Marcus Samuelsson has been sending out an open call for bartenders to interview at the yet-to-be-open Red Rooster Restaurant on 310 Lenox Avenue (just north of 125th) and the New York Daily News has picked up the story. Basically, the celebrity chef is looking for "a Bartending staff to capture the spirit of the Original Harlem Speakeasy." With that said, the top 5 will be selected by Chef Samuelsson himself and they will in turn set up a 30 to 60 second interview video that the public will vote on. Interested parties can go to the Marcus Samuelsson site for more details:
LINK. Also another new notable mentioned in the Daily News article is that the restaurant will have a green roof where seasonal produce will be grown:
LINK. Photo by Rosier for the Daily News
Now my man Reynolds93 is going to go on about how this is all hype and PR. And surely it is. But it’s a clever business man who creates such an exciting buzz and as Samuelsson has the culinary chops to back it up. . .
ReplyDeleteThis place is going to be brilliant!
What I suggested is Marcus is no different than Donald Trump and the like in how he markets a narrative for public consumption that fails the sniff test (or having integrity once placed under the lens of scrutiny).
ReplyDeleteLast month his press release narrative was "he emphasizes his commitment to the neighborhood, explaining that all of the restaurant's dishware will be bought in Harlem thrift stores and antique shops, murals will be painted by local artists, produce bought from local farmers markets".
If Marcus is so committed to the neighborhood, and he insists that the dishware MUST be from Harlem, why should not the bartender? Why should not the bartender be consistent with the dishware, murals and farmer's market?
Now sure, who knows, a Harlem resident might be selected, but it's also clear Marcus is open to allowing anyone, even a person who's never been to Harlem, or New York City, or the U.S., be the bartender. The public will determine the bartender, not Marcus. Marcus and his "commitment" to the community ENDS where and opportunity to promote and hype begins. That's my point about Marcus.
When it serves for public consumption purposes, Marcus pushes a narrative of "local commitment". However his outsourced services & business operations matters, does he keep that "local" too? His bank(er), CPA, Lawyers, Insurance brokers for his employees, etc....the revenue surrounding Red Rooster not in the public eye, does Marcus maintain that "commitment" to the neighborhood?
This above stunt? Just exposes Marcus, like Donald Trump, is heavy on hype & draws the line of that "commitment to local" narrative when it comes to making a buck. No crime in that.
If it's mission critical to Marcus for the murals to be painted ONLY by local artist - what can't that same mandate & charter be of the bartender? That would be consistent with the hype, theme, and PR he pushes. Personally I hope a quirky Bjork like character from Iceland who's never stepped foot in Harlem wins.
Red Rooster is NOT going to be like Bier International (a relaxed spot nightly filled with locals - and others, yes I've been 3 times). Red Rooster is going to be a cash machine filled 90% with non-Harlemites & tourist.
Reynolds also thought Bier would not succeed because of a litany of factors...now he's hanging out there;)
ReplyDeleteReynolds93, glad to hear you have frequented Bier International. Pretty amazed though that you haven't commented on the Bier Garden that doesn't really have a garden. Thought that would be right up your street for a good old moan ;)
ReplyDeleteAnyways, without rehashing the same old arguments, I think Marcus is doing a superlative job generating all of this interest for Red Rooster. He is obviously extremely media savvy (social media awareness etc.), but with this comes an enormous about of pressure to deliver. So it isn't all a one way street.
I don't buy your assertion that this will be filled with 90% non-Harlemites and tourists. What is your definition of a Harlemite? I get the impression that you are suggesting all Harlemites are poor. Times are changing 'my friend'. Average disposable income is growing in Harlem and will continue to grow with the steady influx of affluent residents. This isn't the Harlem of old and amenities such as the Red Rooster grocery store and cafe will be frequented by Harlemites, tourists and non-Harlemites alike.
Does anybody think that Red Rooster is going to be that much more expensive than Chez Luz which is next door? Or Sylvia's? Even if I assume Samuelsson is outright lying about having budget items on its menu, His nearest competitors are fairly affordable so I don't see him going to far from that. At worst he follows Chocolat's route.
ReplyDeleteNot for anything, I'm a Harlemite and I wouldn't care if E.T. served me as long as I got decent service from it.
I'm also not sure why I as a Harlemite should care who the clientele of Red Rooster is. At worst, the increased tourist traffic might make it easier for me to get a Yellow Cab around 125 and Lenox(and I'd be plenty happy with that).
By that reasoning the planned area hotels are a bad idea too because folks who live around here already have a place to stay.
Unfortunately Marcus Samuelsson is such high profile and a game changer for central Harlem he will attract the few predictable haters, and there is nothing he can humanly do to appease these naysayers who want nothing more than a backwards Harlem. The only thing that will keep these haters happy it to open an associated food market, 99 cent store or check cashing business at the Red Rooster Location. The best he can do is not try to appease these haters and simply ignore them. Red Rooster will be very uplifting for Central Harlem and put greater Harlem on the map for more people in New York and beyond. So to Marcus, many Harlemites welcome Red Rooster, have a blast with your new business and just ignore the few haters.
ReplyDeleteNot being able to hail a yellow cab on 125th and Lenox seems far-fetched...seriously, it's the busiest part of Harlem.
ReplyDelete