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Schmuck opens in NYC
Bartenders Moe Aljaff and Juliette Larrouy have cut the ribbon on Schmuck, the pair’s first permanent project following their departure from Barcelona’s Two Schmucks.
Officially named ‘schmuck.’, the bar is now open on 97 First Avenue, at the corner of 6th Street in New York’s East Village.
Alijaff opened Two Schmucks in 2017, with Larrouy joining the team as his business partner in 2020. The popular Barcelona bar won a host of industry accolades during the pair’s time there, but Alijaff and Larrouy left due to ‘a difference in future goals with a new investor’.
After leaving Europe, the pair took on US bar residencies in Miami and New York, before settling on their permanent location in East Village.
On realising his next chapter at Schmuck, Alijaff said: “The beauty of the Schmuck brand is that it’s ever evolving and truly cannot be contained to one thought, idea, drink, or mood, but the constant is mine and Juliette’s lives and where we are at a certain point of time.
“This has been a labour of love to the fullest. We’ve been so welcomed by our New York hospitality family, who have been a great help to us, as well as the locals whose excitement for this project has given us those small energy boosts needed to keep pushing on. We look forward to opening our doors and serving the East Village in our signature Schmuck style.
“At the end of the day, we’re just a bunch of schmucks from all over, joining forces to provide memorable moments for our guests.”
The bar’s concept draws from Alijaff and Larrouy’s life experiences, both personal and professional, and is said to invite a ‘homey’ feel, comparable to going to a friend’s house or party.
The space was co-designed by Aljaff and Larrouy in collaboration with Arash Ghassemi and Pauline Deckert. The look references styles from the Mid-Century Modern, Space Age and Brutalist movements, while featuring various vintage pieces the team have sourced from around Europe.
Taking over 1,600-square-foot, the space is split into two rooms – a larger main all-seated ‘living room’ area, led by a stainless-steel-topped bar, and a smaller room, which features original artwork and photography, as well as a long maplewood table.
The concept behind the smaller room, which has its own entrance, is for multiple visits a week where guests can ‘dip in and out of multiple conversations’ around the kitchen table.
Ingredient-driven cocktails
The drinks programme is made up of 22 drinks; 12 available in the living room and 10 in the smaller room.
The list is demonstrative of Aljaff and Larrouy’s culinary backgrounds, but while technical, cocktails are also presented in a way that is said to be ‘approachable, fast, and easy-going’.
The living room cocktails are original creations and reinterpretations of favourite ingredients or dishes. For example, the Fika offers the familiar flavours of the Swedish custom of enjoying a fresh cinnamon bun paired with coffee (using Bacardi 8 and Mr Black coffee liqueur), while the Blanka cocktail is composed of Four Walls whiskey, fennel, mustard vinaigrette, and pecan, and is inspired by a French winter salad of the same name.
The thinking behind Bread with Tomatoes, meanwhile, is intended to ‘evoke the feeling of dipping bread into tomato water remaining after a crisp tomato salad’.
While those cocktails may be more complex in design, in contrast, the drinks found in the smaller room are described as ‘straightforward’ and focus on ‘one or two big, strong flavours’, such as caramelised apple, strawberry, and cheese.
Food will play an important role in the bar’s offering. The menu has been developed by Ghassemi and is based around Persian-meets-western European flavours and techniques.
Schmuck is now open from Tuesday to Sunday from 6pm-2am.
In the The Spirts Business’s Global Bar Report 2024 for North America, Schmuck was highlighted as a bar to watch this year.
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