Located off Route 9W in Palisades, N.Y., The Market and Filling Station and its owner, Henry Kennel, were often the first to welcome visitors to New York. The business started in 1929, built in the industrial aesthetic of the era, shiny red pumps a la Edward Hopper’s painting “Gas.” The business started selling hot dogs out of the station, creating a little community around the station.
In 2011, TFS Burger Works opened out of that gas station, recreating that small community, and now, a TFS Burger Works is opening in East Williamsburg, seeking to do the same. Co-owned by franchisees David Shechter and Alexandra Grablewski, the upcoming TFS is set to open on 76 Bushwick Ave, aiming for a May 2026 opening.
Shechter and Grablewski, first-time restaurant owners who come from a photography background, have about 1,400 square feet to work with indoors in addition to a 1,500 square-foot backyard space. They’ll lean into the industrial, automotive aspects of the building — the wood ceiling joists with a garage door on the side — reminiscent of TFS’s gas station origins.
“Our plan is to really kind of make this a little bit of a neighborhood hub,” Shechter says. “Let’s meet friends in the backyard and sit and have a beer and hang out and order some food.”
The burgers at TFS are, in a word, robust. The kind of burger you place on a chunky cutting board just to marvel at; the kind you simply must wash down with a beer, which TFS will source locally. “In Brooklyn, we have so many breweries, so we’re really adamant about sourcing from them,” Shechter says.
