A socialist mayor is creating the most anti-business climate the Big Apple has ever seen — but that hasn’t stopped numerous Big Apple restaurateurs from doubling down and investing in the city they love so much.
Stathis Antonakopoulos is opening seven restaurants here this year — the first, fine dining eatery Delos, opened in Midtown in January.
“Mayors come and go, but the city remains,” he told Side Dish.
He strongly opposes Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s push for the state to boost the minimum wage to a jaw-dropping $30 per hour in the Big Apple.
“You can’t change the state’s minimum wage. New York is still a city, not a state,” he said.
Like many in the business community, Antonakopoulos is also against Mamdani’s far-left calls to tax the rich, saying of the idea: “It helped him get elected but the reality is that he can’t implement it in this city because you can’t pick and choose to only tax the rich.”
Undeterred, Antonakopoulos opened Delos on West 47th Street earlier this year. He has plans to open another outpost this fall in Tribeca.
He is also opening Carnegie Diner & Cafes from Tribeca and FiDi to Brooklyn’s City Point and Paramus, NJ, through next year.
That’s on top of the five Carnegie Diner & Cafe locations he already runs in the city, plus branches in New Jersey and Virginia.
“Nobody puts New York City in the corner. Nobody puts baby in the corner. We learned to dance dirty many years ago,” Antonakopoulos said, quoting a famous line from the movie “Dirty Dancing.”
He’s also opening his first rooftop bar, Voco Roofbar, at the Voco Hotel in Times Square.
“I think that the mayor will have an awakening when he sees how the city really works after his first year,” Antonakopoulos said.
He should know – he moved to the city from Athens in 1999, when he was 21.
“This is the city that never sleeps or dies. I will never turn my back on New York,” he said. “It gave me everything I have.
“I’m not sidelined by politics — local or federal. If you give people good food and good service, they will come.”
Antonakopoulos is not alone.
Renwick Hospitality — the force behind Lindens, Foxtail, ART Soho and much more — is opening Golden Child, a rooftop bar at Hotel Park in Midtown.
“I like to think that all of the mayors of New York are hoping for the best for businesses,” said Gary Wallach, Renwick’s managing partner.
“Whether you agree with [Mamdani’s] politics or not, you want to be hopeful that the politicians you elect will improve their cities for the people who live there and the businesses that offer spaces for people to enjoy.”
Golden Child’s modern American menu is from executive chef Carsten Johannsen. It offers a playful take on childhood favorites, like a gourmet PB&J with pear, brie and ham, and “The Only” Golden Osetra Caviar served with potato chips, crème fraîche, chives and caramelized onion.
There will also be elevated pizzas, along with burgers and chicken “tendies” with a caesar salad dip, plus a fun cocktail program.
Meanwhile, restaurateurs Kiril and Metodija Mihajlov – who own the popular Consulate with branches on the Upper West Side and Midtown – are gearing up to open their third outpost at 560 Third Ave. in Murray Hill in the former Rio Grande space next month. They are also opening an elevated sports bar, At the Office, at the same address at the same time. That’s after the couple opened The C Cafe in the West Village in September.
Kiril Mihaljlov said he signed the lease for the Murray Hill space last year, before the mayoral election.
“I just watch my business,” he said, adding that the problems he’s facing — “like the price of eggs going up 100% this week” — aren’t connected to the mayor.
“I invested millions, so I can’t stop. I have to open the businesses and try to make money. I can’t close,” said Mihaljlov, who continues to create neighborhood restaurants that New Yorkers love.
