Of all the gin joints, Mr. Amiri is betting that a stylish downtown crowd—and, he hopes, a few Ingrid Bergman look-alikes—will walk through his door. And with a group of investors led by none other than restaurateur Giuseppe Cipriani and Trudie Styler—wife of Sting—at his back, and five years as Amy Sacco’s main doorman under his belt, it’s no stretch to say that Mr. Amiri has a fighting chance at becoming the Persian Rick Blaine of the far West Village.
http://www.observer.com/2007/round-usual-suspects?page=0%2C0

hmm i was just about to say the idea of giuseppe-cipriani actually signing his name on a check to be an "investor" sounds pretty strange to me.

“It’s just what New York needs—a Cuban-style hip nightclub, Cipriani’s catering..."


so there's no cooking there ? it will all be brought in ?? from where ??

the space looks nice though. 30 foot ceilings ? wow

No silly, there's got to be a kitchen there, it wouldn't be viable any other way. I think she's just saying Cipriani is undertaking the food and food service.

Which maybe explains Cipriani's investment? In food and service, not cash.

look don't get me wrong i am not saying i know anything or anything like that

just from a business perspective, it seems a bit odd giuseppe-cipriani would invest cash in a venture that isn't CIPRIANI. particularly if that venture is "competition." and at this juncture, EVERYTHING could be potentially Cipriani "competition," no ? seeing as you could probably slap that name on nearly anything and it would fly off the shelves on its own.

purely from a speculative semi-educated standpoint i would say it looks pretty nominal to me

It is true, Cipriani will do all the food service, management, the lounge is upstairs, open for lunch and dinner with an outdoor cafe also. If they do all they tell me they say they will, it will be quite successful. It is just far enough from the Meat Packing District and West Street is coming into it's own with all the R. Meir buldings, Perry Street, etc

Already many of the haters are piling on and relishing the chance at seeing it fail. We have a lot of sick people in our business too. We should all be aware of that...

well, we've had this discussion... lots of people in this town aren't so fond of poor armin.
but honestly i don't think that's going to hurt him. and the Observer article had a good point-- if anyone has a "fighting chance" in clubland, it's armin-amiri that's for sure.

i am not criticizing-- i think the Cipriani thing is a brilliant idea. i was just trying to define the word "investment"
because we're industry INSIDERS here you see (wooooo) and that's the kind of shit WE talk about ahahahaaa

I think everything's in place for him to succeed .... he just needs to hire a quality publicist...someone along the lines of an Inna DaSilva or Joan Jedell.

He'll be unstoppable.

Hahahahahahaaa....

From Eater today.........

WEST VILLAGE—Page Six reports that none other than Harvey Weinstein is the newest member of Socialista's investment team, which puts him in the company of producer Ben Silverman and Sting-wife Trudie Styler at the Cuban-themed cafe and club under construction at 505 West Street. But, here's the real nugget, straight from an Eater informant, deep under cover: Socialista frontman Armin Amiri doesn't own any of it. Zilch, nada, bupkis, not a penny. He's a salaried employee of one very savvy Giuseppe Cipriani. [NYP, EaterWire]

Comments??

And I don't know about you guys, but I have heard no buzz at all about this place......I've only had one friend visit the place, which they did like, but NO ONE is talking about this place.......victim of bad timing with all the other fun places now hot? Or just victim?

I love the Eater article. It probably is true. Brilliant move not to have a penny in the place. It's a two way street though and they need him also. No doubt he is taken care of financially. He bargains hard, perhaps because of his Persian heritage. On Wall Street it is called OPM (other peoples money) and it is done all the time. Celebrity investors as most investors in restaurants, clubs, lounges etc make 'vanity investments' and rarely if ever expect to see a huge return (if any). It is a way of buying in on a sexy project they can hang their name on. Come on, everyone on this site should know this by now. Yes there are exceptions but as a rule, a hot location and star studded cast brings in even more investors.

Cipriani is a great brand name and he could probably raise millions in the time it takes me to piss so it all sounds like a smart move.

If it flops, he walks away with no risk or debt following him like sales tax and withholding tax.

Eater makes it sound like a terrible thing. Schmucks.

I didn't even know it was open.

sounds like B.S............cipriani does not need amiri.........amiri putting in no money makes sense since he probably has none...............silent investors...............celeb "investors" often don't put up cash either................

heehee my thoughts exactly

i don't know shit about any of this but i would have to say this kind of scenario does make the most sense to me too

-armin-amiri puts no cash up front but gathers a crew of silent investors

- asks celebrity pals to be front men with him for star attraction (also for no cash up front but for a percentage. and/or free meals/drinks/tables maybe)

- marketing/PR not working as initially planned (i didn't even know it was open either) so they bring on Page Six (note the addition of the Socialista's LOCATION to that blurbie item-- obvious much ?) and weinstein

- watch the crowds pour in now, boy. (good thing holland tunnel is only blocks away ahah ha haa)

and if it's a success ??

he makes nothing. but then again there's always the NEXT project i guess ....

Come on guys

Let's not forget the way the old boys took care of their key employees.............how much of the business is in CASH!!!!!

