Bringing the Fun Through the Tunnel

The Bridge and Tunnel sect sure do love the Manhattan nightlife. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, they invade the island looking for a good time. On the one hand, it's good for our local economy. On the other hand, well . . . You know the drill. Some folks are trying to upset that balance. It seems that Mark, Eugene and the whole EM Group are looking to invade New Jersey! Hoboken to be exact. The Houston's loving crew will be creating a new nightlife venue at the soon to be completed W Hoboken. We don't know many details as of yet, but you can imagine they would include some great outdoor space and of course, those killer Manhattan views that the Bo is famous for. Just another demonstration of why it's so important to know your customer base and cater to their need. If your NYC venues are at capacity every weekend, why not open a second venue closer to home. Look for this one to open this winter a bit after the rest of the hotel.

Can Ian Buy a W?

Yesterday, a little story made the rounds that Ian Schrager had purchased a building on Canal Street with plans to construct a W Hotel. Now, that's just umpossible, with the reason being Schrager has recently entered into a very long term deal with Marriott to jointly develop properties. Guess who owns W? Not Marriott! Scratch that idea. However, we do believe that this hotel could be a Schrager and Co. target. Why? Well, his old partner Morgans Hotel Group is bringing Ian's baby the Mondrian just to the West. Wouldn't it make Ian happy to grab a slice of the Chinatown pie and stick it to his old foes? DBTH says yes. But Morgan's definitely wins the locational battle, unless Ian's potential customers book rooms based on a need to catch the Chinatown bus. We're sticking with this one.

Starr Heads South

Stephen Starr, the restaurateur that private equity longs for, is on the move. Well, at least his restaurants are. Pelican, a little Florida birdy, sings, "Starr is coming to the W Hotel and Residences in Ft. Lauderdale to open one new restaurant. It's either Buddakan or Continental. Hotel opens in early 2008, Starr will open soon after." Interesting. Very interesting. We thought Starr was concentrating on getting Continental opened in New York. Maybe that's off. Not too big a deal, because the place really is an expense account special. You won't miss it.