Feed Me (after dark)
Le Dive's new location has cigarettes behind the bar.
Good evening, everyone.
Feed Me (after dark) is when I send Feed Me at night instead of in the morning. Where are you while you’re reading this? On the subway home? Waiting for your friends to get to the restaurant? At the bar pretending to read a work email? In bed?
I’m currently in Anguilla, and I’ve had two rum punches today — one green, one red. Apologies for any typos. I learned from a local that the island of Anguilla is raking in millions (like $40 million) from AI domains that end in .ai (as opposed to .com). As BBC reported last year, “As the number of registered .ai domains hurtles toward the million mark, Anguillians will hope this money is managed safely and invested in their future.” Because of this boom, Anguilla was able to expand and reopen its airport. I came via boat from St. Maarten, but next time…
Today’s newsletter includes: a conversation with Jon Neidich about the new location of Le Dive, nightclub Avenue is reopening, and the authors having trouble filing claims in the Anthropic copyright settlement.
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Le Dive goes west.
Last weekend, I was in Chelsea seeing the Helen Frankenthaler show at Gagosian, and on my walk to the F train, I texted Jon Neidich (CEO of Golden Age Hospitality) to see if he wanted to show me around Le Dive’s new location on 7th Ave. He showed me the custom Maison Gatti rattan furniture, and the private dining room, and the cigarettes behind the bar (“Not for sale, that would be illegal.”). Per TikToker Ellie for the Girls, “vibe wise it’s giving bigger Bar Pisellino.” Courtney Mansfield said, “The West Village girlies are about to go feral over the new Le Dive.”
As Feed Me reported last month, while sitting outside this summer, you’ll be able to enjoy the view across 7th and Greenwich of the location that supposedly inspired Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks.”
“I think that the original Le Dive is probably the best marriage of a concept to a location that I’ve ever done in my career,” Jon, the restaurateur behind Le Dive and Bar Bianchi and Elvis and The Nines, told me. Le Dive’s Dimes Square location is famously the location of this photo of Charli XCX and Romy Mars and the Canal Street outdoor dining riviera.
Le Dive’s new location is in the heart of the West Village. As he was showing me around last weekend, a dozen people of all ages knocked on the door trying to get a drink. Jon said they’d be open on Wednesday or Thursday. I asked if he’d always wanted this address.
“No,” he told me. “Although a couple of weeks before we got the lease, I had been walking through the neighborhood because I had a meeting up the street. And my eyes closed in on this block and I thought to myself, ‘That’s a really good corner.’ Literally two weeks later, a broker we work with sent us the space, and said they were looking to sell it and we just moved fast and never looked back.”
After seeing the space, it felt like immediate brand event venue bait. It’s central, the inside is photogenic, and Golden Age Hospitality is behind the menu. I asked Jon if he planned on becoming a hot spot for brand parties and events. “It’s much more important to me for that location to be open to the public as much as possible,” he told me. “I want there to be a consistency to it where you can say, ‘Oh, we can go stop by there. That place will be open.’ When you’re a restaurant who just sells out to shitty brands who are going to paste their vinyl all over your mirrors and shit, I’m like, ‘No, I’m good guys.’”
One of the most exciting things I learned from my conversation with Jon was that Le Dive hired Sarah Morrissey (formerly Le Veau d’Or) as its new beverage director. If any of you dined/drank at Le Veau d’Or while Sarah was in the building, then I’m sure, like me, it was a dining experience that stayed in your heart for days afterwards. “It was just such a gift to have such an amazingly talented industry veteran in our organization,” he told me. “I mean, we’re a very beverage-heavy business model and so to have someone so top-notch is what you want in that position. And I’m really excited for a new project that we’re working on with her.”
What is the new project, you ask? Jon and the Golden Age Hospitality team secured the former Morgenstern’s location on Houston Street, two blocks west of Angelika. Jon told me it will probably open in September, but I’m excited to keep you all in the loop on what he has planned for that address.
I had a few more questions for Jon:
Most popular order at Le Dive:
LES: Steak Frites or classic martini & fries.
WV: Will probably be French Dip & Artichoke.
Biggest hurdle while opening the new West Village location:
Telling people we weren’t open yet.
Toughest time to get a table:
A really nice day.
Best formula to become a regular:
Come often, be kind, tip well. Don’t sit at a table taking photos for hours. Be present and enjoy the experience!
Most surprising piece of feedback you’ve received so far:
How much it feels like a slice of Paris ;) But actually I think finding out that so many of our regulars from all of our venues live within a few blocks of new location. The neighbors have been giving feedback that the high quality yet approachability of this place doesn’t exist anywhere else.