Good morning and welcome Y’all,
As you receive this email I will be coming in to land at Heathrow following a fantastic study tour of New York, hosted by Propel and UKHospitality.
It’s no shocker that NYC has some fantastic venues and that innovation is rife, so here are a couple of the highlights of my trip…
Beauty and Essex, a perfectly styled bar on the Lower East Side where customers enter through a “pawn shop” where everything from custom-made guitars to vintage jewellery are for sale. They offer a champagne brunch on Sundays and also fully engage in delivery. They also give 10% of the proceeds from certain parts of the menu to their “charity of the month”.
I also loved the trend for pre-ordering lunch and picking up at a specified time and in a different line. The idea, however, seems to be polarising in opinion as some New Yorkers we spoke to said that the problem was now that the “pick up” line was longer than the general counter ordering line! I guess this one is all about operational management- which “Dig in”, as pictured below manages to do very well.
And finally, in a city full of great Speakeasys, ‘Employees Only’ stood out for me as being pretty special. Found behind a fortune teller’s and decked out in an Art Deco style, it served some of the most unforgettable cocktails imaginable. Flair, talent and knowledge are in abundance here- put it on your “must do” NYC list.
Having spent the last week in New York (part business, part pleasure), I’m off to see Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds tonight at Wembley, and then plan to DO NOTHING for the rest of the weekend . Except… a LOT of time in the gym to make up for this week’s sins and a LOT of time catching up on emails.
Have a great weekend
Katy
