[5] Irving Lundy's brothers Clayton and Stanley died in January 1920 in a boating accident while tending the family's clam beds in Jamaica Bay.

By March 1932, his attorney said that "Lundy's would establish a $600,000 restaurant on the north side of Emmons Avenue as soon as the razing of the waterfront structures gets underway.

To avoid excessive disruption to normal business, Lundy waited until the last minute to close his original restaurant.

[29] As a result, much of the north side of Emmons Avenue remained undeveloped through the early 1960s, even as apartment houses were developed in the rest of Sheepshead Bay.

[32] Despite his infrequent public appearances, Irving Lundy managed the restaurant with what one author called "an iron hand", which may have contributed to the waiters' dour expressions.

[40][41] Despite a report in September 1957 that Lundy's would reopen imminently after personnel changes,[42] much of the restaurant except for the clam bar remained closed until a labor agreement was reached that December.

[4][51] In the years before Irving Lundy's death in September 1977, he had become increasingly reclusive,[3] refusing even to talk to the police about the killings of his siblings.

[29][53] Changes were also occurring in the surrounding community; while Sheepshead Bay did not undergo the white flight and high crime that afflicted other New York City neighborhoods, the waterfront economy was dependent on the success of Lundy's.

[57][58] The new owners wished to build a high-rise residential development with condominiums, a nightclub, a hotel, and specialty shops on the nearly 14-acre (5.7 ha) site.

[57] The building soon became dilapidated and filled with graffiti, and other stores in Sheepshead Bay had closed in turn due to a general decline in visitors.

Formerly vacant lots were being developed and new restaurants and other businesses were being opened along Emmons Avenue, including two shopping plazas and a sports bar.

[55] Despite its relative remoteness (it was nearly 10 miles from Manhattan and not easily accessible by subway or taxi), Lundy's was popular, with patrons coming from as far as eastern Long Island.

[76] Tam had planned to expand Lundy's into a brand with dozens of locations across the U.S.,[77][78] but this was canceled after the company began to experience financial issues in late 2000.

[81] A family-owned business named The Players Club, headed by restaurateur Afrodite Dimitroulakos, acquired Lundy's from Tam in December 2004.

[78] Lundy's again closed in January 2007;[56][85] a state judge had ordered the closure of the restaurant because the Demetroulakos family had filed for bankruptcy and had not paid rent in several months.

Neighborhood residents felt that the new occupants of the Lundy's location, the Russian-themed Cherry Hill Gourmet Market, were radically altering the space.

[88] When Cherry Hill Gourmet Market opened in May 2009, city inspectors promptly fined Isaev for violating zoning ordinances.

[102][103] The architects had to make the building large enough to be appealing to patrons while also blending in with the seaside-resort and "modern Venice" designs of Sheepshead Bay.

[18] Lundy's contained numerous spaces including indoor and outdoor dining, clam and liquor bars, kitchens, storage, a salesmen's waiting room, restrooms, offices, and a staff lounge.

In the renovation, the hotel structure's original windows were expanded, and on the back facade, an exterior stairway was built to provide access to the second floor.

[4] The Ocean Avenue side of the restaurant was a separate one-story wing that housed the liquor and clam bars, and was expanded to two stories in 1947.

"[74] Other popular menu items included lobster, oyster, shrimp, fresh fish, chicken, steak, and ice cream.

[107] The revived version of Lundy's had a contemporary menu,[72] which included both traditional seafood and newer Italian food, meat, and poultry.

The Brooklyn-born chef Neil Kleinberg curated the rest of the menu, which included clam chowder, fried shrimp, and three tiers of shore dinners.

[10][74] According to a New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission report, on a regular weekday Lundy's could seat 2,000 patrons, and on a typical Saturday, it could accommodate 10,000 customers.

[102] Most of the waiters were African-American, due to Irving Lundy's insistence on hiring African Americans to induce a "southern" feeling.

[17] Accounts provided by waiters demonstrated a hectic workplace; waitstaff often worked 12-to-14-hour shifts, and Irving Lundy was known to fire staff for the smallest infractions.

[107] Food critic Mimi Sheraton wrote that her favorite dishes included the "Huckleberry pie (not blueberry), biscuits and Manhattan clam chowder".

"[110] Playwright Wendy Wasserstein said of Mother's Day peak periods in the mid-1950s: "Waiters shoved by with plates piled high with steamers and lobster tails and my brother and I tossed hot biscuits.

[112] Speaking of the food itself, Sokolov wrote that "the shore dinner only costs $8 and includes soup, plus choice of clam, oyster, shrimp or crabmeat cocktails, steamers, a half broiled lobster and a half broiled chicken, potatoes, vegetables, ice cream or pie and coffee, tea or milk.