Friedmans Readies New Grand Street Restaurant
Friedmans, the local comfort food chain, is already underway on its newest outpost. It’s headed to Grand Street, at the foot of the Seward Park Co-op.
There is no longer any evidence of the preceding restaurant, Randall’s BBQ. Signage was stripped from the facade of 357 Grand Street weeks ago, and there is paper hanging in the windows to obstruct construction work within.
This Lower East Side location will sport eleven tables and 40 seats inside, plus a rear yard with four tables that is open from 8:00am to 10:00pm daily. As with the previous establishment, Community Board 3 heard the application for a full liquor license in October, and submitted its approval to the State Liquor Authority.
Friedmans is a misnomer of sorts. With the ring of a classic family luncheonette, these locales aren’t so much. The joint was actually named for famous economist Milton Friedman, who popularized the phrase, “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” Phillips founded the first eatery eleven years ago in the Chelsea Market. It made front-page news in 2017, after taking over the famous Cafe Edison in Times Square.