subscribe to style file blog via RSSthe happy middle of southside
October 10, 2008 6:00 pm
The number of New York City high-rollers may be dwindling by the hour, but as of this evening, the remaining few will have one more place to drop their hard-earned dollars on some booze. Co-owners Anthony Martignetti and James Willis have sited their new nightclub Southside in the very best location for exclusive drinking—in a basement, behind an unmarked door—and kitted the place out in a 1930’s Art Deco style that’s perhaps all too apropos to the current economic crisis. Anyway, the two owners swear up and down that their target customer is not the bottle service-loving banker man catered to over the course of Manhattan’s roaring oughts. The focus here is on Champagne and cocktails, like the fresh passion fruit juice, Hendrick’s gin, and cucumber Sunset. “We decided to open in Nolita because we wanted those kind of locals,” explains Martignetti. “A nice mix of people who can come in, have a drink, enjoy the crowd and the music.” At last night’s friends ‘n’ family opening, Juliette Lewis and Jamie Burke were among the glitterati drinking up to the tune of $16 cocktails—hardly exorbitant, but not exactly cheap, either. But then, that’s the happy middle Willis says Southside is aiming for. “Exclusive,” he sums up. “But not pretentious.” Cheers to that.
tags: Jamie Burke, Juliette Lewis, Southside
