Resy Presents
In this series of portraits and interviews, photographer Clay Williams gets to the heart of the ever-changing New York restaurant scene and finding longevity in it, by capturing the stories of the people behind it.
All Photos and Interviews by Clay Williams
“If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,” the song says, but once you make it, how do you keep it?
Those who have followed restaurants for more than five minutes know that there’s always something new and exciting that pretty much everyone wants to try out. This is especially the case in New York City, my hometown.
Working the food beat here for 15 years, I’ve seen many a hot new restaurant blow up and, eventually, fizzle out. The attention economy can be a killer when it comes to creating restaurant, and third spaces, that survive the test of time.
The restaurants that manage to stick around, the ones with staying power, have always fascinated me. I’ve long wondered what goes into the places that keep going beyond the big buzz of opening. How do chefs and restaurateurs create spaces that maintain a following? How do they keep guests excited to return to again and again, even after the articles and TikTokers have moved on? How do they cultivate regulars? How do they create restaurants that bring special occasion energy to even the most mundane of Tuesday nights? What keeps them going?
Seeking out some answers, I turned to chefs and restaurateurs in New York who are at the helm of longtime favorites and newer destinations. I wanted to find out how they create and maintain a following that achieves a longevity in a time where the difference between what’s buzzy and new and what’s not really is just five minutes apart.
— Clay Williams
Ramen by Ra’s Rasheeda Purdie: In it for the Long Run
After finding success with Ramen by Ra, first as a pop-up, and then as a stall on the Bowery, Purdie hopes to outlive the hype and build something lasting in the East Village for years to come.
Txikito’s Alex Raij: Knowing Your Community
“It’s meant everything to us to be embedded in true neighborhoods and to be different things to different people through the years,” says Txikito, La Vara, and Saint Julivert Fisherie chef and owner Alex Raij.
Gramercy Tavern’s Aretah Ettarh: Balance and Teamwork
“Restaurants, and kitchens in particular, are such a unique ecosystem where you can be a craftsman, a creative, a teammate, a coach, a leader, and more.”
8282’s Jee Kim: It’s All About the People
“Community isn’t just a support system; it’s what makes this work meaningful.”
Shukette’s Ayesha Nurdjaja: Restaurant Life Is Not For Everyone
“The restaurant is a life unto its own; it is a living breathing object and needs love and care and gives it back.”
Crevette’s Patricia Howard and Ed Szymanski: Restaurants Are a Long Game
“One of the things that drew us away from the career paths of our friends was the unpredictable and exhilarating aspect of the hospitality industry. We aren’t great at sitting still.”
Ci Siamo’s Hillary Sterling: Focusing on the Next Generation
For Sterling, training and teaching the next generation of restaurant workers isn’t just good business, but a constant source of inspiration, and a reason for staying in the industry.