Martha Stewart helped put this restaurant on the map — and the domestic doyenne helped close it down in style.
It’s a bittersweet end for EN Brasserie. The iconic Japanese restaurant in NYC is closing after two decades next month, and some of its favorite customers came out to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
A “Sayonara party” also doubled as a birthday celebration for the eatery’s owner, Reika Alexander, on Friday night.
Acclaimed patrons including Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Sofia Coppola, Marina Abramović, Maye Musk and Stewart all attended the farewell bash.
Stewart, one of the restaurant’s earliest supporters, led a series of speeches, recounting the hundreds of times she’d dined there.
“I’ve been coming to this beautiful restaurant right when it opened,” she said.
The foodie legend, who’s the subject of a Netflix doc, attended the bash with her grandchildren, and estimated: “We’ve probably been around 400 times, at least once a week,” she recalled.
Stewart helped bring the restaurant fame when she featured Reika on her show in 2007.
Reika described it as “one of my most memorable moments” in a post announcing the restaurant’s closing last month via Instagram. “Her team invited me on her show to make tofu, and that exposure brought us a wave of new guests,” she wrote.
“Martha has been one of our biggest supporters ever since. I’m forever grateful to her,” she added.
During her speech at the goodbye bash, Stewart expressed, “We’ll be very unhappy when it’s not here anymore. I want to wish you a very happy birthday and every success for the future.”
Reika’s longtime friend, comedian Chappelle, added, “This is not just a restaurant. This is my friend’s dream… What an honor to be here, celebrate this place and do the most basic thing — the greatest thing in life – eat good food.”
Meanwhile, Rock quipped, “We love Reika,” and joked, “when they turn this place into a Gap… we’re never going to shop here!”
The restaurant closes its doors for good at 435 Hudson St. on Dec. 22.
Read the full article here
