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 Hotel on Rivington, 107 Rivington Street. In a 2008 Observer profile, Hotel on Rivington owner Paul Stallings called himself a “big fish in a small pond” and said he’d been on the “cutting edge” of the Lower East Side “transitioning into what it is.” The members of the fledgling Lower East Side Dwellers Association would likely not argue with this assessment. Last night, they came face to face, as Stallings and his team went before Community Board 3’s SLA Committee to renew the boutique hotel’s liquor license.
The LES Dwellers, a new block association making a stand against nightlife proliferation, returned to CB3 a month after persuading the board to reject another license, for a new restaurant at 106 Rivington, just across the street from the trendy hotel. Members of the organization complained about late night noise emanating from THOR’s three nightlife establishments (Viktor & Spoils, Co-op Food & Drink and the lobby lounge). They said party-goers crowd the sidewalk, that delivery trucks and cars block the Rivington Street bike lane and that the hotel’s street-side windows are kept open past 10 p.m. (in violation of a previous agreement to shut them).
Crain’s weighs in today with a piece on CO-OP Food and Drink, the new nightlife spot in the Hotel on Rivington. Profiling co-owner Alan Phillips, reporter Tina Traster writes:
The restaurant represents a crowning moment in Mr. Philips’ career. It is operated under the Guerrilla Culinary Group, which he co-founded in September 2010 with (partner Jason) Apfelbaum, who is also the CEO of Chef & Co. a corporate catering and event firm… “Opening a restaurant in a hotel is a blessing,” said Mr. Philips, who expects to gross $10 million this year. “With a free-standing restaurant, you’re on your own.” Hotels offer built-in marketing, foot traffic, exposure to tourism and a variety of revenue streams, including the bar, room service and catering, he says.
A midweek round-up of neighborhood food news:
- Mary Queen of Scots co-owner Donal Brophy explains his decor.
- Orchard Street’s Cheeky Sandwiches is expanding, with a new outpost in Brooklyn’s Dekalb Market; meanwhile, Serious Eats reviews its bacon, egg and cheese.
- Russ & Daughters got another Hollywood moment this week, hosting a location shoot for a new feature film, Lola Versus, which also filmed some street scenes around Essex and Canal over the weekend.
- The debut issue of David Chang’s new magazine features an interview with wd-50’s Wylie Dufresne.
- Following up on last month’s opening of Co-op Food & Drink, plans for the other dining spaces at the tony Hotel on Rivington are emerging.
- In the wake of the news his Grand Street space is expanding, Doughnut Plant’s Mark Israel tells a D.C. paper he’s still planning to open a store in the nation’s capital.
Grub Street reports that the penthouse suite in the Hotel on Rivington will be opening its doors to the public this summer and using its hot-tub rooftop as a bar:
 Matt Levine’s project in the Hotel on Rivington, called LEVANTeast (your guess is as good as ours). Here’s the interesting part: It’s in the penthouse suite, where the rooftop hot tub is located. Normally this has been used for private parties, but a hotel receptionist tells us that starting next month, it’ll be open as a bar during summer Sundays from 1 p.m. till 9 p.m.
Not a bad spot for a drink with a great view and maybe a dip?
Read more here.
Calls for more transparency, as New York begins to distribute $24 billion in federal stimulus money (NY Post)
Beyond doomsday: MTA official says curtailing nighttime service couldn't be ruled out if Albany fails to come to its rescue (NYT)
A few more details on the facelift coming to the Hotel on Rivington's restaurant (Eater)
Tonight at the Tenement Museum, "Give Us Bread," a short play about the food riots of 1917, in which Lower East Side women made their stand against rising food prices (Tenement Museum).
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