Based on the roster of night owls at the Tribeca Grand on a recent Sunday, this 2 p.m. brunch might as well be going down at 2 a.m.
Noted fashion photographer Pete Miszuk sits next to Jason Baron, owner of Lower East Side rock club Dark Room. Across the room, MisShapes deejays Leigh Lezark and Geordon Nicol nosh with friends. Serge Becker, co-owner of The Box, Joe’s Pub and Café Select, is also a regular, and Standard Hotel event manager Scott Meriam comes to partake in the $39 all-you-can-eat spread, which includes waffles the size of a catcher’s mitt.
Every Sunday, the hotel’s Church Lounge attracts an A-list crowd of owners, doormen, deejays and promoters — all of whom embrace the chill, non-fabulous vibe, at least for an afternoon. Imagine the Algonquin Round Table for the tragically hip and often hungover.
Another regular is Wass Stevens, the city’s most recognizable doorman, who spends Saturday nights deciding who gets into Chelsea’s exclusive Avenue. Like almost everybody here, he hates the recent spate of brunch spots — such as Bagatelle and Juliet — that try to emulate clubs by mixing pancakes with a party.
“I’m not a big fan of those party brunches — and that’s kind of an understatement,” says Stevens, who’s also played tough-guy roles in films like “The Wrestler” and “Brooklyn’s Finest.”
“I spend a good part of my life in that environment, so the last thing I want to do on my off time is hear loud house music and be around people dancing on tables.”
To soothe the club kings, DJ Omri S. Quire spins non-throbbing, hangover-friendly vinyl LPs from the ’20s through ’50s — “Roaring big bands, vintage pop and jazz,” he says, noting also that after-hours parties have dwindled in popularity. “I think things have changed where industry people would rather go home after work and wake up for brunch.”
Although S. Quire is the only deejay collecting a check, you can’t throw a record in this room without hitting another turntable star.
“You don’t have the riffraff here you’d have at any other place in the city,” says Mike Nouveau, who ascended to the top echelon of deejays by spinning Marc Jacobs’ party at Boom Boom Room during Fashion Week. “You’re not dealing with 18-year-olds that just moved into dorms or ‘Sex and the City’ wannabes.”
Hopping between at least three sofa-flanked tables, Nouveau says, “We don’t even need to call each other. We meet here and discuss all that happened this weekend and what’s coming up next week.”
Franco V, a former bartender and deejay at the Beatrice Inn, says he’s even found work here, hobnobbing with the who’s who of clubland. He’s frequently in the company of pal Angelo Biancha, the former Beatrice Inn doorman who has recently played gatekeeper at two of the city’s hottest hangouts, Kenmare and the Jane Ballroom.
Tommy Saleh, events manager of both the Tribeca Grand and Soho Grand, says this scene is about informal networking for an unconventional industry.
“They could be talking about what they’re doing next or inviting each other to things — they’re full-on working,” Saleh says. “You also have people like Steven Rojas, Matt Kayes and Andrew Mukamal” — high-profile fashion publicists for Archetype, Showroom Seven and Peoples Revolution, respectively. “They’re supposed to be in competition, but they come here to have brunch together and they put their swords down. It’s pretty crazy.”
But not all come here for business, according to MisShapes deejay Nicol, who arrived on roller skates to join fellow mix-master Lezark for a bite. “What kind of idiot comes here to network?” Nicol says. “I haven’t even heard that term in years.”
“No!” confirms Lezark, whose expression of disgust suggests she just found a fingertip in her yogurt.
Surrounded by a stack of Sunday papers, shutterbug Miszuk, who had hosted a party at the nearby Soho Grand that ended about eight hours ago, concurs. He’s just here to relax.
“I sort of think brunch is overrated when you go and wait on line — [like] it has some sort of caché,” Miszuk says, taking in the plush sofas and free Wi-Fi. “This is nice.”