The Williston Park Board of Trustees said Tuesday night that it will begin to explore the process of making Hildebrandt’s Restaurant a landmark by speaking with the owner of the building.
On Feb. 2, the restaurant’s Facebook page posted an update saying that the new landlord is looking to increase monthly rent from $4,500 to $6,700. With nearly 100 years in business, the business has urged former and current village residents to help the store gain landmark status and preserve the Hildebrandt’s name.
“Even if our current ownership has to release their control, we would like to keep the sign and store open to the public so future generations can enjoy the purity of our store,” the post read.
The post, so far, has been shared more than 300 times and features more than 160 comments from residents sharing memories and expressing their wishes to help protect the restaurant.
On Tuesday, the board decided to hold initial conversations with the building owner.
“I think we should start the process, talk to the landlord, get some more facts and information and then make that determination,” said Deputy Mayor Kevin Rynne.
Trustee Michael Uttaro said that Mayor Paul Ehrbar has received dozens of calls about the landmark idea and said, along with Trustee Bill O’Brien, that they will follow the necessary process to see what is possible.
Ehrbar told the public that following informal conferences with the owner a public hearing will be set. He reiterated that the board does not have any control over rent, business operations or whether a tenant remains, but does have some control over the building’s exterior and interior.
James Iannone, the lawyer representing the tenants, implored the board to hold a hearing. He said that he submitted the application already and said the board should consider all aspects when making a decision.
“Once something is gone it can’t be brought back,” Iannone said.
First opened by Henry Hildebrandt in the late 1920s, the restaurant was sold to Alma Steffens in the 1950s. Steffens then sold it to Helen Baum in 1974, and Baum sold it to Alfred and Joanne Strano in 1975.
The Stranos later sold it to their daughter Susan, who owned and operated it with her husband, Bryan Acosta, from 2007 until her death in 2015. Since then, Acosta has kept the store going with his and Susan’s daughter, Hunter.
Films like “The Book of Henry,” starring Naomi Watts, and, most notably, Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” have used the shop’s frozen-in-time interiors to evoke a cozy soda fountain aesthetic.
In 2011, the restaurant was featured on the Food Network program “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” with manager Tom Bauman showing host and chef Guy Fieri a process for making butter pecan ice cream. Former owner Joanne Strano also appeared, making sauce and fried mozzarella with the chef. Fieri praised the location as “timeless.”
The 14-table candy confectionery and ice cream shop said in a post on its Facebook page in July 2020 that it would “no longer be in business within the next few months.” The statement said that the closing was due to the building’s landlords deciding to sell it, and the new owners “creating something different,” and explicitly stated that the closure was “unrelated to COVID-19.”
