Moe Aljaff and Juliette Larrouy to open Schmuck
Moe Aljaff and Juliette Larrouy, formerly of Two Schmucks in Barcelona, are set to open a New York bar next year, after signing the contracts on a new site in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Named Schmuck, the new venue is unconnected, financially or otherwise, to the Barcelona-based trio of Schmuck venues - Two Schmucks, Fat Schmuck and Lucky Schmuck.
Aljaff, who left the Barcelona in autumn 2022 for the US, told Drinks International that Schmuck will open in Manhattan’s East Village in Q2 or Q3 next year.
Aljaff and Larrouy’s former colleagues Eliane Naeger and Floriane Groux are also confirmed as joining the opening team.
He said: “Our previous achievements, we believe, came from reflecting who we were within our space and we will continue with just that method. A bar has to incorporate our personalities, taste in music, fashion, design and of course our cocktails.
“But with Schmuck, we also wanted to create something completely new, unlike what we've done before, celebrating myself and Juliette becoming business partners, celebrating the fact that our home and our bar will be in the greatest city in the world and celebrating our love for cocktails and food.”
Aljaff said that the new site is set to be "the biggest" the pair have operated. He added: "It'll add to the challenge of opening in a cutthroat market like New York but hey, if you're gonna walk on ice, you might as well dance.”