Having opened in 1986, it is one of the enduring icons of New York's bistros--now being mimicked by newcomers like Chez Nous, Le Veau d'Or and Chez Fifi. It has a crowd as faithful and returning as any restaurant's in New York, and the clientele dresses well (more on that later) and seems to have, in Scott Fitzgerald's words, "voices full of money." The faithful call it "Bilbo," as they once called '21' Club "the Numbers" and Le Cirque "the Circus."
Kyle and Katina Connaughton, co-owners of SingleThread, a three- Michelin-starred restaurant and inn in Healdsburg, are expanding their hospitality enterprise. The couple is underway with a complete renovation of the former River Belle Inn, a 10-guestroom property that will become a bed-and-breakfast, according to a recent announcement. The Selvedge, A SingleThread Inn, is set to open late next year. The Selvedge is the latest hospitality concept for SingleThread and Vertice Hospitality Management, led by co-owner and CEO Tony Greenberg, and the Connaughtons.
Having expanded the family's gastro-pub empire as far afield as the Middle East, businessman McGettigan returns to his first love - hoping to transform his country club hotel into something special