7:15am: My daughter wakes up early and I make her some vanilla-orange zest French toast before heading down to the Quality Eats restaurant. My wife complains about the calorie count, but our daughter is a third-generation restaurant person.
8:30am: Stacey and Emma at SoulCycle on the Upper East Side are the only muses for a meat man like me!
10:15am: I arrive on site to pre-opening controlled chaos. All of the furniture is being delivered while construction is in full swing. I grab designer Eric Adolfsen and head to Jack’s Coffee for a half Ceylon/half mint cold brewed iced tea (I call it a Midnight Mint) and we go over the art installation that is happening today. Reunion worked with illustrator Tom Froese to come up with some unique pieces that will be featured in the dining room.
11:25am: It’s a beautiful day, so we held staff tasting outside and made some friends in the neighborhood. Every dog within a few miles came over to introduce themselves.
12:25pm: Our project coordinator is putting the finishing touches on the marquee of the restaurant. The missing M is a nod to our restaurant Quality Meats in midtown. Here in the West Village, we have created the more casual, everyday version of it.
6:30pm: The evening starts and people are arriving. A lot of our staff and my family come by to see what we have been working on. People are really excited about the concept and love the look of it. We have a couple of cocktails to celebrate. There are a couple of really fun cocktails. Tonight, there are a lot of requests for the Adios: Tequila and tarragon over habanero cubes. It gets spicy!
8:15pm: I get a quick bite with my father [Alan Stillman]. I like to hear what he thinks about the restaurant. He is never shy about telling me what works and what he would change.
9:30pm: I gather up the opening team and take them to Sunday Bingo Night at the Standard. I like to get everyone together before the restaurant opens to thank them for all of their efforts to get the restaurant open on the right foot.
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