National restaurant chain holds job fair for its first Long Island location

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Ford’s Garage, a growing chain of automobile-themed casual restaurants, is hosting a hiring event to staff its first Long Island location at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. 

The restaurant’s two-weekend job fair, which began last weekend, continues from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12 and Sunday, Oct. 13 at 355 Smith Haven Mall. 

Ford’s Garage will be opening one of its burger-and-craft-beer focused eateries later this month in the 5,100-square-foot mall space once occupied by Bobby’s Burger Palace. 

Founded in 2012, Ford’s Garage got rolling when real estate investor and developer Steve Israel, who grew up in Glen Cove, sought to fill a 4,800-square-foot vacancy in one of his buildings on First Street in Fort Myers, Fla. He partnered with restaurant industry veterans Daniel Kearns and Mike McGuigan and came up with a concept that combined automotive nostalgia with a tried-and-true casual eatery menu.  

The partners began franchising the concept in 2015 and the chain now has 28 locations in Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and Texas. Besides being co-founder of the chain, Israel also is the area developer for New Jersey and Long Island. He and his son Jake Israel plan to open three to five Ford’s Garage restaurants in Nassau and Suffolk counties within the next few years. 

The all-in cost to open a Ford’s Garage franchise ranges from about $1.46 million to $6.35 million, depending on size and location. Each restaurant employs about 100 people.  

Ford’s Garage has a licensing agreement with the Ford Motor Company, enabling them to use the company’s iconic blue-oval logo and other brand imagery. Each of its restaurants are designed to resemble a 1920s-era service station and filled with Ford memorabilia, including vintage vehicles, fixtures, and gas pumps, as well as a Model T or Model A suspended above the center bar.  

Besides burgers with buns branded with the Ford’s Garage logo, the restaurants offer comfort food options like homemade meatloaf, chicken wings and tenders, onion rings, and macaroni and cheese. The menu also features salads, grilled chicken, seafood and more than 100 types of beer including 40 on draft, with an emphasis on local microbreweries, varying by location.