New York City is the restaurant capital of the world. It’s a dog-eat-dog city and only a few restaurants can make it on top, let alone stay in business for over 45 years. Club A Steakhouse is run by the Selimaj family (originally known as Bruno’s, an Italian restaurant opened in 1978), who are some of the lucky few who can say they’ve made it in New York—through stock market crashes, natural disasters, and a global pandemic (who can forget), outsiders ask: what is it like to run a restaurant? We had a talk with Agron Selimaj, one of the managers of the famous Club A Steakhouse, located on East 58th street and between Third and Second avenue.
A few steps into Club A Steakhouse and you’ll feel like you never left your home. Jazz hits from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald are played at a tasteful level as diners laugh and chat while servers pass through the dining room carrying sizzling plates of tender porterhouse steak, lending to a mouth-watering aroma wafting through the air. The walls are painted a rich maroon, donning framed photos of life-long customers, celebrities like singer Frankie Vallie and Dallas Cowboys-team owner Jerry Jones, and famed restaurateur and owner, Bruno Selimaj’s family. Family is a common theme for Club A steakhouse.
“I say there are two ways you get involved [in the restaurant industry.] One, you’re born into it or you’re crazy. I happen to be both,” Agron, Club A co-owner and manager, shares with a laugh, when asked how he got involved with the restaurant’s operations. “One of the most vivid memories that I have from growing up were Saturday and Sunday mornings, seeing my dad and uncle discussing the business from the night before. Back in those days, a lot of people paid in cash, so they would count money on Saturdays and Sundays at the dining room table.”
Despite trying a few office jobs after graduating college, Agron knew his heart would always be with the restaurant industry. “I helped out all throughout high school, on weekends I’d help out too. December and summertime as well and throughout college. After I graduated college, I worked a few different jobs, mainly office jobs but I knew, no offense to those working in an office, I knew it wasn’t for me,” Agron recounts. His father originally opened the space as an Italian restaurant, making the decision to switch to a steakhouse in 2008. The transition, Agron remarks, “was difficult at first.”
“When my father started, he was 26 years old. The majority of the customers he had back then are his age now. He’s 71, so unfortunately a lot of those customers have passed away or moved away. [The restaurant] scene has changed completely. This area used to be known as restaurant row. 14 restaurants on this block, 12 were Italian. We are the only restaurant left on this row.”
Compared to the aftermath of the 2020 pandemic, the transition from Italian restaurant to Steakhouse pales in comparison. “[We’re] still recovering. It’s been very painful, not just for us as a small business but for everyone in New York. You see articles left and right about how much money the city is losing, based on people not going to work, people not visiting,” Agron laments. “We lost two family members, that was the worst part obviously. All the businesses, us specifically, we didn’t have the luxury of ‘working from home.’ We can’t, we have to be in a specific place with people serving food and drink.”
The restaurant hopped aboard the outdoor dining wagon but resumed to regular indoor service once the restrictions lifted. Agron, for one, is happy to resume his focus on the restaurant’s interior. He believes the restaurant’s layout is one of the keys to creating the comfortable atmosphere that has kept their doors open for 45 years and counting. “That’s what I love about our restaurant. We’re in a smaller space, we’re in a brownstone, we aren’t traditional as far as other steakhouses. To my knowledge, we are the only one in a non-traditional commercial space. [The brownstone] gives us that intimacy. You can see everything that’s going on. You can see people’s expressions, someone laughs, someone’s having a birthday everyone gets involved and claps.”
The other key to the restaurant’s longevity? The Selimaj family’s centuries-long belief in good hospitality. “It’s in our culture. I’m American, I’m born and raised here but my family is from Albania. We’re very hospitable people, it’s in our nature, especially where my family’s from, the northern part. We have a set of code, a rulebook we all abide by. It’s kind of archaic in some instances but some parts are really good. When it talks about the guest, the house of an Albanian, it belongs to God and the guest. We feed them, clothe them, whatever it takes to keep them comfortable—we do it for our guest.”
As for where Agron sees the restaurant going in the future, he wants to keep it simple for now. “2019 was one of our best years in history, we saw it going way up to the top and then 2020 was a nightmare. Our motto is if the lights are on, the doors are still open, so we’ve got to keep going. We just want to get it back to where it was pre-2019, serving great food in a great environment and take it from there.”
Of course, we couldn’t leave the conversation without asking if it ever gets tough working with his two brothers, Arben and Alban. He replies with a smile, “Our mom told us, I know you guys are going to be working full time with your dad now and even though you’re brothers, you come from the same mother, same father, you’re all different. Whatever happens, at the end of the night have a drink with one another, or shake each other’s hands, hug each other, say ‘I’m sorry, I love you,’ and do it all over again tomorrow.”
Club A Steakhouse Menu Highlights
- Thick Cut Bacon – two strips of juicy, extra thick applewood smoked bacon served with Club A house sauce.
- Caesar Salad – served with anchovy cream dressing and lightly dusted with parmesan, a steakhouse classic.
- The Prime Porterhouse – a customer favorite and the best of both worlds, featuring one side filet mignon, the other side New York strip.
- Mac & Cheese – a creamy and indulgent affair, with lightly toasted breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.
To learn more about Club A Steakhouse and to make a reservation visit their website here. The restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM, with a live jazz band playing on Friday and Saturday nights.