National restaurant chain to open first Long Island location | Long Island Business News

Ford’s Garage, a growing chain of automobile-themed casual restaurants, will open its first Long Island location at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. 

The chain will be building one of its burger-and-craft-beer focused eateries in the 5,100-square-foot space once occupied by Bobby’s Burger Palace at 355 Smith Haven Mall. 

The company has applied to the Town of Smithtown Board of Zoning Appeals to add a 998-square-foot roof-covered patio to the planned restaurant, where it will accommodate outdoor dining. Originally Ford’s Garage had asked to operate the outdoor portion all year round, but it later switched to having the outdoor dining from April 1 through Oct. 1. 

“The original request to have year-round dining was problematic because it was a substantial departure from the zoning ordinance,” said Blaise Donadio, a planner for the town. “However, the revised request to have seasonal outdoor dining meets all of the zoning requirements and is certainly an approvable request.” 

Founded in 2012, Ford’s Garage got rolling when real estate investor and developer Steve Israel, who grew up in Glen Cove, sought to fill a 4,800-square-foot vacancy in one of his buildings on First Street in Fort Myers, Fla. He partnered with restaurant industry veterans Daniel Kearns and Mike McGuigan and came up with a concept that combined automotive nostalgia with a tried-and-true casual eatery menu. 

The partners began franchising the concept in 2015 and the chain now has 25 locations in Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and Texas. Besides being co-founder of the chain, Israel also is the area developer for New Jersey and Long Island. He and his son Jake Israel plan to open three to five Ford’s Garage restaurants in Nassau and Suffolk counties within the next few years. 

The all-in cost to open a Ford’s Garage franchise ranges from about $1.46 million to $6.35 million, depending on size and location. Each restaurant employs about 100 people. 

Ford’s Garage has a licensing agreement with the Ford Motor Company, enabling them to use the company’s iconic blue-oval logo and other brand imagery. Each of its restaurants are designed to resemble a 1920s-era service station and filled with Ford memorabilia, including vintage vehicles, fixtures, and gas pumps, as well as a Model T or Model A suspended above the center bar. 

Besides burgers with buns branded with the Ford’s Garage logo, the restaurants offer comfort food options like homemade meatloaf, chicken wings and tenders, onion rings, and macaroni and cheese. The menu also features salads, grilled chicken, seafood and more than 100 types of beer including 40 on draft, with an emphasis on local microbreweries, varying by location.