New Locally Owned Café Set to Open at Prominent Vernon Boulevard Location

The new Black Star Bakery will be located at 10-01 50th Ave. (Image provided by Dan Magor)

Oct. 2, 2020 By Michael Dorgan

The Long Island City-based owners of a family-run chain of cafés are set to open a new establishment on the corner of Vernon Boulevard and 50th Avenue, where the Dorian Café was located.

Dan and Odehel Magor, a husband-and-wife duo who own Black Star Bakery and Café at 2-10 50th Ave., plan to open their fifth Black Star eatery this winter on the bustling corner.

The Vernon Boulevard location is one of the busiest and most sought after spaces in Long Island City located by the entrance of the Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue subway station.

The Magors fought off stiff opposition to secure the space and plan on spending around $500,000 to revamp the building, according to Dan Magor.

“This is the location we always wanted, we’ve been aiming to get it for the last five years,” Magor said.

Magor said that the 1,500 square foot space will get a complete overhaul and designs are currently being drafted by his wife – an architect – who also designed the other Black Star cafes.

The old dining booths will be removed and the indoor space will be freshened up with bright colors that will look similar to their other eateries.

The exterior will be painted mostly white with some parts colored black to resemble the company’s Black Star logo. The old canopies and signage will be torn down.

“Everything comes off, we are going to do a full renovation and everything will be new,” he said.

“We want to add more color and life to the corner because that’s what it needs,” Magor said. “It’s been dull for a long time but we are going to give it some style, a nice finish and make it look really nice,” he said.

The exterior of the new Black Star will be similar to its other stores. East 24th Street (L) and Williamsburg (R) (Instagram)

The new café will be similar to its other venues, offering customers sandwiches, pastries and breakfast items.

However, the Vernon Boulevard/50th Avenue establishment will have a more extensive menu– since it will have a much larger kitchen than its other operations.

Magor said that they plan on offering Mediterranean style food and an array of other options. In addition, the café will feature a juice bar.

He said that the word “kitchen” is likely to be added to the name of their new eatery to draw attention to it. The name of the new establishment is likely to read “Black Star Bakery and Kitchen,” he said.

Magor aims to open the café in December or January. LIC Talk was first to report that Black Star was taking over the Dorian Cafe space.

The interior of the new Black Star will be similar to their other stores. Long Island City (L) and East 24th Street (R) (Images provided by Dan Magor)

Magor is confident that the establishment will do well despite the current economic downturn that has hit the restaurant industry.

“We believe in what we have,” Magor said. “We’re pretty busy in all of the other stores and we have something good to offer and we believe this is a good time for strong brands to expand,” he said.

The new Black Star Bakery will be located at 10-01 50th Ave. (Instagram)

The Magors, who are both Israeli immigrants, opened their first Black Star in Williamsburg in 2014 and have since opened two other cafés in Manhattan. They opened their Long Island City establishment in 2017.

The duo, who have a 5-year-old son, have lived in Hunters Point for the last five years and enjoy being part of the fabric of Long Island City.

“We are neighborhood people and we want to do good to the neighborhood,” Magor said.

The couple opened Black Star Bakery on 2-10 50th Ave. in 2017 (Google Maps).