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Station LIC Closes, Owner thanks Customers for Loyalty

StationLICfront

June 21, 2016 Staff Report

Station LIC, the bar/restaurant located at 10-37 Jackson Avenue has closed, according to a letter written by the owner placed on the establishment’s front door.

Owner Gregory Okshteyn, who opened the railroad-themed establishment in November 2014, wrote a note to his customers announcing the news and thanked them for their support.

Pre Oykstian's revamp

Prior to Okshteyn’s redesign

“Dear Friends and Neighbors, We regret to inform you that Station LIC is closed until further notice.  For the last 19 months you have been supportative, generous, patient and kind….Thanks for the memories.”

The note also indicates that the establishment might reopen at a future time but with a whole new concept.

The restaurant was designed by Okshteyn, who took a battered building that had been empty for more than a decade, and carefully redesigned the triangular-shaped building into what now looks like a station house.

The establishment sits on top of the Vernon Blvd/Jackson Avenue subway station.

stationletter
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31 Comments

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Risk Man

The food was horrible went there twice it was inconsistent and I agree service was poor told. I gues the owner doesn’t realize quality of food and service is just as important and atmosphere.

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LICqueens

So if you have frosted glass you’re doomed and if you charge 8$ for a beer you’re doomed. Typical LIC. Everyone is willing and able to pay 5gs for an apartment but the extra 2$ on a beer makes everyone lose it. If the place wasn’t good I don’t think the frosted glass or the beer prices mattered. When a place is successful people can’t figure it out but when it fails it’s the frosted glass and the beer prices.

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LICGrowSoBig

Saw this coming the second I heard someone w/ no restaurant experience was opening a restaurant, and spending $$$ to do so. How do people make this mistake over and over and over?

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LICguy

Most of the comments above seem to have been written by people who rarely or never actually visited the Station. I did many times – it’s right across the street from my home. The place was a welcoming delight, a fine local pub, the staff were always friendly and helpful, and the design was appealing. It’s a major loss for those who live nearby. The owner should be thanked for turning an ugly, broken down corner of LIC into something creative. It’s hard to make a restaurant work in LIC if it’s not on Vernon or the waterfront. It can be done – Jora has done it with a Peruvian theme – but I want to validate people who take risks, not criticize them. The Station gave me a lot of pleasure and good company.

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LIC Lady

The owner was weirdly defensive. The one time I went there, I sent my sandwich back to the kitchen because there was no mustard on it – he told me flat out I was mistaken and then after going to the kitchen himself grudgingly admitted I was right. Bizarre attitude for the industry and I never went back. Also, the seating was very uncomfortable and the drinks mediocre.

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Nope

I tried to like this place, but this is what happens when a guy who is interested in decor opens a bar/restaurant.

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Anonymous visitor

Uninviting! I never wanted to go in but one night when I wanted a quick drink with a friend, we went there. Way overpriced for lousy pours and didn’t like the vibe at all. Bad use of space.

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Anonymous visitor

It was a little overpriced. But I thought the food was pretty good. Menu could’ve had a little more variety. Although a cool concept, the “windows” were a big mistake. I think the space would better serve as a casual establishment with a simplified and moderately priced menu and fun cocktails

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summer

Bland food, terrible service. Definitely not worthy of its location. Hope something more inspired comes to this space.

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Bhugs

With insane rents and costly build out it reflected in their pricing. Better drinks and food service along with a stronger sidewalk appeal would have helped

Best of luck in your future endeavors

There may be key money for the next tenant. Hopefully the owner doesn’t gouge them like everyone else is feeling

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Sc

It just wasn’t a friendly, inviting place. They’d have killed on the waterfront, but where they were thy needed to be a little more inviting… like, say, being open on a Saturday afternoon for lunch. They wanted to go for an upscale cocktail lounge place in a non upscale cocktail lounge location.

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BHUgs

That is a spot on observation. Even in Williamsburg/ Brooklyn or Astoria the concept could have worked well on a side street. In LIC you need that strong visual presence and appeal to all. Especially considering there are so many families here and also a reasonably diverse demographic

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LICchef

With the frosted windows and big red light outside I thought it was a nightclub at first. I went in once later and thought the food was OK – I liked the cubano mac & cheese – but as people are saying it was not designed in a way to attract customers. Hopefully they can re-do the exterior and give it another go.

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sc

overpriced drinks, pretentious theme, crappy food and didn’t open till 5pm every day but Sunday…

hopefully they do a better job with the next go around.

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Anonymous

Very sad when anyone loses a business. I didn’t love the look of the place as others mentioned but the real nail in the coffin was the food and deplorable service. I tried to like it but, every time I ate there the food and the service were just not polished. Food came out cold and/or over salted. They also screwed up coursing so apps and meals would arrive too close together or to far apart. They just never got it right. There was never anything I ate that made me want to come back and eat it again. So I tried different things on the menu until there was nothing I wanted to try or repeat, then stopped going. I would guess that this was the owners first go at a restaurant based on the types of mistakes they repeatedly made. A seasoned veteran would have done almost everything differently

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Anonymous visitor

don’t worry an apartment building will be built there for sure just ask JVB –

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Peter

Kudos to them for turning nothing into something and trying but when your charging midtown prices in queens it rarely works. Beers were $8 and $9 when I went in to check them out.

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Anonymous22

This is what happens when you charge ten percent more for drinks that anyone else in the neighborhood and don’t even give good pours. The uninviting atmosphere and terrible food didn’t help either…

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Cocktails and dreams

Food was mediocre, everything was overpriced. Anytime I went after dinner new hours it was filled with hipsters from bk.

Hope the next incarnation is better and nothing like it was.

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Frank

I don’t know…when they first opened, their kitchen was pretty good. Then I heard their chef quit and noticed their food quality changed. Agree they were always a bit too pricey, especially what they first opened.

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Paul

Beautiful concept, terrible menu…..another “experimental themed” crap bites the dust….restaurant owners…take heed now…..bring solid, cuisines and not another modern take of charcuterie, cheese plate type crap

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Anonymous visitor

A) That stupid frosted window was a HUGE mistake. B) Sidewalk seating inviting people inside would have been huge. C) I never even tried that place because it was un-inviting.

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Harris

I tried it once for brunch on my birthday. My girlfriend arrived a little late but the server never returned to the table so we had to share my order. Bad service, small portions, uninviting.

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HC

Agree. The frosted windows were a huge mistake. I’ve walked by there for years and never knew what it was. Finally saw drunk people through an open door one night around 11 and so I figured it was just another bar. I had no idea they even served food.

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