Mikes Letters

O'NEALS' TO CLOSE END OF JUNE
With this letter I want to let my dear friends and patrons know that sometime at the end of June we will bring the curtain down on our long and exciting run.
The O'Neal family has had a presence on West 64th Street for 46 years, first as THE GINGER MAN and then as O'Neals'. It is with much sadness we say goodbye.
Many of you know all the many manifestations we have had over the years; first we were The Ginger Man. WE got good reviews and expanded. Soon we broke through the wall into the Liberty Warehouse and opened the Liberty Ice Cream Parlor. We later turned this room into “the Grill Room.” Do you remember the beautiful fireplace? Little by little our original home, a renovated garage, became the site of a new building and we moved all operations into the warehouse.

In 2001 The Liberty Warehouse was sold and the old owners went belly up. The strict foreclosure that followed terminated our lease with many years to go.

A buyer turned up and made the building a condo. At this point we considered calling it quits but we held out and negotiated a new lease. We waited 21 months to reopen. Meanwhile the building had been gutted. We rebuilt saving many of our treasures and lovingly making a home for them in the new space

We came back seven years ago, bigger and better than ever. I think the new place is beautiful and we also built a modern new kitchen which made the food even better

But along with all the building came “new debt”. At first we did well but when Lincoln Center cut back on their programs   and the “world wide recession” showed up we started to loose ground. It has come to that point where we have to admit   “We bit off more than we can chew”. So rather than further increasing our debt we have made the painful and heart wrenching decision to close.

At this point I want to thank all my loyal employees and management staff, who have done a yeoman’s job trying to hold the place together, especially I would like to thank my partner Jim Enzel, who took all the midnight calls and had to endure the creditors flack.    And to all my beloved patrons and customers I will miss you on a daily basis. I always loved it when a customer would say “I am so glad to see you busy, I can never get a table ”. Down deep in my heart, I was thinking, “Where were you last Tuesday when there was no one here”.

Joey, one of our waiters said, after we announced the closing to the staff, that we should make this last month a Celebration of 46 happy and exciting years, not a Funeral.

I have thought it over and I believe he has the right idea, forty-six years, is a long time in “dog years” and even longer in restaurant years. Maybe somewhere we will be mentioned in a record book.

I would especially like to thank my late brother and partner Patrick, who without his faith in my I would never have gone into the restaurant business. I miss him everyday.   Without his wife Cynthia’s great eye and good taste the restaurant would never have existed.

So be sure to show up for the celebration.

And what now? I am happy to announce that an old friend Steve Hanson will be putting a new restaurant in the space. We wish him all the good luck in the world. Steve is the President of BR Guest a restaurant group that own and operate many successful restaurants in NYC.

  Steve is a great operator and will bring with him fresh ideas. Another good thing is that Steve has agreed to employ most of our staff. He will be opening in the Fall and everyone can hopefully have a job.

Of course we’re going to continue to operate the West 79^th Street Boat Basin Café in Riverside Park and the Ball Fields Café in Central Park. Many of our staff will be there for the summer. I will continue to contact you all by email as things develop.

Finally our beloved and often praised art collection will be for sale. If there is any painting or poster you particularly like contact me for a price list.

Let the Celebration Begin and don’t forget to DINE OUT OFTEN!

Michael O’Neal

Saloonkeeper

NEVER AN IRISH PUB.

Dear Friends and Patrons,

I’ve have been gratified by the outpouring of love, sadness, and honest grief by the my patrons and old customers. As I tried to say in my last email--S—t happens and sometimes there is no explanation.

I’m happy that Steve Hanson is taking it. Again, the O’Neal’s clan wishes him as many years of success and happiness as we have had on West 64^th Street and the Westside,

The NY Post had it completely wrong and had us closing a month before we had planned. Tentatively the closing is going to be Monday, June 28^th.

Florence Fabricant, (flofab@nytimes.com ) of the Times in her small mention referred to the restaurant as an “Irish Pub”, “not that there is anything wrong with that”, I Googled Irish Pub and it’s definition was a drinking establishment that served incidental food, usually cold—not us. I’ve always preferred the term, restaurant, bistro or even saloon but not pub. As a matter of fact Michael and Ariane Batterberry of Food Arts Magazine said that “we redefined the American Bistro when we first opened forty-six years ago”. I have always considered O’Neals’ a serious restaurant, serving good honest food at a moderate price.

Our first review in the “Times” was by Craig Claiborne, who went into ecstasy about our “Iced Mongol Soup”, I remember the day. The vichyssoise had turned and a our Chef Dione Lucas sent me to the corner Associated Grocery Store to buy 12 cans of Campbell’s Pea Soup. She mixed it ½ and ½ with heavy cream and put in a tablespoon of curry powder. Voila, Iced Mongol Soup—true story, check it out, Labor Day Weekend 1964. The Times didn’t give stars in those days but it would have been at least three.

I want to acknowledge our excellent Chef, German Cazeres and his wonderful staff of Sous Chefs, Line Men , Saute and Grill Men, Prep Men and Pastry Chefs.

Without them we could not have maintained the high standards that we have had over the years. My wife and I have been shedding tears thinking of saying goodbye to our many favorites.

Ah well. The West 79^th Street Boat Basin Café and The Ball Fields Café are going strong and will continue as long as the weather holds out. To find out if we are open, check our web site-www.boatbasincafe.com and the plan your events in these places. partybbcafe@aol.com.

There has been an extraordinary amount of interest in our artwork. We are hard at work trying to determine a value for each piece. We will be posting our art collection on the O’Neals’ website. Give us a little time, there are many pieces to catalog. Keep checking the web site. www.onealsny.com.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and Still Continue to Help the Economy and DINE OUT OFTEN.

Sincerely,

Michael O’Neal

Saloonkeeper

NEW YORK CITY BALLET TO GET DANCE MURAL

I’m pleased to announce that Peter Martins has agreed to accept the “beloved Ballet Mural” on permanent loan to the New York City Ballet from the “O’Neal Family”. The O’Neal family includes of course my late brother Patrick and his wife Cynthia, my wife Chris and all our children and me. The mural will be on one wall in the Main Rehearsal Hall in the Koch Theater. I believe that we will all be pleased.

The remainder of the artwork is being put up on a web site as we speak. You should go to the O’Neals’ web page-www.onealsny.com and link to “O’Neals’ Art”. Not all the pieces have prices yet. We’ve been meeting with artists , dealers, appraisers and friends to try and establish prices on the art. This process may go on all summer. In the meantime you are welcome to make an offer and we might be tempted. All the art is numbered so we can keep track of it. Be patient and keep checking the web site.

The Boat Basin Café is booming because the weather has been good. This Monday night we will have Flamenco Night again and the Citron Brothers will be back , the beginning of an exciting season.

The World Cup is in full swing at the Boat Basin Cafe and we are opening at 10 AM each day for the events. Check the schedule and our web site –boatbasincafe.com for all upcoming events.

Sadly we are coming close to the end at O’Neals’ . Our last weekend will be the Saturday June 26 when we will have a “normal” Saturday Night and the on June 27, we will have lunch and pre-theater and then close for a Private Event for the Lincoln Center Theater. On our Last Day on June 28 we will open at 4PM and serve wine and some hors d’oeuvres. All are invited , customers, employees and even ex-employees.

Don't forget to continue to help the economy and DINE OUT OFTEN.

Sincerely Yours,

Michael O’Neal

Saloonkeeper