First LI P.J. Clarke's to open on Monday in Woodbury

P.J. Clarke's, the Manhattan bar and grill known for its celebrity clientele in the 1940s through 1960s, will be opening its first Long Island location, in Woodbury, next week.

The American cuisine restaurant will bring its Manhattan saloon vibe on Monday to a 5,800-square-foot space at 8289 Jericho Tpke. in Woodbury, just west of the Crest Hollow Country Club. The building housed Majors Steakhouse from 1994 until earlier this year. P.J. Clarke's has signed a 20-year lease.

P.J. Clarke's, one of the oldest bars in New York City, opened at Third Avenue and 55th Street in 1884 under a different name and now operates two more Manhattan locations, one in Washington, D.C., and two in São Paulo, Brazil.

The original Third Avenue location had been a destination for celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli and Dick Clark.

"This is an unusual move for us to go to Long Island, because we usually go urban," said Phil Scotti, owner of P.J. Clarke's since 2002. The restaurant brand has had five owners in its history.

"Long Island is suburban, but the demographics work. Customers on Long Island know us already, and this is a way to introduce their family and neighbors to P.J.'s."

The Woodbury restaurant will have framed celebrity photographs, brick walls, wood paneling, an oversized bar, a heated outdoor deck and a second floor for private events. The restaurant, with 48 employees, has a dining capacity of 200 people.

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The Woodbury menu will include soups, salads, sandwiches, seafood, entrees, Black Angus steaks (ranging from $30 to $49) and, for nearly $18, a "Cadillac" burger, which is how Nat King Cole referred to P.J. Clarke's bacon cheeseburger in the late 1950s.