As the 2010s drew to a close it seemed like the New York power lunch would finally end as well. Obituaries were written for the institution where the corporate world’s movers and shakers took a midday break to convene. But spending that kind of time at lunch felt like a luxury people couldn’t afford as they were too busy to peel themselves away from the office.
Martinis at Michael’s were replaced by Sweetgreen at one’s desk. However, New Yorkers are back to telegraphing their influence by securing the hottest tables in town and spending their sweet time actually sitting at them, enjoying the food. The power lunch has returned to the Big Apple.
“It’s very active for lunch—for us and for the newcomers, and for everybody else,” Eric Ripert , whose Le Bernardin may be the power-lunch spot in New York, tells Robb Report . “It’s a lot of business going on in New York. Wall Street is doing well.
When Wall Street does well, everybody does well.” While the pandemic dealt a blow to business meetings and the restaurant industry, both have rebounded mightily, with N.Y.
C’s fine-dining powerhouses seeing the return of the city’s who’s who during the hours of 11 a.m. to 2 p.
m. This revival coincides with a return to work after Covid-era lockdowns; in April 2024, New York saw office visits bounce back to 83.1 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to location data company Placer.
ai . Networking and deal making are back, and Manhattan’s restaurants are once ag.
