Most restaurateurs would consider serving free drinks a losing proposition.
For Michael Della Femina, who recently opened a Soho branch of his Beverly Hills hit Croft Alley, it’s about building community.
At the West Coast location, he set up a vintage red light on a bar that’s visible from outside and which staff turn on to let both passersby and customers inside know that they’re serving up free cocktails, Della Femina told Side Dish.
“It’s become a fun little speakeasy thing for a number of years, and we will continue that tradition here,” he said of the bigger of two Croft Alley restaurants in LA.
“Locals know that when it is on, cocktails are on the house. It has become a thing, really for the neighbors and people who work in the neighborhood. It’s about the locals.
“And we make a great martini, or so I’m told.”
Della Femina plans to bring the same approach to his latest offering, Lily Pond, which he described as a family affair – and which will feature the same kind of freebies he offered in Los Angeles.
“Just as we did in LA, we will give away lots of drinks and treats in New York City,” he said.
Lily Pond, which recently opened in the West Village, is named after the East Hampton street near where Della Femina’s family used to have a summer home.
Della Femina’s wife Laurie will help him run the show, while their son Jack, who owns LA cafe Bravo Toast, will oversee coffee. Their younger son William, who owns Just Juice LA, will take care of fruity drinks at Lily Pond, while niece Annabel Kim is the social media and marketing director. Her parents are investors, and interiors are by family friend Daniel Benedict and Jack’s wife, Allie.
“The project is inspired and supported by family and friends. I’m hoping everyone will have a part,” Della Femina said.
Offering “elevated pub fare food” – bistro dishes with French and Korean influences — he is aiming for a similar vibe to the fun East Hampton summers of his youth.
“It was the source of countless parties and events that brought all of us together,” he said of the family’s old summer beach house.
“Lily Pond hit us from a few different directions,” Della Femina added, explaining that Monet’s famed water lily paintings were an additional source of inspiration.
Located by Smalls Jazz Club on 10th Street near West 4th Street, Lily Pond has something of a “bodega riff,” too, the founder said.
Comfort food-inspired dishes include an egg salad special with a Sullivan Street Bakery bun. There’s also a kimchi reuben, along with chopped salads and healthier fare — like a chicken salad wrapped in Shishi leaves to cut carbs.
The menu includes fluke tartar as “sort of an homage” to the shuttered East Hampton restaurant founded by Della Femina’s father Jerry – the ad legend whose memoir “From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor” inspired the “Mad Men” series.
Featuring 25 seats, Della Femina described his latest restaurant as “really intimate, a sweet little space.”
It’s only offering mocktails until it gets a liquor license. Once it does, the restaurateur plans to start a Big Apple edition of his weekly, invite-only LA cocktail club called Martini Confidential.
He plans to dole out plenty of goodies in addition to free cocktails from time to time.
“We love to give out treats to our neighbors and regulars and new guests be it amazing cookies, martinis, waffles, champagne or other surprises,” Della Femina said. “It’s not a cheesy freebie, it’s part of our hospitality ethos.”
We hear… that Chef Eyal Shani, of Shmoné, the Michelin-starred West Village eatery, is opening a new Miami eatery named Bella, with a second concept to be announced for Miami soon.
Bella will be an Italian eatery — a first for the famed Israeli chef — and it is slated to open the week of Jan. 26 at the Liberty Park Hotel, the former South Beach Hotel in Miami Beach. The 1,500-square-foot space comes with 4,000 square feet of outdoor space and 110 seats
In New York, Shmoné has kept its Michelin star with its current executive chef Orianne Shapira, a former dancer, who this month marks her year anniversary as executive chef.
Shmoné’s former star chef Nadav Greenberg has launched Or’Esh in partnership with Catch Hospitality’s Eugene Remm and Tilman Ferttita.
“My vision is to keep developing the kitchen — to stay curious, keep learning, and continue creating side-by-side with my team. Retaining the star meant so much to all of us,” Shapira said.
“Being the only Israeli restaurant in New York City with a Michelin star is a huge source of pride. I’m proud to represent Israel in this way. I truly believe food brings people together, and being able to share that feeling — that connection — through our cooking is something very special to me,” Shapira added.
Shmoné, at 61 W. 8th St., has more seafood dishes now, with some Japanese influence, like Shapira’s signature black cod in pepper sauce.
The eatery has also expanded its wine program thanks to the opening of its sister restaurant, Shmoné Wine, next door. It hosts regular tastings with guest winemakers.
Shani currently helms 60 locations globally with many in New York, including five Miznon locations; HaSalon, Port Sa’id, Shmoné, Shmoné Wine, Malka UWS and Malka DUMBO.
