they weren’t in curved molding. And the staff is so friendly you think you’re at a suburban truck stop, until you grab your food off a counter that might actually be marble.

Gage and Tollner back in the day

The only beautiful Arby's in the world

Photos from forgottennewyork.com and goodiesfirst.com

Arby’s in Downtown Brooklyn
372 Fulton Street

Between Smith Street and Red Hook Lane

Previous post

Karnival of Kuriocites and Dangerous Ingestions

Next post

Hooray for Ray's Candy Store


Kiley E - Ragamuffin Researcher

Kiley E - Ragamuffin Researcher

After years of denial, Kiley has finally admitted to baring a striking resemblance to Velma from Scooby Doo. Instead of traveling in a van hunting ghosts, she prefers wandering on foot in search of tacos, cheap beer, and fake birds. Growing up in Portland, Kiley enjoyed the balance of urban and green spaces. Then she spent her four years at Ithaca College, and found herself craving more sprawling asphalt in her life. So she moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where most of the buildings look like they're about to collapse. Kiley's favorite activities include: getting lost, crafting, sewing, biking, and geeking out at museums. Her love of taxidermy probably makes her a terrible vegetarian, but she doesn't care.