The Butcher’s Daughter was born from a rebellion: the daughter of the town butcher grows up to be a vegetarian. She opens a “vegetable slaughterhouse” that becomes a staple for plant-based eaters throughout New York, and before long, begins franchising across the city and Los Angeles. Now, the restaurant’s founder, Heather Tierney (a real-life daughter, but not of a butcher), is expanding her original Nolita outpost into a full-service destination for the meat-averse.
The revamped location, which hosted its opening party yesterday, now houses a cafe twice its original size, cocktail bar, Wood Stone pizza oven, and plant-based bodega. Last night, guests—including art world leader Sarah Arison, CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson, advisor Nazy Nazhand, creative director Gia Seo, Body founder Jilly Hendrix, and model Adelina Novak—filtered in and out of the bright space, which let music from DJ Jenny Albright flow onto the street through its open accordion doors.
“This opening feels very momentous and full circle, especially on the heels of our 11th anniversary,” Tierney said in a statement. “My hope with this expansion is to create a living room for the neighborhood where it feels like a welcoming all-day hang where people can come get their morning coffee, do work, and have meetings, which may lead into a happy hour cocktail and meeting friends for dinner.”
The founder, also at the helm of design studio Wanderlust, led the expansion of the space. She tapped women creatives from around the globe to contribute to the project. Los Angeles-based welder Kiki Powell crafted brass bars and countertops. London’s Rhonda Drakeford designed custom Bauhaus-inspired fabric for the restaurant’s banquette seating. Brooklyn-based Samia Behaya of Simple Goods added oversized rattan pendant lights to be situated above the bar. Ojai-based mixed media artist Danielle Mourning made five works inspired by the story of Lilith, one of the first women to define rebellion, to be hung indoors.
The majority of the menu will be overseen by Executive Chef Rae Kramer—who has curated a selection of Butcher’s Daughters staples and new items, including the oven-fired pizzas and Market Herb Shuk Falafel—as well as Executive Pastry Chef Rae Gaylord, who is lining up a number of vegan and gluten-free options to be enjoyed after dinner.
However, the restaurant has also enlisted four “rebel daughters” from a variety of fields to co-create a dish with Chef Kramer that will be featured on the menu for the remainder of the year. Included are Radhi Devlukia-Shetty, an Ayurveda educator and best-selling cookbook author; Sophia Roe, a James Beard Award-winning chef, writer, and activist; Kristin Sudeikis, a choreographer, dancer, and founder of Forward Space; and Tierney herself.
A preview of the selection made its way around the event yesterday evening as trays of sliders and Flor de Caña spicy daiquiris made their way around to guests, who enjoyed the onset of warm weather in the city. Guests and curious passerby alike made the new Butcher’s Daughter their choice spot of the evening, the first of what is sure to be many more packed nights to come.
