You are reading

Owner of local bars to open Broadway restaurant offering upscale American bistro

Location of Trestle

Future location of Trestle

Nov. 17, 2016 By Hannah Wulkan

A local restaurateur is looking to liven up Broadway with a new restaurant.

Born and raised in Astoria, Joe Brown has bern eyeing a space at 34-02 Broadway for years, and has watched several businesses come and go over that time. The most recent business to close was Pizzastoria, which shut down earlier this year.

Now, he plans on bringing an upscale American bistro to the space called Trestle, where he aims to create a New York City vibe by laying down cobblestone flooring around the bar and incorporating a bridge design around the dining area.

Brown comes with lots of local experience. He owns two pubs in the area, Rocky McBride’s on 23rd Avenue in Astoria and P.J. Leahy’s on Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City.

“I feel like Broadway is kind of slacking now and needs to be brought back to life, and I want to do it with something totally unique and different,” Brown said, adding that he hopes to open sometime in December.

The main focus will be on the food, which will primarily be farm-to-table American bistro style. Brown recruited chef Shawn Hewitt to run the kitchen, who has worked under several famous chefs including David Burke and Bobby Flay over the past 20 years, and was most recently the executive chef at BarBacon in Manhattan.

Hewitt said the menu will feature classic steak, chops and seafood, as well as a variety of soup and sandwiches. Appetizers will include items like homemade pulled pork and jack cheese dumplings, quesadillas, burnt ends and seasonal salads.

“I was born into a family of chefs from Montauk and we had six restaurants so I spent a lot of my childhood in front of the stoves learning my father’s secrets,” Hewitt said, adding that the restaurant would use fresh seafood brought in from Montauk daily.

The restaurant will also offer a full bar with specialty drinks.

Though the opening date has not yet been announced, Brown said he plans to open for dinner daily and for brunch on the weekends, but is still trying to figure out if opening for lunch makes sense.

 

email the author: news@queenspost.com

5 Comments

Click for Comments 
Tim

I live directly next to this place – have definitely seen many restaurants come and go.

Excited for the new direction – I hope you have a killer brunch special!

Reply
Lexa DiSpirito

Sounds fantastic!!! Wishing you all the best with the new venture ! Those of us from a Montauk have experienced chef Shawn skills for years .The dishes from comfort food to upscale cutting edge he creates with ease.
Lexa & Jim DiSpirito?

Reply
Mary Ann

Good Luck ….Love that you are keeping Astoria in the food scene! Please consider opening for an early dinner. …4p Thanks

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Catch the fall vibe at these western Queens breweries

Sep. 3, 2025 By Jessica Militello

September rings in the start of Oktoberfest from mid-September through October, featuring special brews, fun events and more fall fun. Western Queens is filled with breweries to enjoy seasonal brews, fall flavors and the start of cooler weather as Autumn approaches, making it a perfect time to meet up with friends at these local spaces.

Op-Ed | Four years after Hurricane Ida, Queens deserves real climate resilience

Sep. 2, 2025 By Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas

Four years ago, Hurricane Ida tore through our neighborhoods of East Elmhurst, Corona and Jackson Heights, leaving behind devastation we will never forget. We lost neighbors to the floodwaters. Families saw their homes destroyed, their basements wiped out, their lives upended. Immigrant families—so many of them undocumented—were hit the hardest, often excluded from relief altogether. Ida was not just a storm; it was a wake-up call.

Fall fun in western Queens: Your guide to the best seasonal events

Aug. 29, 2025 By Jessica Militello

With beach days and summer BBQs behind us, the start of September rings in the start of magnificent Fall foliage, Halloween and more fun activities that come with the start of Autumn, including a list of Fall events in the area. From apple picking to seasonal ciders and more, there is tons to explore in the community. From Mystic Markets to scary movie meet-ups and more, here is a list of Fall events you do not want to miss.

Astoria doctor sentenced to more than two decades in prison for rape and sexual abuse: DA

An Astoria doctor was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Thursday in Queens Supreme Court for raping unconscious acquaintances and sexually abusing hospital patients.

Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng, 35, of Broadway, pleaded guilty on June 30 to four counts of rape in the first degree and three counts of sexual abuse in the first degree in satisfaction of the consolidated indictments against him. He additionally entered an Alford plea to one count of sexual abuse. The defendant — a former gastroenterologist at New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital — recorded the abuse of his unconscious victims with his cell phone in both his Astoria apartment and at the hospital.