[Updated] Propellerhead On Coney Island Avenue To Sell Or Close In 10 Days

[Updated 9/27 at 9pm with new information from Propellerhead’s owner]

After a year of planning, permit-filing, designing, building and — finally — serving food, Propellerhead will be shutting its doors for good next week unless they can find a buyer in time, co-manager Brittany Echlin told DPC today.

This news comes just three weeks after we announced the grand opening of Propellerhead at 752 Coney Island Avenue, and three months after its soft opening.

Silent partner, New Jersey real estate investor Paul-Gabriel Wiener, told co-managers Echlin and Ian Stickland last night that he is pulling out his investment and selling immediately, said Echlin. [Update: DPC learned that Weiner is the sole owner, and not a real estate investor.]

Yesterday, Patch published an article about the restaurant’s plans to expand its menu, events and staff. But later that day, the managers learned that the gates will be shuttered.

“We got some bad advice from various sources and encountered setbacks beyond our control. We gave it our best shot. I know they [Echlin and Stickland] put their hearts and souls into it,” said Wiener.

The owner expected the restaurant to be profitable from day one, but typically restaurants take at least one year to be profitable, said a distressed Echlin.

“It was very abrupt,” she said. Echlin and Stickland have been working nonstop for the past year to make Propellerhead into a neighborhood staple, but said in such a small timeframe, they had little chance.

According to Weiner, those stated expectations were a misunderstanding and he does not believe the decision was abrupt. He said that he did not expect the business to be profitable so soon, but the financial drain was beyond what anyone had anticipated.

Propellerhead’s specialty is American comfort food with a twist (and lots of homemade sauces), taking customers from morning coffee to a late-night bar and every meal in between; including a buffalo chicken sandwich, savory pies, purple yam gnocchi, and home-made pop tarts.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I haven’t seen a repeat customer,” Echlin told us. We didn’t crash and burn because people weren’t interested in the product, we just weren’t given enough time to build enough of a customer base.”

“Within three months we became a top rated restaurant on Yelp, we’ve gotten write ups from blogs, and customers traveling far distances to eat here,” said Echlin. “I had an incredible kitchen staff, a group of cooks who worked so well together. The thought of them having to find new jobs, separately, is very sad.”

“I don’t want to get too much into internal politics, but I do want to correct the record,” said Wiener. “I am very sorry to see the place close. I put my life savings into making it possible, and I really wanted it to work out. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t afford to put any more into keeping the place afloat.”

Info for interested buyers: [Update: A previous version of this article stated that the asking price was $300,000 but we later learned that this price may be incorrect. According to Weiner, the business is for sale but an asking price hasn’t been determined yet.] It’s a turnkey business with a 47-seat main dining area, 5 couches, and 20 seats on their back patio; a functional kitchen, walk-in pantry, dishwashing, liquor license, sound system and menu. The current owner is 1 1/2 years into a 10-year lease, with an option for a 10-year renewal. Email propellerheadbk@gmail.com for more info.