Mark your calendar for December 7 and bust out your stray valuables: Eater reports Beauty & Essex, chef Chris Santos's newest incarnation, will have its opening party that evening. The catch: in something of a quirky hybrid, the front of the joint will feature a functioning pawn shop.
This LES hot-spot redux will follow in the footsteps Santos's Stanton Social, a hot spot for VIP-caliber diners along with the less polished neighborhood nogoodniks. AvroKO designed this new resto, which Peter Kane (of Happy Ending, Lavo, and Tao fame) co-owns with Santos.
The restaurant will cater to a more sophisticated palette with dishes like tomato soup dumplings, banh mi spring rolls, and General Tso's black cod.
The owners are taking the odd gamble at collecting curios such as returned engagement rings to resell in the pawn part of the establishment.
Other key features to inevitable restaurant success: the ladies room will feature a bar with free champagne (as you powder your nose) and an entirely pearl chandelier will completely envelop the ceiling.
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