The team behind Glasserie is debuting a new casual, all-day 1940s-50s diner meets Mediterranean trattoria concept called Radio Star on restaurant row in Greenpoint soon.
It will be housed in a newly constructed building with a spacious patio and wildflower garden across from Transmitter Park, however, the concept will harken back to the neighborhood’s heyday when WNYC began broadcasting from Greenpoint in the late 1930s. The concept is currently in the final throes of construction and is on track to open its doors on Labor Day, so long as it receives its already approved liquor license. Chef Yusuf Lovett of Glasserie will be following owner Sara Conklin to Radio Star, offering similar Mediterranean cuisine as well as specialty coffees and cocktails. It comes as no surprise that Conklin wanted to breathe history into the new space following her first concept, which sought to restore the 19th century factory fixtures from its former occupant Greenpoint Glass Works.
“It’s not my vibe,” she says of the new construction. “We bulldoze and rebuild and bulldoze and rebuild and the history is gone, so I’m doing my tiny bit to bring it back and resuscitate it.”
The team has been sourcing furniture and fixtures from the 1940s and 50s to give the new space a vintage feel. Although its decor will be dated, the appliances will be modern and gas-free to adhere to their mission to go green. It also will offer biodegradable containers for their food.
WNYC debuted its first broadcast from the Manhattan Municipal Building in 1924 and later moved to Brooklyn’s Municipal Building in Greenpoint in 1937. Conklin says in preparation she listened to old interviews with government officials and tappings of court cases available on the radio station’s website, as well as spoke with elders, including her father, about the revolutionary impact radio had when it launched.
“I got entranced [with radio history] and fell in love with it,” she says. “You can really immerse yourself and understand how important radio was at that moment, especially being in a time when the press is such a hot topic, figuring out what’s true and what’s not.”
Radio Star strives to provide the same sense of community that the radio gave people on its premises. Also being in such close proximity to the park, Conklin says it made sense to create a casual concept to meet people’s needs, hence its motto ‘For the people.’
“It may be crazy and abstract, but we want it to feel easy,” she says. “It’ll be more coming and going without a plan.”
