Suspects demand victim’s watch, fire shots outside iconic NYC restaurant JG Melon: NYPD

Metro

By Katherine Donlevy

Shots were fired outside an iconic Upper East Side restaurant Saturday when a patron refused to hand over his watch to thieves, according to police and police sources.

The dispute unfolded outside JG Melon, a famous hamburger joint on the corner of 74th Street and Third Avenue, just before 4 p.m., the NYPD said.

Two individuals approached a 22-year-old man waiting for a table and demanded he hand over his watch, police sources said.

A physical altercation ensued and the instigators discharged one round.

No one was struck by the gunfire, cops said.

The two suspects hopped on a moped and fled southbound on Third Avenue.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

JG Melon is a well-known Big Apple restaurant with a long list of celebrity regulars, including Food Network host Bobby Flay, who called it the best hamburger joint in the city. Its popular burgers and cottage fries often draw long lines of hungry New Yorkers.

Despite the gunfire, the cash-only eatery was open for dinner Saturday night and told The Post they were too busy with the “dinner rush” to speak about the incident when reached by phone.

The “saloon with food” opened in 1972 after taking over a post-Prohibition-era tavern. It was also featured in the 1979 Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman film “Kramer v Kramer.”