One of Downtown’s more prominent restaurants hasn’t been open this entire month, and Jersey Digs has confirmed the writing that’s been on the wall; Park & Sixth Restaurant & Bar won’t be opening their doors again.
The eatery’s history goes back to Hoboken in 2009, when owner Brian Dowling opened Park & Sixth Comfort Food at a storefront on the corner of Park Avenue and Sixth Street. The business moved to 364 Grove Street in 2011, where Dullboy currently operates, and again to its current location at 279 Grove in December 2014.
The group that runs the restaurant saw some rapid expansion during that time, launching Park & Sixth Gastropub at 247 Washington Street in 2013. That restaurant was then re-tooled into cocktail spot The Draper last year, which closed after just a four-month run. That perhaps was the first sign of trouble for restaurants under Park & Sixth’s umbrella, and some other problems began to publicly show up late last year.
Dowling had partnered with NYC-based Den Hospitality in 2015 to open the well-reviewed Dullboy, which is still open for business. However, Jersey Digs reported last August that the bar was listed for sale, but Den Hospitality denied the story and blamed the mix-up on a Trulia listing they claimed was posted in error.
Currently, a sign posted in Park & Sixth’s window says they are on vacation and will return September 6th, but the restaurant remains closed. Their social media accounts haven’t seen activity since July and while an official inquiry we placed to Park & Sixth hasn’t been answered, a member of their management has confirmed that the restaurant is permanently closed.
The restaurant generally has fairly positive reviews, but our source blamed the closure on “putting band-aids on bullet holes” and not addressing cash-flow problems the business had. They also told us that Dowling is trying to sell Park & Sixth, although we could not independently verify that claim.
Another former employee of Park & Sixth pointed to the group having too many restaurants in a relatively small area, and told Jersey Digs that Park & Sixth’s move to bigger space in 2014 was “the beginning of the end” that led to their kitchen and staff being overwhelmed and spread too thin.
Park & Sixth’s prominent location on Grove Street just blocks from the PATH station and across from City Hall practically guarantees that someone else will be taking over the space, but there’s no word on when that will be happening.
