City Marshals Seize George’s; Restaurant Could Be Reopened By Family Of Original Owners

City marshals repossessed George’s Restaurant (753 Coney Island Avenue) for the landlord this week after the landlord said the owner hadn’t paid bills for months — and now it appears as though the diner could be reopened by the family of the original owners, said landlord Peter-Harry Montauredes.

Montauredes himself is one of the individuals who opened the restaurant in 1956, and he said he expects the space to “come back to serve the community with the same pride of ownership that we had back then.”

He did stress that the deal isn’t final, and Montauredes noted that a number of others had spoken to them about taking over George’s.

Phil Jean, the owner of Jr. Bella’s Pizza & Pasta, located just across the street from George’s at 750 Coney Island Avenue, told us he has been speaking to a representative for the landlord about running the space in conjunction with Highbury Pub (1002 Cortelyou Road, at the corner of Coney Island Avenue).

“We’d like to keep it a 24-hour diner,” he told us. “Highbury and George’s is separated by a wall — we could possibly cook for Highbury.”

Jean also said he hopes to reopen George’s bakery, which once operated in the restaurant’s basement.

“We’re pushing really hard for it,” he said of the entire proposal.