???

so... you are implying cipriani/weinstein needs amiri to hide the cash from the "silent investors" ??

hahhahaa yah that's another plausible scenario i guess

Maybe everyone is just tired of all this self-absorbed, overt elitism? Let's face it - if your PR strategy is to announce to everyone they're most likely not good enough to get in, you might be doing something wrong.

eeheeheee

now now let's be fair

the actual "PR strategy" was: the midget decides whether or not you're good enough to get in.

The midget is very polite and I think it's a great idea.

yah. a small doorman is a great idea

alls they need now is ugly hostesses, fat waitresses, and white busboys.

they'll be soooo MONEY.

Actually I can think of several places that have those requirements already with the exception of the white busboys however I have never been to gay clubs but I was told today that white busboys are very common. Look he dared to be different, he thought outside the box and it is a riff on the big black bouncer in front of every other place. Socialista now has a very small black man in front.

Sheeshhh...

That's great that it's kind of different, but I agree that as a marketing strategy it's pretty lame. So what, if they have a dwarf doorman??? Announcing it in Page 6 does seem pretty patehtic.

And peg-legged runners and a straight female chef.

LOL.

Based on my experience at Socialista I would say not that different.

eeheee hahh haha haa that's pretty funny

His name is James and he is a real midget! Very polite and all around nice guy. Don't know who Gawker is referring too but 'dat mijjit. he be real...aigghtttt ?

http://gawker.com/news/eating-habits-of-th...rder-275801.php
A few things are clear from Grub Street's profile of Socialista co-owner Armin Amiri's eating habits. First, dude's crazy. He has more eating disorders than Karen Carpenter and more guilt issues than Woody Allen.
Wednesday, July 4 I went through a bit of a cleanse. I started with green tea, and I basically stayed on juice the whole day. I had fruit in the afternoon and didn't eat anything for dinner. I left work early -- around 12:30 a.m. -- so it was all right. Sometimes not really eating gives you more energy...

Tuesday, July 3
I started at Panino with tea. I had a chocolate-almond croissant.

Around 3 p.m. I went to Elixir for juice. It's called a guilt trip. It makes me feel better about my lifestyle, especially being up late at night. Sometimes I have them put ginseng in it.

Then I went to Whole Foods and bought some raw nuts.

By way of explanation, on Sunday Amiri went to Raoul's and "was a "bad boy, and I also had chocolate cake." So for the rest of the week, like a penitent, he "cleansed" (fasted/punished himself with food). Also, FYI, it'll take a lot more than a juice with some ginseng in it to ablute your sins, Mr. Amiri. But that's just the start of the revelations.

Mr. Amiri also informs us that the menu at Socialista is Lilliputian. There are Cuban-style burgers: "They're very tiny, and the mustard and ketchup are already prepared in the meat. The French fries are on top of the meat and you close the bun on top." There are also Cuban sandwiches: "They're very tiny." Maybe the menu is trying to recapture that great and woefully underappreciated quality of Socialism that is food shortages.

The other thing we find out but knew all along is Amiri is, well....

It's really important not to have a pretentious place. If celebrities are here, great, enjoy, but we're not here strictly for that. The music is important to me— not having any hip-hop. I want it to be a place where great minds come together.

Oh, that explains the door policy. They're quizzing people on their reading interests. Tacitus? Yes. Danielle Steele? Sorry, nope.

Not sure if it's true?? but I heard that Socialista is closed and that Eric Good and Sean Macphearson might take it over for Jane hotel. I also heard that Armin didn't get paid for all his work, that he worked as a manager, that he was actually a partner but that he's still waiting for the money from Cipriani and Harvey Weinstein and Damon Dash.

Well, the way things are going, if he's waiting for money from any of those 3, it looks like he might be waiting a very long time.

Giuseppe Cipriani & Socialista’s Extended Holiday
By Steve Lewis
January 16, 2009

I’d like to comment on a very big story that's percolating around town -- the "continuing closing" of Socialista.
On the surface, it seems like a minor violation from the Health Department, which would normally be handled quite routinely so people could be spilling Grey Goose on their Christian Louboutins in a matter of days. But it’s not happening, and that little not happening says a lot.
Now, I don’t pretend to know all that’s going on, but there are people hinting that there is a lot more to it, involving the Andrew Cuomo investigation on Giuseppe Cipriani and how he managed to get his liquor license despite the fact that he’s no longer qualified to have one. The cover story floated that it would put all these people out of work, and nobody wants that, etc. etc. But with Caroline Kennedy’s Senate bid floundering in a sea of “you knows,” Andrew Cuomo, the next guy in line, is dying for a headline. But Socialista can’t open, according to a pal who quoted the great Armin, “because Giuseppe can’t come back into the country, so the problem can’t be cleared up with the violation, and the club will remain closed.”
My source says that it’s not the government that Mr. Cipriani has the problem with, because he “played ball” with them. My guy says the people that were mentioned in these conversations between Cipriani and the government are not happy, and they very much want to “discuss” this matter with Cipriani in private—so he’s opted to stay far away. Now, people whisper things in my ear all the time, and often it just doesn’t make sense—but damned if this doesn’t sound real. It could be a cool movie depending on who writes the ending.

See Ya Socialista
...The big winners in all of this are hoteliers Sean Macpherson and Eric Goode, who can now lay claim to all of the hospitality spaces in their unique little baby, the Jane Hotel....
http://www.downbythehipster.com/blog/2009/...socialista.html