Fedora's Black Leather

When we learned that a popular restaurateur would be taking over the Fedora, we heard about his intentions to "keep most of the cherished design details" in place, along with the accessible atmosphere. Of course, we've been watching closely and eagerly to see what transpires.


The Feast

The Feast recently aired an interview with the new owner, complete with a tour of Fedora's gutted interior. In it, he explains some of his plans. The floor is going from red tar to marble stone. The original bar from the restaurant's speakeasy day is being refurbished and replicas of its details are being created to extend the bar to twice its length--and from 6 bar stools to 16.

All those bar stools will have black leather seats. A "black diamond-tufted leather banquette" will wrap around and extend down the length of the opposite wall. And the chairs will also be black leather. All in all, there will be quite a bit of black leather.

The only black leather I recall from the old place was in photos on the wall of a leather guy named Fernando.


photo by Carol Gardens

Of course, as we've been reminded again and again, the new Fedora is not the old Fedora and we should not expect it to be. The new place will serve French cuisine and will be much more upscale. Still, I find myself often wondering if Fernando and his furry self will make the cut as the new owners decide which of Fedora's photographic artifacts to carry over.

Sweaty leathers and pubic bush go nicely with diamond-tufted banquettes and foie gras, no?


Further reading:
Fedora's Goodbye
A Night at Fedora
A Regular Remembers
Faux-dora
Fedora's Last Days
Fedora Returns