Feature: A Feast for the Eyes
November 1, 2004
On a winter evening in 1981, La Coupole opened its doors in New York–but not to Andy Warhol. Restaurant openings are typically chaotic affairs, but the added complication of an unexpected snowstorm wreaked so much havoc that the pop culture icon was turned away. The snub made headlines, but that only helped to cement La Coupole’s overnight success.
“It was the first large-scale restaurant that had great design,” recounts
Adam Tihany, who created La Coupole’s interiors. “It got a lot of attention and
became instantly popular.” The restaurant’s overnight success prompted Tihany,
who had not yet committed his career to commercial or residential design, to
make a quick decision. “Soon after, I put ‘Restaurant Designer’ on my office
door,” he says. Tihany is now a member of an elite club of restaurant designers
whose names are as recognizable as the world’s top chefs.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Shibuya at the MGM Grand, by Yobu Pushelberg, mixes technology and nature, with wood screens by artist Hirotoshi Shawda. (Click image to enlarge)
While the average lifespan of a New York restaurant is two years, food is
only one of many ingredients factored into the success equation. “Restaurants
have become a destination on their own and it’s not just because people are
hungry,” says Gamal Aziz, president of Las Vegas’ MGM Grand hotel and casino. By
the end of 2004, MGM’s cache of restaurants–from four-star headliners to casual
restaurants and sophisticated sandwich shops–will total 16, all decorated by top
designers. “Food and beverage profits have more than doubled in the last three
years,” Aziz says. “MGM’s are now at over $220 million.” These days, dining by
design is more important than ever.
A new caliber of clientele is being seduced by the dynamic combination of a
star chef and top designer. Thomas Keller was temporarily lured away from his
landmark restaurant, the French Laundry, long enough to set up shop in
Manhattan’s new Time Warner Center with the design aid of Tihany. Per Se, the
East Coast’s answer to Keller’s Napa Valley dining establishment, is the sixth
collaboration in six years for the twosome. “I consider myself a custom tailor
who makes restaurants to fit my clients,” Tihany says. “For anyone who knows
Thomas, they can immediately see that Per Se is a portrait of the chef.”; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
The Butler Dining Room at NoMI seats 16. (Click image to enlarge)
Dominated by dark bog oak wainscoting and accented by marble countertops and
floors, and a stone and glass fireplace, Per Se is a study in contrasts. The
focal point of the tailored, contemporary dining room is a handcarved abstract
wall sculpture made of French oak, leather and steel. The resulting
atmosphere–elegant, sophisticated and serene with 16 luxuriously spaced tables
overlooking Central Park–is, says Tihany, “complex and private.”
While Per Se’s arrival has added to the prestige of Time Warner Center, which will house five fine-dining establishments by the end of 2005, the concept of building a restaurant as a destination spot has been flourishing in Las Vegas as well. “There is essentially pre-Bellagio, where people were fed so that they could gamble, and post-Bellagio, where hotels have realized that restaurants are a huge part of the business themselves,” says Aziz, who was formerly president of Bellagio’s food and beverage division when the resort opened in 1998.
Understanding the importance of fine interior design, Aziz is now transforming the image of the MGM Grand. Contributing to this endeavor is the Toronto design duo George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, who have created restaurants in Toronto and New York, as well as Tokyo’s Four Seasons and W Hotel in Times Square. “Everyone wants what’s new and next, but we don’t want design to suffer for keeping up with the times or conforming to a trend,” says Pushelberg. When hired to orchestrate Shibuya, MGM Grand’s latest high-end Japanese restaurant, Pushelberg and Yabu accompanied Aziz to Japan to study the hip style of the Tokyo district. “They just got it,” Aziz says.
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