New Haven’s Anchor Restaurant leased, will reopen in fall Harlem mixologist, Yale grad taking over

The shuttered Anchor Restaurant & Bar at 272 College St. in New Haven will reopen this fall. The shuttered Anchor Restaurant & Bar at 272 College St. in New Haven will reopen this fall. Photo: Catherine Avalone — New Haven Register Photo: Catherine Avalone — New Haven Register Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close New Haven’s Anchor Restaurant leased, will reopen in fall 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN >> The Anchor Restaurant will reopen this fall as an upscale cocktail bar.

Yale University Properties has signed a lease with Karl Franz Williams, owner of a Harlem-based bar known as 67 Orange Street and a 1997 Yale graduate.

“Being a Yale graduate, I always have a special place in my heart” for the city, Williams said Wednesday. “It kind of grounded me a lot.” He said he worked with city children through the LEAP program as an undergraduate.

While some fellow undergraduates disliked the urban atmosphere, Williams found it a place that had “the whole idea of sustainability and quality and a real kind of grass-roots feel to it, kind of like Brooklyn,” where he grew up after moving from Indianapolis.

While the Anchor will keep its name and façade, the rest will be refurbished, Williams said. “The interior of the Anchor has obviously worn down over time,” he said. “There’s an opportunity to really spruce it up. There will be some aspects that remind you of what it was but it will be refreshed in a way that will be really authentic and really great.”

One other thing that will change will be the neon sign with its yellow anchor. Charles Moore, whose family operated the Anchor for decades, decided to keep it. The bar first opened in Milford and closed suddenly on Jan. 4.

“Yale University Properties worked closely with the city and members of the community to find a new tenant who would bring a fresh presentation while maintaining the history and architecture of the former Anchor,” stated a Yale press release.

Williams’ Harlem bar, located at 2082 Frederick Douglass Blvd., opened in December 2008 and is named for the address “of one of the first successful black-owned bars in New York City circa 1847,” the release stated.

Williams said he sees the Elm City neighborhood becoming a magnet for those who like great drinks. He pointed out that Ordinary on Chapel Street has been named one of the “greatest bars in the world” by Conde Nast Traveler and that New Haven Social is about to open two doors from the Anchor (replacing Briq).

“I think it’ll soon be one of those markets where if you’re into mixology and great drinks it’ll be a great place to go,” Williams said, adding that “a great bar program treats the creation of a drink the way a chef would create a dish.”

As for his favorite drink, he said, “I don’t necessarily have one” but that “I do have a go-to cocktail and that’s the old fashioned.”

Matt Kolosky, beer manager for Ordinary, said he met Williams recently and that “we’re really excited” for the reopening of the Anchor. “We don’t see any of this as competition,” Kolosky said. “We see it as making things better for New Haven. This is a chance for each of us to work together.”

“I’m excited it’s opening because I moved to the area and I never got to go there,” said James Glasheen of Norwalk, who works in New Haven.

Drew Adan of New Haven said, “I tried to go on the last night. ... I’m happy to see it reopen. It’s one of my favorite places in New Haven. ... It was a great little time warp.”

Matt Callan of West Haven said he was disappointed that the Anchor won’t be the neighborhood watering hole it once was. “We’re losing a lot of those old-style bars that used to be in New Haven,” he said.

“New Haven is a really good community and everybody does such a great job of inviting each other into each other’s lives,” said John Brennan, executive chef and co-owner of Elm City Social, which will open next month.

Williams’ 67 Orange Street has excellent ratings from Zagat’s, Yale’s release said, and has four out of five stars on yelp.com.

According to Harlem­eatup.com, Williams has “designed cocktails for the Yale Club of NY, jcpenney, D’USSE Cognac, and many other commercial and non-commercial clients.” He lives in Harlem and is a founding member of Harlem Park to Park, a neighborhood merchant association.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated. An earlier version referred to John Brennan, executive chef and co-owner of New Haven Social. It is Elm City Social