The restaurant Bridget Foy’s operated at the corner of 2nd & South since 1978, a constant in the sea of changing urban landscape. Sadly, a 2017 electrical fire severely damaged the building out of which the restaurant operated, thanks to a combination of fire, smoke, and water. The fire was not only unfortunate because it closed a longtime business, but also because it resulted in the demolition of a rather unique building that dated back to the early 1800s. In case you don’t remember the old building, here’s an image from before the fire:

Though the building was quite old, it wasn’t on the local historic register, which allowed the owners to tear down the building with plans for a new structure in its place. As we told you previously, the old building could have been repaired, but demolition and new construction was expected to be a substantially less financially onerous proposition. Given the inherent risk of the restaurant business, we can certainly understand the owners opting for the less pricey alternative.

When we last checked in on this property a little over a year ago, the old structure was still standing, but demolition was imminent. At the time, we showed you a rendering from Ambit Architecture which showed a new building that paid tribute to the old one, but also possessed some contemporary touches. We promised an updated rendering as the project moved along, and now we’re following up perhaps a little later than we planned. On the plus side, after all this time, you can see the new building that has been framed out and get a pretty strong sense of what’s to come.

As we told you previously and as the rendering reinforces, the plan is for Bridget Foy’s to reopen in the new building. From the looks of it, that seems like it could happen sometime before the end of the year, which would certainly be a shot in the arm for the local dining scene, which has surely missed one of its stalwarts. In case you’re worried, the owners of this restaurant haven’t been sitting around twiddling their thumbs- they opened Cry Baby Pasta a few months ago in the old Ela space at 3rd & Bainbridge. And things seem to be going pretty well over there, as they already have a 3-bell review in hand. Between early success at Cry Baby and a revived Bridget Foy’s on the horizon, things are definitely looking up for the owners of these establishments, not to mention for the hungry masses in Queen Village.