Elsa East Village

A bespoke late-night craft-cocktail parlor that haunted the old Plant Bar room in the far East Village. The ghost of Elsa Schiaparelli still lives there.

For this build (my first!) I teamed up with owners Natalka Burian and Jay Schneider and the HOME brothers to transform the dive Hanger Bar into an elegant, successful craft-cocktail destination. I provided art direction to capture the creative spirit of surrealist Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli and directed staffing and the notable beverage program. These were wild times but the whole thing worked!

When the lease ran dry, the owners relocated to the current (wildly successful) ELSA in Boerum Hill and later brought the vibe up to Greenpoint with RAMONA.