Our Story

While trying to figure out my next adventure, I found myself thinking about the restaurants I've loved the most: The Laundry in East Hampton, Fish in Paris, the Bar Room at Gramercy Tavern, Minetta Tavern. I was reading Keith McNally's memoir, I Regret Almost Everything — best book title ever — and watching The Gilded Age on HBO. Around the same time, Seamore's had terminated its lease at 73rd and Third, and I was lucky to be friends with the landlord. So when he suggested we work together again, I leapt at the opportunity. In my view, there is no better restaurant location on the Upper East Side.

Before Seamore's, Tony Fortuna operated the Lenox Room and TBar in this space. The room has great bones and real history. Together, those circumstances and influences helped bring Wainwright's Tavern into focus.

I hope Wainwright's Tavern becomes a true neighborhood watering hole. I grew up just blocks away, part of a family that has lived in New York City since Peter Stuyvesant arrived in 1647. After years spent developing Cosi, Le Pain Quotidien, and then Seamore's, it felt like the right time to return to my roots. For me, the Upper East Side is not a concept; it is simply a neighborhood where people build their lives, go to work, send their kids to school, and gather with friends. That way of thinking informs who we are and what we do.

The menu is familiar, built around dishes people want to eat again and again: a great burger, a delicious roast chicken, and the kind of martini that makes a meal feel complete. I want Wainwright's Tavern to feel like an extension of your home with gracious, old-school hospitality. The vibe is that of a grown-up dinner party: regulars will have house accounts, and the room will feel warm and full of life. I had a hand in almost every detail: from each menu item, picture on the wall and song on our playlist. My daughter Lucy created the fox logo. If anything feels too considered or a little askew, you know who to blame.

I hope Wainwright's Tavern feels as though it's always belonged here.

Best, Jay