Talk about having the patience of Job.
Many Big Apple eateries bravely survived the pandemic-era shutdowns and the challenges that followed. But for one local family of restaurateurs, the coronavirus was just one more cross to bear in a biblical-level string of bad luck.
When Peter and Penny Glazier and their son Matthew welcomed diners back to the long-shuttered Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue a few blocks from the Barclays Center last week, it wasn’t just a comeback, it was more like a miracle, after the family’s decade of disaster, most recently a fire at the restaurant in January of 2021, when a blaze began in the chimney and wrecked the building.
The three-alarmer “was devastating to watch,” said Penny Glazier. “We thought, ‘Here we go again!’”
Unfortunately, the unwelcome drama was nothing new to the Glaziers, who’ve been in the restaurant business for thirty years — the last ten more than eventful.
In September 2012, Superstorm Sandy flooded their 25,000 square-foot Bridgewater event venue at the South Street Seaport.
“We had it for twenty years and we could never reopen it,” said Matthew Glazier, a partner in the business with his parents.
Next, in January of 2018, a duct fire struck the kitchen of the Glaziers’ Michael Jordan Steakhouse at Grand Central Terminal. The fire damage was minor, but “50,000 gallons of water that firefighters poured into a chimney ruined the kitchen and our equipment,” Peter Glazier recalled.
Although they were able to briefly reopen their bar, the water damage spelled the end of the luxurious balcony dining rooms overlooking the terminal’s main floor. They remain vacant to this day.
When the Glaziers bought Morgan’s in 2019, “We tried to learn from Jordan’s,” Matthew recalled. They installed a special oven hood and exhaust to prevent another unlikely kitchen fire. This time, however, the fire started elsewhere in the building. The family was heartbroken.
“We kept moving forward,” Penny said.
While they sat out a nerve-wracking, six-month insurance inspection before repairs could begin, they launched Tiny’s Cantina, a Mexican spot a few blocks away from Morgan’s, and another Morgan’s in suburban Philadelphia.
Now, finally, Morgan’s on Flatbush Avenue is back, with a menu almost identical to the original and with 80% of the original staff, including the Glaziers’ longtime head chef, Cenobio Canalizo, who operates the big red smoker from premier wood-fueled firepit maker J & R Manufacturing in Mesquite, Texas.
The place looks mostly as it did before, with brick-and-wood walls, a bustling open kitchen and a blackboard listing more than fifty brands of bourbon. Sidewalk seating on the corner will resume next year.
Canalizo’s kitchen turns out the same crowd-pleasing ribs, brisket, pork belly, sausages, combo platters and other BBQ-friendly treats like honey butter corn bread, chili and mac and cheddar.
The most popular dishes are the Texas-style “holy trinity” platter of brisket, pork ribs and smoked sausage and the “three pigs,” a combo of pork belly, pork ribs and pulled pork.
Meats are richly seasoned and smoked for 10 to 12 hours at temperatures that vary. Everything I tried was deep-flavored and supple, save a link of gritty sausage.
The place draws longtime regulars as well as newly arrived locals who never knew the original. Sal Lavore, 62, a real estate property manager, said, “Their brisket is as good as it gets. I’ve had it in Chicago and everywhere.”
Katherine Zheng, 27, said her 2-year-old son is “obsessed with the firefighters at the nearby firehouse.” So she sometimes buys a load of Morgan’s brisket and brings it to the fire station, where the guys, some of whom helped to put out the blaze last year, happily tuck in.
“I wanted to show them some appreciation,” she said.