Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Exclusive: Lundy's, an iconic seafood restaurant, returns to Brooklyn after 17 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
Published Nov 11, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Image courtesy of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Published Nov 11, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Once upon a time, in a not-so-distant era of Brooklyn, there was a palatial seafood restaurant right on the water in Sheepshead Bay.
Known as Lundy’s, the Lundy Brothers Restaurant was renowned for serving piles of biscuits and clams daily. The restaurant was so popular that on a typical Sunday in its prime, it served 10,000 people — and up to a million meals annually through the early 1970s.
Lundy’s was housed in a building so large that, for a time, it ranked among the nation’s largest restaurants. But in 2007, after some openings and closings, Lundy’s shut for good, much to the devastation of the neighborhood.
Now, hospitality industry veteran and first-time restaurateur Sandra Snyder is bringing it back “with the same menu and the same concept on a different waterfront,” she said.
Snyder said Lundy’s was “a very nostalgic place” for her husband Mark, a Brooklynite who owns the Red Hook Winery. Lundy’s was one of their first dates in 2002.
The restaurant's corner entrance at 44 Beard Street in Red Hook.
Courtesy Sandra Snyder
“Since then we’ve just discussed the abandonment of hospitality and old-school dining in Brooklyn and places like Lundy’s, where you could count on an amazing experience and you dreamt about the biscuits,” she said.
In 2023, Snyder happened to mourn the end of Lundy’s while in the company of Frank Cretella, a businessman and restaurant group operator who revived Lundy’s and acquired its name rights in the late ‘90s.
Cretella told her, “That’s funny, because I was part of the project, and I’m happy to see it live on if you’re interested in continuing it,” Snyder recalled. “So he sort of handed things over and wished us well.”
The bar area of the new Lundy's.
Courtesy Sandra Snyder
Snyder’s incarnation of the beloved clam palace is set to open later this month in Red Hook, across the borough from Sheepshead Bay.
Its new home is a nearly 150-year-old Italianate-style building at 44 Beard St. Though hardly as grand as the old Emmons Avenue structure, it will again have multiple spaces — three entrances, a bar area, a main dining area, a small stage for live music and, eventually, a patio — with a 100-person capacity. (In its heyday, Lundy’s capacity was 2,800.)
There'll also be classic cocktails, an old wood bar, biscuits, clams (of course) and, Snyder hopes, a feeling of local camaraderie.
A flier for the new Red Hook location, paying homage to Lundy's former Sheepshead Bay home.
Bringing back Lundy's is "a great idea,” said Gary Miller, 80, who grew up across a footbridge from the original location. He fondly recalled being introduced to lobster and dining with his family there on more occasions than he can count.
He was doubtful, though, that the Lundy’s of his childhood could ever truly be revived.
“That restaurant really meant so much more to the neighborhood and Brooklyn in general,” Miller said. “It was famous and it was iconic and it anchored a whole community. That type of thing will never be recreated."
Still, next time he’s up from Florida, he said he'd consider stopping by with his son.
Tagged
food
new york city
red hook
restaurants
brookyn
Hannah Frishberg
Hannah Frishberg covers New York City arts and culture. Got a tip? Email Hannah at [email protected].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
America’s first hot dogs were served on the shores of Coney Island
A young German immigrant named Charles Feltman built a hot dog empire on Coney Island — until his employee Nathan undercut him.
By
Walter Wuthmann
Published Jul 7, 2026
Beloved Brooklyn metal bar Saint Vitus to reopen in Bushwick
The Greenpoint venue closed in 2024.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
Beloved Brooklyn metal bar Saint Vitus to reopen in Bushwick
The Greenpoint venue closed in 2024.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Comedy, tragedy, murder, birds: All at the movies this July in NYC
By
Emma Stefansky
Hip-hop began in the Bronx. One critic says it sounds best close to home.
By
Matthew Schnipper
Ditch your phone and join the Summer of Ludd, the offline festival happening in NYC
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .