Terryl Gavre taking down a chandelier she made for the restaurant (Courtesy photo)
Food | Bankers Hill

‘Farewell For Now’

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

She had just finished packing the last few boxes of customized furnishings and decor when we spoke to restaurateur Terryl Gavre in late October. She was bidding farewell to her well-established Bankers Hill Bar & Restaurant on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Ivy Street.

Gavre opened Bankers Hill more than a decade ago and received word when her lease expired last month that the landlord wants to re-purpose the roomy restaurant for either offices or some type of retail concept.

But the ambitious Gavre, who slings some of the best pumpkin waffles in town at her downtown restaurant, Cafe 222, has her sights firmly set on reopening Bankers Hill.

“Fingers crossed that we’ll be in close proximity to this location,” she said. “We’ll keep the brand intact, and reopen in summer of 2022 with a little bit of the old, and a little of the new.”

Among the precious items from the restaurant going into storage is a 10-by-10-foot canvas poster beckoning back to a 1930’s Coney Island freak show; a chandelier made of vintage wine and champagne glasses; a neon arrow; and custom-made tables crafted by acclaimed East Village designer Paul Basile. May we soon dine among them again.