Retiring O Gil's owners can convert Portuguese restaurant into apartments; no buyers step up

FALL RIVER — It appears the days are numbered for O Gil's, the Portuguese lounge and restaurant that’s been a fixture of County Street for more than 30 years, after not finding a buyer.

Owners and brothers-in-law Victor Fagundo and Felisberto Souza obtained a special permit and a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday to convert the restaurant into apartments and divide the restaurant’s nearby parking lot into two house lots.

“In an unprecedented quirk, the entire board has recused themselves because this is closing O Gil’s,” joked ZBA Chairman Joseph Pereira.

The two announced in December that they were retiring and putting the restaurant and the property up for sale. The $999,000 asking price included the building, a working commercial kitchen, and bar with full liquor license.

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In the months since then, their price has since dropped to $749,000 with no takers.

ZBA member Ricky Sahady asked facetiously, “If we voted to turn this down, will O Gil’s stay open?”

“Unfortunately, no,” said Jeff Tallman of Northeast Engineers and Consultants, appearing before the board on behalf of the O Gil's owners.

“That’s done,” Pereira said.

“Business at the restaurant has slowed down quite a bit,” Tallman added.

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What is happening with the O Gil's restaurant?

The building at 915 County St. has housed O Gil's on the first floor since 1991, with two three-bedroom apartments on the second and third floors.

The special permit allows the owners to convert the 3,000-square-foot restaurant into two 1,500-square-foot apartments. Tallman said he wasn’t sure if the new apartments would be three- or four-bedroom units.

The driveway currently used for unloading deliveries would be converted to two off-street parking spaces, one for each new unit.

What is happening with the O Gil's parking lot?

A block away, between Earle and Horton streets, is the O Gil's parking lot, which the owners purchased in 1995. Tallman told the board that with declining business, the lot is less often used by the restaurant and more by County Street Collision & Customizing, an auto body shop across the street.

The ZBA granted a variance to split the oddly shaped 11,700-square-foot parcel into two house lots. One would house a townhouse-style triplex on 6,700 square feet; the other would contain a single-family house on a 5,000-square-foot lot.

Both plans contain off-street parking.

Will O Gil's stay open pending a sale?

The owners have not yet responded to a request for comment.

What is the history of O Gil's?

Fagundo’s father, Gil, for whom the restaurant is named, is credited with bringing Portuguese steak to Fall River. 

Gil Fagundo worked at a famous restaurant in the Azores called Josette Tavares before immigrating to Fall River in 1971. He started cooking at Fall River’s St. Michael’s Club on Webster Street in the Flint, where he introduced Portuguese steak to diners in the city. His son and Souza, who both immigrated here a year later, cooked alongside him at the St. Michael’s Club over the years, honing their skills.

When Gil Fagundo died in February 1991, they named their new restaurant after him. “I was originally going to call it Bon Appétit, because it’s in a French neighborhood, but when he died, I had to put his name on the restaurant,” said Fagundo in a 2018 interview.

The casual, homestyle restaurant tucked away in this largely residential neighborhood has long had a reputation of serving one of the best, if not the best, Portuguese steaks in the city — a thin, tender cut of beef topped with a fried egg and a garlic and wine reduction, with yellow rice and french fries on the side. It’s also well regarded for its carne alentejana, a mix of braised pork and littlenecks.

Dan Medeiros can be reached at [email protected]. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: No buyers for Fall River Portuguese restaurant O Gil's; housing coming