After years in rehabilitation, Coney Island’s former Childs Restaurant building has reopened. The city cut the ribbon today to unveil the spiffed-up landmark that will now be used as a dining room companion to the neighboring Ford Amphitheater. Both projects were spearheaded by the NYCEDC as a part of its tear to jolt Coney Island’s economy.
The venue, now called Kitchen 21, brings five different dining and drinking concepts to the spacious building. Those include Boardwalk & Vine, a rooftop wine bar; Test Kitchen, a fine-dining concept restaurant; The Café; Community Clam Bar; and gastropub Parachute Bar. A portion of the old Childs building along its western side is now being used as a backstage area for the theater. Legends Hospitality, the same group behind One World Trade’s and Yankee Stadium’s dining options, is running Kitchen 21.
The historic building, at West 21st Street along the Riegelmann Boardwalk, was constructed in 1923 and designed by Dennison & Hirons “in a fanciful resort style combining elements of the Spanish Colonial Revival with numerous maritime allusions that refer to its seaside location,” per its landmark designation report. The restaurant shuttered in the 1950s. A candy manufacturer set up shop in the location, and remained there until the 1980s. Until the city decided to rehab the property, it sat in various states of decay.
The $60 million public-private investment is only one way the city’s aiming to bolster Coney Island’s economy. The city issued a request for proposals to develop 150,000 square feet of space along the Coney Island boardwalk, between Surf Avenue and West 16th Street and West 10th Street into new amusement areas in February.
The larger expansion of Coney Island’s amusement areas began in 2009, when another city-issued RFP led to the creation of Luna Park, a theme park that now sits on the site of what was once Astroland. Luna Park’s attractions were added thanks to a rezoning of the neighborhood, which also brought affordable and market-rate housing into Coney Island.
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