PARK SLOPE — After just under three years in business, the Brooklyn outpost of Grand Central Oyster Bar has closed permanently, the general manager told a local blog.
"After three years, the corporate office has rightly decided that it is time to move on," general manager Michael Slimmer told Park Slope Stoop, which first reported the closure.
He added, "I don’t want to say sadly, because it truly isn’t, as myself and my staff have consistently talked about all the wonderful relationships we have made with our neighbors/customers/friends."
The sprawling seafood restaurant, a franchise of the original location, opened at 256 Fifth Ave. between Carroll and Garfield streets in December 2013.
Started by a longtime Park Slope resident who worked at the original Grand Central Oyster bar for a decade, the restaurant emphasized fresh oysters and had a small fish market. It occupied one of the larger restaurant spaces on Fifth Avenue, spanning three storefronts.
Before Grand Central Oyster Bar moved into the space, it was the restaurant Fornino.
Actress Debi Mazar said in 2013 that she considered opening an eatery there with her chef husband Gabriele Corcos, but the deal fell through, reportedly because the "landlord tripled rent and wants McDonalds or Olive Garden," a miffed Mazar tweeted back then.
Other recent Openings & Closings in the neighborhood include:
► Williamsburg's The Meat Hook sandwich shop will be the permanent food provider at Threes Brewing at 333 Douglass St. off Third Avenue in Gowanus, the brewery announced.
► Burrito chain Chipotle opened at 185 Seventh Ave., near Second Street, in the space that was once a Met Food supermarket.
► The raw juice bar Juice Press opened at 207 Seventh Ave., on the corner of Third Street in the former Yogurtland spot.
