It’s generally acknowledged that the Standard Grill, which opened in June and immediately attracted a young, pretty crowd, gave new life to the meatpacking district’s night scene. “The Standard rejuvenated the neighborhood,” says Eugene Remm, who, with his partners, already operates the sleek little club Tenjune and will open two more venues next month. “And we hope to follow in their footsteps.” There will be nine new nightspots this fall. Four are at the Standard: a beer garden under the High Line, a lounge and indoor pool on the eighteenth floor (distinctly different spaces), and a rooftop area a floor above. All are separate venues, and all will be opening around the same time in September or October (although the beer garden had a soft opening this month). Remm’s hospitality company, EMM Group, is overhauling the 10,000-square-foot multilevel space that used to be Lotus and will reopen it for private parties in mid-September. Upstairs will be Abe & Arthur’s, with a cozy D.J.-equipped mezzanine overlooking an airy formal dining room decorated with images of the owners’ grandfathers (Abe and Arthur) and former Brasserie chef Franklin Becker serving refined American food like tuna tartare. Downstairs will be the intimate SL, which Remm calls a “boutique nightclub,” meaning it’s not so much about dancing as about scoring one of the club’s twenty tables. The former Lotus owners, David Rabin and Will Regan, meanwhile, are reopening their coolly plush cocktail lounge the Double Seven in a larger space, at 63 Gansevoort Street, in November. Slightly to the east, the club impresarios Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano of 1Oak and Butter hope to finish restoring the former Nell’s (and, for a moment after that, the Plumm), making it a quietly glamorous supper club in time for Christmas parties. And Michael Satsky and Brian Gefter of Lily Pond in East Hampton will open Provocateur at the Hotel Gansevoort in October, with a retractable roof to take advantage of fall’s remaining warm evenings.
Standard Hotel
848 Washington St., nr. 13th St.; 212-645-4646
Abe & Arthur’s and SL
409 W. 14th St., nr. Ninth Ave.; 646-289-3930 (A&A) 646-289-3940 (SL)
Double Seven
63 Gansevoort St., nr. Washington St;, no phone yet
Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano’s supper club (name to be determined)
246 W. 14th St., nr. Eighth Ave.; no phone yet
Provocateur
18 Ninth Ave., at 13th St.; no phone yet