Two entrepreneurs have plans to create a large restaurant and nightlife venue at 5 Doyers St., a location with no shortage of historic significance.
In the past few weeks, Eddy Buckingham and Hok Lam have been making the rounds in the community to build support for their project, which they’re calling “Chinese Tuxedo.” Back in the day, Doyers Street was known as the “Bloody Angle” because the curved street was a favorite spot to ambush rival gangs. In 1897, the first Chinese-language theater, the first of its kind east of San Francisco, opened at 5-7 Doyers St. That same year, the original “Chinese Tuxedo” restaurant reportedly debuted at 2 Doyers St.
Now there are plans to create a high end, 250 seat establishment on the ground floor and lower level. It would include a diverse Chinese menu and artisanal cocktail program.
Buckingham is an Aussie who opened The Liberty, a 5,000 square foot cocktail lounge/restaurant in Herald Square. Lam also has a background in restaurants and runs a Lower East Side-based consulting business called Lam Associates.
They’ll be going before Community Board 3’s liquor licensing committee next month. We contacted the partners but did not hear back from them.
