Hours after Bethenny Frankel officially opened her Supermodel Café in the Hamptons, the establishment was served a stop-work warning.
“Today’s Supermodel Café launch drew an extraordinary turnout, and we are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support from the community,” a rep for Frankel, 55, told Us in a statement on Thursday, August 13. “The café received a yellow notice labeled ‘Warning Stop Work Order’ following concerns surrounding the unusually high volume of launch-day attendees.”
The spokesperson continued, “The team is working cooperatively with local officials and taking the appropriate steps to address those concerns. The notice does not require the café to close, and there is no anticipated disruption to business. The café will operate during its regular daily hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.”
Us has learned that more than 700 people turned out to the Supermodel opening on Wednesday, August 12, and the chicken salad was the first menu item to sell out.
Newsday reported that the order was posted on the pop-up shop’s window, claiming that Frankel’s team failed to comply with New York State and Southampton’s respective building code and town ordinances.
“We’re also going to be issuing some violations and/or summonses from the Fire Marshal’s office as well for sidewalk obstructions and unpermitted signage too,” Southampton Town Public Safety and Emergency Management Administrator Ryan Murphy told the newspaper, adding the notices were “already given” out before Supermodel’s opening. “They failed to take corrective action.”
Frankel, who has not publicly addressed the stop-work order, recently told Us that she was entirely focused on launching Supermodel Café.
“I’ve never worked harder, and I literally have never considered myself a CEO until this summer,” the Skinnygirl founder exclusively told Us on Wednesday, August 12. “I finally, for the first time, I’m like, ‘OK, I’m a CEO. I’m working every day.’ Really working, not just hard. My brain is fried at the end of the day. I don’t do anything half-assed, so it then became, like, now it was nutritional information and decor and merch and marketing and the Jitney came to us.”
In addition to collaborating with the famed Hamptons bus line, Frankel revealed that other “multibillion-dollar companies” offered to distribute her goods. The former Bravo star’s vision for Supermodel extends far beyond the shop doors.
“That is going to change the entire industry,” she told Us of her endeavor. “The way that it’s going to be in the marriage of content, venture capital, brand incubation, brand-building and production. This is probably going to be a café in New York with a studio next to it, and in that studio, brands will be built and paired with creators.”
The Hamptons pop-up remains open with Frankel sharing footage from the eatery to her Instagram Stories on Friday, August 14.
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