the pod ny (interview)

There’s a new restaurant in Williamsburg, and to hear the owners talk about it, it has been designed from the bottom-up with the neighborhood in mind.

I went and talked with them in early January, their Irish brogue gallivanting around the still-under-construction interior of the restaurant. You’ve seen it, probably walked past it a few times and not even considered that a new establishment was going on behind the blue tarp. Right next to Planet Thailand on N. 7th St., Pod has secured itself a great location. Now all it has to do is get in touch with the local population. I have an inkling it won’t find that hard to do.

"Williamsburg is an up and coming area,” Alan Quinlan said, “and we wanted to provide a place with high-end product at a mid-range price.” They picked the neighborhood because they were comfortable here, especially with the local attitude they described as “laid-back and not pretentious.”

Karl Wall explained, “We wanted to build a place that had good food, good fun, a place people can identify with. We are here to facilitate the place becoming what the customers want.”

The design: three separate areas, all joined together. The “pods.”

When you first enter through the glass front (which slides open when the weather becomes delicious) you are in a warehouse-proportion space that will be the “bar/lounge/hang-out.” It is also where they have place two giant screens on opposing walls and a projector coming out of the center of the ceiling to project movies. This is where they’ll show local artist’s films and interactive projects. “Come find me,” Alan said, “and we’ll work out a time for you to bring your friends in and show off your work.”

At the end of the bar area are two separate stairs leading to a raised dining area housed in a curving, green roof. Underneath the stairs is a completely dugout bar, covered from head to foot in pool tile.

The concept for Pod is very visually-based, an idea they hope will be welcomed in Williamsburgby a crowd they feel is very art-conscious. Karl, Alan and Rick Duffy (who wasn’t there that night) wanted a serious design for the restaurant, but one that wasn’t put-offish or ostentatious.

The showing of local films is an idea to give local artists another avenue to display their work. They also want to give space to more traditional artists. “We have so much space here,” explained Alan, “we had to take the opportunity to use it for different things. And besides, I rather enjoy art myself.”

Their main concern, however, is to make this a place where the customer has the say. Even the food is a mix of influences, a cuisine they describe as “American Continental with a Malaysian and Latino mix.” Their menu is varied and the two of the specialties they are especially excited about are the raw oyster bar and the large assortment of steaks; quite a break from the other restaurant they run down the street, Bliss.

Being in an area with a rash of good restaurants opening lately is not lost on them either: “We know we can’t open a shoddy place. We wanted to give this our best shot. And we could have charged high prices on everything, but then we would have hit only one part of the crowd. We want this to be a place for everyone,” Alan said.

The owners say the biggest part of the restaurant is the “Irish hospitality.” And that is?

“The customer is everything. And we are more than willing to go out of our way to see they are happy. Whether the person is coming in to spend $10 or $150, they are still here to enjoy themselves. You have to give them that.” Sounds good to me.