A socialist mayor is creating probably the most anti-business local weather the Massive Apple has ever seen — however that hasn’t stopped quite a few Massive Apple restaurateurs from doubling down and investing within the metropolis they love a lot.
Stathis Antonakopoulos is opening seven eating places right here this yr — the primary, positive eating eatery Delos, opened in Midtown in January.
“Mayors come and go, however the metropolis stays,” he instructed Aspect Dish.
He strongly opposes Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s push for the state to enhance the minimal wage to a jaw-dropping $30 per hour within the Massive Apple.
“You possibly can’t change the state’s minimal wage. New York continues to be a metropolis, not a state,” he stated.
Like many within the enterprise neighborhood, Antonakopoulos can also be towards Mamdani’s far-left calls to tax the wealthy, saying of the concept: “It helped him get elected however the actuality is that he can’t implement it on this metropolis as a result of you possibly can’t choose and select to solely tax the wealthy.”
Undeterred, Antonakopoulos opened Delos on West forty seventh Avenue earlier this yr. He has plans to open one other outpost this fall in Tribeca.
He’s additionally opening Carnegie Diner & Cafes from Tribeca and FiDi to Brooklyn’s Metropolis Level and Paramus, NJ, by subsequent yr.
That’s on prime of the 5 Carnegie Diner & Cafe places he already runs within the metropolis, plus branches in New Jersey and Virginia.
“No one places New York Metropolis within the nook. No one places child within the nook. We realized to bop soiled a few years in the past,” Antonakopoulos stated, quoting a well-known line from the film “Soiled Dancing.”
He’s additionally opening his first rooftop bar, Voco Roofbar, on the Voco Lodge in Occasions Sq..
“I believe that the mayor could have an awakening when he sees how town actually works after his first yr,” Antonakopoulos stated.
He ought to know – he moved to town from Athens in 1999, when he was 21.
“That is town that by no means sleeps or dies. I’ll by no means flip my again on New York,” he stated. “It gave me the whole lot I’ve.
“I’m not sidelined by politics — native or federal. If you happen to give folks good meals and good service, they are going to come.”
Antonakopoulos shouldn’t be alone.
Renwick Hospitality — the drive behind Lindens, Foxtail, ART Soho and rather more — is opening Golden Youngster, a rooftop bar at Lodge Park in Midtown.
“I wish to suppose that all the mayors of New York are hoping for one of the best for companies,” stated Gary Wallach, Renwick’s managing companion.
“Whether or not you agree with [Mamdani’s] politics or not, you need to be hopeful that the politicians you choose will enhance their cities for the individuals who dwell there and the companies that provide areas for folks to take pleasure in.”
Golden Youngster’s fashionable American menu is from govt chef Carsten Johannsen. It affords a playful tackle childhood favorites, like a connoisseur PB&J with pear, brie and ham, and “The Solely” Golden Osetra Caviar served with potato chips, crème fraîche, chives and caramelized onion.
There may also be elevated pizzas, together with burgers and hen “tendies” with a caesar salad dip, plus a enjoyable cocktail program.
In the meantime, restaurateurs Kiril and Metodija Mihajlov – who personal the favored Consulate with branches on the Higher West Aspect and Midtown – are gearing as much as open their third outpost at 560 Third Ave. in Murray Hill within the former Rio Grande house subsequent month. They’re additionally opening an elevated sports activities bar, On the Workplace, on the similar tackle on the similar time. That’s after the couple opened The C Cafe within the West Village in September.
Kiril Mihaljlov stated he signed the lease for the Murray Hill house final yr, earlier than the mayoral election.
“I simply watch my enterprise,” he stated, including that the issues he’s going through — “like the worth of eggs going up 100% this week” — aren’t related to the mayor.
“I invested thousands and thousands, so I can’t cease. I’ve to open the companies and attempt to make cash. I can’t shut,” stated Mihaljlov, who continues to create neighborhood eating places that New Yorkers love.
