When was The Wright opened?
The Wright (www.thewrightrestaurant.com) opened on Dec. 11, 2009, in New York City in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building.
Why was The Wright developed?
The Wright, with its striking design and upscale menus, is part of a three-tiered effort by museum officials and personnel from NYC-based contractor Restaurant Associates to diversify food offerings for visitors and area residents. Café 3, the first new food facility to open in the museum in March of 2009, is a snack bar offering sandwiches, pastries and coffee drinks. The third concept, after The Wright, a food kiosk to be located outside the museum adjacent to the gift shop, has yet to pass muster with the strict NYC Landmarks Commission.
Who was responsible for developing the concept?
The concept for The Wright originated with the Guggenheim director and Dick Cattani, CEO of Restaurant Associates. An architect was hired in 2008, and a development team was formed that included the Guggenheim’s director of Visitor Services, representatives from the Curatorial and Administrative departments, as well as RA’s facility manager. The restaurant opened about 15 months after the architect was brought on board.
Who designed the restaurant?
Andre Kikoski was the architect who developed the design of The Wright for his company, AKA. Kikoski and his team first researched the studies of geometry that Wright had used in designing his iconic building, and then incorporated the curved, sculpted and torqued forms into the restaurant design. Features of the room include a curvilinear walnut wall layered with illuminated fiber-optics, a blue banquet curving around the perimeter of the room, a bar clad in custom metalwork and topped in white Corian and a layered white ceiling canopy. Kikoski designed the tables, chairs and barstools including the curvilinear communal table that anchors the center of the room.
Appropriately, The Wright also features a site- specific wall sculpture of vividly colored aluminum by the artist Liam Gillick, titled “The Horizon,” which traces the architecture in the small circular room. Gillick and Kikoski worked closely to make sure that the art and architecture were in harmony, in the same way that a symbiosis is created between the art and architecture in the Museum.
Kikoski and team members won the 2010 James Beard Foundation award for Outstanding Restaurant Design for their work on The Wright.
What did The Wright replace?
The space had been a casual, grab-and-go type cafeteria installed by RA in the late 1990s, with carpeting over terrazzo tiles and a stainless steel café counter made by a company that manufactures Sikorsky helicopters.
Interestingly, Frank Lloyd Wright had originally designed the building to incorporate a small restaurant in this area. However, the space was used for offices for many years before it became a foodservice facility in the ‘80s.
Who manages the facility daily?
RA’s Aaron Breitman has been Director of Foodservice at the Guggenheim for over three years, including the addition of Café 3 and the renovation that became The Wright.
How many RA staff work at the museum?
Fifty full-time staff members cover operations at The Wright, Café 3 and catered functions at the Guggenheim.
How many seats in The Wright?
There are 34 seats along the curved banquettes in the restaurant. The bar in the restaurant is a focal point and provides seats for eight, along with another 18 spaces provided by the curved communal table.
What is the mission of the facility?
“Inspired by and created within an institution renowned for its art, architecture and innovation, The Wright exists to extend that experience to its food and service,” noted Breitman. “The Wright appeals to neighbors seeking stylish and sophisticated dining, as well as to museum visitors who want to experience being served fantastic meals while experiencing one of New York City’s greatest cultural treasures.”
What type of meals are served?
Lunch, dinner and brunch menus were created by David Bouley protégé, Executive Chef Rodolfo Contreras, emphasizing modern American recipes that incorporate seasonal ingredients, locally sourced whenever possible, and only sustainable seafood. Menus change month to month, and sometimes day-to-day to feature locally sourced and sustainable ingredients.
Which equipment is vital to the operation?
While BOH facilities, with small production areas on two levels cannot be re-arranged, a new range and grill station have been added to the hot line to accommodate menu preparations. Two new walk-ins were installed on the ground floor, separating meat and dairy from produce in accordance with RA’s HACCP requirements. Contreras requested all new cookware to prepare his menus, as well as the addition of a large plating table in between hot and cold prep areas to facilitate service.
How does food flow from delivery to service and which pieces of equipment are involved?
Deliveries come directly into walk-in storage from a narrow alley off a side street. A small garde manger area for salad and cold appetizer prep contains two stainless work stations, one with refrigerated drop-in wells, one with low-boy refrigeration underneath, a small sink, food processor, mixer and storage for tableware. Adjacent is the hot line with four-top range, grill, convection oven and storage for hanging pots above a stainless pass through, and large plating table with storage beneath. The dish room is accessible from either hot or cold prep area. Upstairs, in a long narrow space where sandwiches and pastries for both museum food facilities are prepared, work counters lead to a mixer, proofer, reach-in refrigerator, rolling racks and an oven.
Lessons learned? Challenges?
The Guggenheim is a landmark building, so the major challenge was in expanding foodservice operations using only the small inherited spaces that existed, and maintaining the integrity of the original architecture while designing something entirely new inside of it. Menu preparations occasionally must be tweaked; for example, lunchtime dessert preparations had to be simplified to accommodate busier-than-anticipated midday traffic.
