I have some news about the Gramercy Park Hotel.
+ a docuseries about lacrosse, Romy Mars, and more.
Hi I’m back in America. Free letter today.
I ate alone a few times in London, which I almost never do in New York. I took a flight there Monday morning (I’d usually do a red eye), and ended up getting to my hotel at 8:30, so I ran out for a bowl of walnut-miso udon at Koya before they closed. The counter was crowded with people playing on their phones both alone and sitting with friends. I guess you’re never eating alone when you have a free hand to scroll.
My other solo lunch was at Cafe Deco. I sat in the window, and ordered a blood orange and mustard leaf salad, ricotta gnudi, and a big slice of apple-rhubarb pie. When you eat alone you can eat whatever you want.
I went to a dinner party at Sir John Soane’s Museum. The building was an unusual twisty, corridor-filled house and the light is always changing because all the glass on the windows have different colored tints.
One room had a cabinet of art within a cabinet of art within a cabinet of art.
I liked this line of the dress code: “As the museum is quite old, they’ve requested that stilettos or heels smaller than a postage stamp be avoided.”
I love when a dress code has a metaphor or measurement. In high school, your skirt had to go past where your fingers landed on your legs when you put them straight down. Straps on tops had to be wider than two fingers. Wedding dress code direction is a whole different story.
I have some news about the Gramercy Park Hotel.
I can’t say this is one of the New York spots that I’ve missed, becuase I didn’t spend much time at the Ian Schrager and Julian Schnabel hotel. When I was in college, I always hoped one of these random guys in a suit would take me to Rose Bar, but instead I got Wilfie & Nell. I turned out fine. Anyway, all I’ve heard about the hotel since they closed at the start of Covid in 2020 is that they have been strapped for cash. This week, I got a look at an email that the building sent tenants. I asked around, and here’s what I got:
Nur Khan (who also worked o Electric Room at The Dream) will be re-opening Rose Bar.
Apparently Danny Meyer will be coming back to run a restaurant (TBD if it will be Maialino again or something new).
Operator MCR (who also works with the TWA Hotel and The Highline Hotel) will be working on the hotel. According to the site, “MCR and MORSE Development will bring back the magic and glamour of the five-star Gramercy Park Hotel, which has been closed since 2020. An extensive renovation will revitalize the lobby, the first-floor restaurants and bars, and the hotel’s 197 guestrooms and suites. The spectacular 7,000-square-foot rooftop bar — the only venue with a view of the exclusive Gramercy Park — will also receive a full restoration.”
There will be a rooftop members’ club. Less than a month ago, the hotel filed for a liquor license.
There will be a basement nightclub (not members’ only, but we can assume there will be a tight door… which might be better!).
This interview about the bar from 2017 with The Rose Bar's creative director is so good. I miss secrets.
📱 Have a story you want me to look into? Hear some good gossip around the office? The Feed Me Tip Hotline is open for (anonymous) texts: (646) 494-3916 📱
Friend-of-the-letter and lacrosse legend Paul Rabil is getting a TV show. In one episode, he talks to Bill Belichick about his lifelong affection for lacrosse, in another one he finds out why Maryland has become such a hotbed for lax stars.
Kourtney Kardashian’s new gummies are to help women get horny. I wonder if they got some of the SKIMS creative team over there for the promo, Julia Fox stars in the announcement video. I’m a Moon Juice girl, so Sex Dust 4 life.
For $5 you can see Sofia Coppola and Kirsten Dunst talk about The Virgin Suicides.
Speaking of Sofia, her daughter Romy’s new song came out today. “You’ll draw the line there, I’ll sniff it up / I’ll take pictures of a private jet wing / I take a breath, have a movie set fling / Nobody says what they really mean.” Last week, Charli XCX spotlighted the daughter of Coppola and Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars during her Brooklyn show. Bullish on 18-year-old Romy.
Edward Enninful, previously Editor-in Chief at British Vogue, amongst a smattering of other high-profile gigs in the fashion media industry, has launched his own magazine. He described 72 Magazine as the “cornerstone” for his recently founded media and entertainment company, EE72. I’m excited to see how this plays out — Enninful was the editor of i-D at 18, and turned W Magazine around in the early 2010s. If someone has a finger on the pulse of the fashion media landscape, it’s him.
Brain Dead and South2 West8 went frogman mode for their latest fly fishing collab. Props to the makeup team
Corner Bistro might be opening in the East Village. Five blocks north of the newly-opened Bar Bianchi, two blocks south of Superiority Burger.
Ivanka Trump spoke to Ariana Huffington yesterday about, “democratizing access to healthy food.” Per Axios, for the first time, Trump publicly discussed her role as a co-founder of Planet Harvest, a "profit-for-purpose" company based in Chicago. She co-founded it in 2023 with her friend Melissa Melshenker Ackerman, a produce supply-chain expert who is the company's co-founder and CEO.
The New York Times continues to innovate their games. You can now play Wordle against Countess Luann.
Kallmeyer took over Three Guys Diner last night to celebrate the opening of their new store uptown. Chic, chic, chic!!
I miss Maialino. I really hope it comes back. Meyer's also had terrible bad luck with locations...
So excited GPH is coming back! All good things, except the members club (Not …… necessary)