 Stamford Advocate
Date: 05.19.09
Butterfield 8 succeeds Temple in downtown Stamford
A New York City-style restaurant and nightclub called Butterfield 8 is serving up food and fun at 112 Bedford St. in Stamford where the Temple Bar Irish pub had been.
John Gazzola, also owner of the Butterfield 8 in New York City, said many of his Manhattan customers live in Fairfield County and Westchester County, N.Y.
"We wanted to bring that style of restaurant up to the suburbs, so people can come see us on a weekly and daily basis," Gazzola said. "We have always liked the Westchester County and Fairfield County area."
The first floor of the 10,000-square-foot restaurant and club contains the main bar, a 70-seat dining room and a private party room that accommodates 30 people. A 50-seat cocktail lounge is upstairs. Behind the lounge, a 1,500-square-foot catering hall that can fit 100 seated for dinner or 150 for cocktails, according to Gazzola. The American-theme restaurant has two outdoor patios, he added.
Butterfield 8's predecessor, the Temple Bar, had been at that location from 1999 to 2007. A People's United Bank branch and an office products store had been previous tenants.
Stamford business leaders welcomed Temple's successor.
"Our first impressions were very favorable," Sandra Goldstein, executive director of the city's Downtown Special Services District, said of Butterfield 8. "I am very hopeful that the presence of a fine club on the west side of Broad Street will activate the rest of the street."
To further boost Stamford nightlife, Butterfield 8 will feature live music or a disc jockey Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Gazzola said.
A vibrant Butterfield 8 will help its landlord find tenants for its other Bedford Street buildings, said Gregory Lodato, president of Stamford-based Marlo Associates. An affiliate of Marlo Associates owns 112 Bedford St. "It's been our firm belief we need to have more than just eating establishments to have a healthy street,"
"They will be very successful in that location," Lodato said of Butterfield 8. "They are professional operators. They have multiple locations." Lodato, a Republican who represents District 20 on the Stamford Board of Representatives, said Marlo-owned parking spaces behind Butterfield 8 and two-way traffic on nearby Spring Street will help customers get to the new eatery more easily. Spring Street had been a one-way route for years.
The risks of opening a new restaurant are high in today's economy, said Steven Matsis, senior managing director of Capital Restaurant Group in Stamford, which arranges sales and leases of restaurants and clubs nationwide."Right now, it's a highly competitive and complex market," Matsis said of the downtown restaurant scene in Stamford. "Butterfield 8 has just as good a chance as anyone else to make it. Time will tell."
Among the latest casualties, Houlihan's Restaurant closed last week at 5 Broad St. after six months.
Butterfield 8 hopes to stand out from the crowd with items such as a pretzel-encrusted crab cake appetizer, an 18-ounce ribeye steak, 20 specialty cocktails including a bleu cheese martini, and jalapeno chicken salad, Gazzola said. He said entrees will range in price from $18 to $22, and $28 for the ribeye steak.
In negotiations for Butterfield 8's lease, CB Richard Ellis commercial real estate represented the restaurant and FirstService Williams represented Marlo Associates.
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