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BUSINESS NEWS OSTERIA LUMACA, THE NEWEST RESTAURANT BY CHEF AND RESTAURATEUR JOHN DELUCIE, OPENS IN THE HGU NEW YORK HOTEL Osteria Lumaca, Chef and Restaurateur John DeLucie’s newest venture, has officially opened its doors. Located in HGU New York Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood, Lumaca is a seafood-driven, coastal Italian restaurant. Deriving its name from the Italian word for “snail,” Lumaca embraces the Italian way of enjoying a meal by taking it slow and savoring the experience. The highly anticipated Lumaca is one of three installments in DeLucie’s full culinary vision for the hotel, which also includes the HGU Rooftop Bar and The Lumaca Lounge. “I’m thrilled to be working with my friends at HGU New York in opening Lumaca,” says DeLucie, formerly of The Lion and Waverly Inn, and most recently, Bedford & Co, Empire Diner, and Anslie in Brooklyn, New York. “Lumaca is an ode to my southern Italian heritage and I’m stoked to bring a taste of true Southern Italy to such a beautiful setting.” “The opening of Osteria Lumaca underscores HGU New York’s commitment to providing unrivaled hospitality and culinary experiences to our guests,” said Michael Namer, CEO and founder of Alfa Development, HGU New York’s owner. “Chef DeLucie’s sophisticated and personal approach to coastal Italian food perfectly complements HGU New York’s celebration of New York culture, history, and heritage in a creative and contemporary setting.”
Lumaca’s menu celebrates DeLucie’s Southern Italian roots, offering dishes specific to the region of Puglia. Lumaca is one of DeLucie’s most intimate restaurant ventures yet, seating just 60 guests. Designed by architect Peter Guzy of Asfour Guzy Architects , plush banquettes provide a cozy vantage point for guests to enjoy the stunning original 1905 beaux arts plasterwork on the ceiling, marble-clad bar with custom glass and steel shelving. Gallery 151 has curated a custom art collection that adds to the restaurant’s special ambiance. Lumaca boasts exclusive framed photography from storied American photographer, Anton Perich. The Lumaca Lounge also features photographic works by Sebastian Piras, Ralph Gibson, Lee Jaffe, Anna Friemoth’s “Words for Women” series, Robert Weingarten, Marcia Reznick and a selection of four paintings from the “Girlfriends of the Rolling Stones” series by Liz Markus. Driving the bar program at Lumaca is Beverage Director, Anthony Henriquez. Lumaca features a heavily influenced Italian wine list, and creative cocktails using fresh, seasonal ingredients. The Lumaca Lounge is the new two-part cocktail bar and lounge located within HGU New York Hotel, with the bar section seating 20 guests and the lounge seating 30 guests. Operated in tandem with Lumaca the restaurant, The Lumaca Lounge will offer light bites pulled from Lumaca’s main dining room menu, like Arancini with mascarpone, parmigiano reggiano and aioli, and Fried
Mussels with Calabrian chili and caper aioli, as well as unique cocktails and Italian wines. The Lumaca Lounge is the ideal destination for hotel guests and city dwellers to enjoy cocktails, bites, and sit back and enjoy the nightly featured spinning DJ. Lumaca is located within the HGU New York Hotel, at 34 E 32nd Street, New York NY 10016. Asfour Guzy Architects is a New York design office founded in 1988 by partners Edward Asfour and Peter Guzy. For the past two decades Asfour Guzy has completed projects of diverse scales and programs throughout the United States and Europe. Asfour Guzy provides comprehensive architectural and interior design services for a distinct clientele including residential, restaurant, commercial and institutional projects. Through disciplined design and exceptional client service, Asfour Guzy Architects affirms their commitment to the success of each project. In addition to Osteria Lumaca, Asfour Guzy Architects’ outstanding restaurant projects include a. kitchen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Avondale Restaurant in Avon, Colorado, Blue Hill in New York, New York, Spitzer’s Corner in New York, New York, Sullivan Street Bakery in New York, New York, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York, which was a 2005 James Beard Award Nominee for Outstanding Restaurant Design.
lessons, but also set me up for success in whatever I aim to do. It may have been learning that arriving five minutes early is 10 minutes late from my little league coach (thanks dad), or the fact that you should be running every single on-field scenario in your head between each pitch. As a pitcher, you generally have a lot to think about one moment and then close yourself off for complete tunnel vision the next. If you have seen Kevin Costner in For Love of the Game you’ll know exactly the type of tunnel vision I’m talking about. Those experiences also helped me look at any challenge and think, “I can handle that, it’s only some hard work.” “Ninety percent of principals are white, 83 percent are male, and only 58 percent of male principals feel there is a problem with a lack of diversity amongst principals in the industry. Seventy percent of our executive search hires in the last two years have been women, and I am proud of that.”
FINDING NEEDLES IN THE HAYSTACK, from page 7
TZL: Trust is crucial. How do you earn the trust of your clients? CC: Setting clear expectations on a weekly basis with every client is crucial when establishing trust – whether it was a very productive week or if you didn’t talk to any candidates at all. Keeping your client up to date on how you are going to help them accomplish their goal is all it takes in most cases. We also visit with each client face-to-face at the beginning of our engagements. This is a crucial part to gaining the trust of qualified candidates as they can see the investment the client is willing to make to ensure success. Finding and bringing on rock stars at their firms really helps, too! TZL: You were a standout athlete and pitcher for the University of Arkansas baseball team, a perennial SEC powerhouse. How did your experience playing top-tier ball, and the work it took to reach that level, shape your life and your work? CC: My experiences in sports provided me with some hard
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THE ZWEIG LETTER January 6, 2020, ISSUE 1326
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