It felt like trespassing.
On a recent evening, a panel in a wall of green scaffolding outside an under-construction Williamsburg condo swung open. Flickering candles set an intimate mood as a friend and I were ushered past cinderblocks and roped coils of wire, up a newly installed elevator, and down a sheeting-laden hallway to a chic two-bedroom.
Along with a handful of other guests — equally baffled and delighted by the labyrinthine means of entrance — we were greeted at the door with flutes of sparkling wine by Brian Mommsen. The founder of 9-month-old supper club Resident, Mommsen taps chefs to craft multicourse meals served in unusual or underutilized spaces.
In a city where home kitchens can be tiny, restaurant rents are high and Instagram tastemakers constantly search for rarefied places to post, Mommsen is attempting to satiate many needs.
He began in 2017 hosting dinners helmed by wunderkind Jonah Reider — known for cooking out of his Columbia dorm — at his own Brooklyn Navy Yard townhouse. A former financier, Mommsen realized guests liked the novelty and exclusivity of a professional meal in a small setting. He started Resident in August 2018 out of his home.
Meawhile, work was underway at 138 North 10th St., a nine-unit condo designed by local architect Morris Adjmi where pricing starts at $1.85 million. The team at Halstead Property Development Marketing saw hosting Resident dinners — which cost $150/person — in the building’s one completed unit as a way to create buzz for the project and lure buyers.
Guests — from twentysomething startup employees to grandparents (albeit savvy ones) — all felt like a part of some secret club. Before enjoying a seven-course dinner with wine pairings, courtesy of chef Matt Cruz (of Michelin-starred In Situ in San Francisco), we wandered the apartment, admiring works from Brooklyn-based artists curated by street artist agency ST.ART. Poking into the closet, touching the bed linens, checking out the hand soap — it all stoked the same curious excitement New Yorkers experience going to a friend’s or coworker’s place. You could call it voyeuristic, but really, don’t we all just want a little escape? (And that’s exactly what the marketers are banking on. They’re selling apartments, yes . . . but a lifestyle, too.)
It’s about time we figured out innovative ways to use empty apartments. Localize.city found that 31,000 new pads are expected to come online by 2020. “Free access to space is absolutely critical for our ability to create something that’s sustainable,” Mommsen says. “There are ways of paying developers that create value for them, that is not purely a cash transaction.”
Doted on by Cruz plus three diligent staffers, we feasted on carefully presented dishes — Caviar! White asparagus! Foie gras! — and toasted the evening. Resident hosts three to five dinners per week at the Navy Yard, Williamsburg and a new Fort Greene rental. Will it help 138 North 10th St. sell more condos — or faster, or for higher prices — when it launches sales? Maybe. But it sure was fun.
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