Forget Zero Bond or Soho House: New York’s most exclusive dinner club is staffed entirely by seniors.
Thirsty Gen Z influencers don’t need to apply.
The Restaurant Club is exclusive to residents of Watermark in Brooklyn Heights, a luxury retirement community catering to those over 65, and each month, members leave their lavish digs to explore the Big Apple’s culinary scene.
Tasting dishes from up-and-coming restaurants and some of the city’s most iconic, hard-to-book establishments — and forming friendships in the process — keeps these adventurous seniors young at heart and lonely.
“It’s never too late to try new things,” association member Mary Brown*, 73, told the Post, saying she first tasted Ethiopian cuisine at a recent outing to Clinton Hill.
“It’s new cuisines and new landscapes,” added Esther Goodman, 78, another member. “That’s what we like.”
The group of foodies dined at famous spots such as Brooklyn Crab and Red Hook Lobster Pound, preferring to dissect a famous chef’s latest innovations rather than settle for bland meatloaf and mashed potatoes. potatoes. This month the Mediterranean was on the menu and I, someone under 65, was lucky enough to be invited into their vibrant world.
“We started our Happy Hour at 3:45 p.m.”
Daring diners met in the chandelier-lit lobby of the Watermark, a swanky 16-story building where monthly fees top $20,000 for residents who need “memory care” assistance.
Currently, there are nearly 150 residents, but only eight have signed up for this month’s Restaurant Club.
After settling into a private bus, the Restaurant Club members headed to Mazzat, a cozy restaurant near Cobble Hill, where they arrived shortly before 5:30 p.m.
After all, most seniors like to eat early, but it’s also a deliberate tactic by the Restaurant Club to make sure they get maximum attention from the servers.
“We started our Happy Hour at 3:45 p.m., and here we are,” Kellie Liberto, Watermark’s director of community life, told the Post.
Liberto, who accompanies the groups on their various outings, said the Restaurant Club was created in 2021 to allow residents to re-explore the city after being cooped up amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It also helps build connections between older people to strengthen their resilience in the face of loneliness.
“With every dinner, a new connection is made, and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s really all about,” she said. “But good food doesn’t hurt either!”
“Learn to know you”
As glasses were filled with wine, the group shared stories about their lives, getting to know each other on a deeper level.
Among the Restaurant Club members: former Staten Island physician Dr. Jerry Beeber, 84, and James and Ann Raimes, native Britons who met as graduate students at Cornell in the 1990s 1960.
Beyond food, James Raimes discussed a Norman Podhoretz book with Goodman while Liberto said the community loved “Barbie” when they watched it at one of their twice-a-year movie screenings. day, one of the many activities offered to residents.
Later this month, a group of residents will venture to Montauk where they scored a coveted reservation at the popular seafood restaurant Duryea’s, as well as the iconic Lobster Roll.
All activities help combat the loneliness that so many older people feel. And during dinner, things got personal. The group candidly discussed their marriage, family and careers, in addition to the adjustment required to move into a retirement community.
“Don’t be alone,” Beeber, who lost his wife of 52 years, told me. “It’s not good for you.”
“Right now I’m going through a separation from my old life,” said Brown, who recently moved to Watermark after selling her Brooklyn home. “It’s like getting divorced.”
“I have no regrets”
Shortly after, our plates were cleared and it was time for dessert.
“Have the tiramisu,” Beeber implored before responding that I was trying to watch what I eat.
“It won’t hurt you,” he retorted.
Who was I to argue with a doctor who had been practicing for over 50 years? Loneliness: bad. Tiramisu: good.
I asked the other wise members of the Restaurant Club if they had any additional life advice for me, a 33-year-old still more than three decades shy of Watermark admission age.
“It’s going so fast,” Brown told me as he picked up a spoon for his ice cream. I couldn’t tell if she was talking about her dessert or life itself. But maybe it was both.
“Have no regrets. Have fun.”
*Some names have been changed to honor privacy requests.
New York Post
