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Turning the Top Tables
How the legendary New York restaurateur Ken Aretsky built a fabled résumé of fine dining establishments -- including Patroon, '21' Club and Oren & Aretsky -- from a humble start by turning setbacks into life-affirming experiences
Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2008
By Michael S. Marsh
Ken Aretsky
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Ken Aretsky had been looking forward to playing the National Golf Links of America in
Southampton, New York, ever since his friend John Hennessey invited him. When the day–Wednesday,
August 5, 1998–finally arrived, the weather was spectacular and as he pulled his car into the
parking lot of the historic golf club, Aretsky was sure it would be an experience to remember. •
Indeed it was, but not for the reason that Aretsky, the New York restaurateur and proprietor of
Patroon, had guessed. He'd imagined golfing with friends and cigars at one of the world's most
celebrated golf courses, maybe even for draining a 20-foot birdie putt or chipping in for eagle.
To this day, Aretsky remembers it for something else.
Aretsky got out of his car and an attendant at the golf club approached him. "Mr. Aretsky?" he
asked. "You have an emergency phone call from your restaurant." Aretsky immediately phoned his
manager, who told him that United States Customs agents with a search warrant were raiding
Patroon's walk-in humidor. Aware that the humidor was stocked with Cuban cigars, Aretsky dialed
his attorney. He told Aretsky not to worry. The worst that would happen is that the Cuban cigars
would be confiscated and a fine levied.
Although upset and concerned, Aretsky lunched and then set out for the first hole, which he
parred. On the second, he reached the apron in two shots. As he approached his ball, he looked out
on the horizon to see a golf cart driving toward him through the shimmering heat. "I knew
something bad was going to happen," Aretsky recalls. "The guy stopped and asked if I was Mr.
Aretsky. I said yes, and he said I have to get off the golf course. So I went off the golf course,
phoned my manager, and she said there was a warrant for my arrest." The charge? Trading with the
enemy, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Aretsky's golf outing was over and the most difficult period of his life had begun. But
Aretsky, a New York restaurateur for more than 35 years, with a résumé that lists award-winning
eateries like Arcadia, '21' Club and Patroon, knows something about survival. He's learned that
things are never as good or as bad as they seem. He's also learned that he isn't one to back down
from a challenge.
It's said that all things begin with an idea. For Ken Aretsky, the idea of opening his own
restaurant came during a night out in Manhattan in 1970. The setting was Maxwell's Plum, an Upper
East Side café owned by Werner LeRoy, with flashy Art Nouveau decor and a vibrant bar. But what
struck Aretsky most was its separate, upscale dining room, which boasted a different, more
expensive menu. One night might be a casual get-together in the front bar and café. Another night
could be a more intimate meal in the back. Some nights it was both. "I thought it was an amazing
concept," says Aretsky, who was living on Long Island at the time. "I loved it and I thought it
could translate onto the island."
Although Aretsky had never owned a restaurant, he was intrigued by the business ever since he
worked for his father, Sidney, who supplied restaurants and malt shops around New York with soda
systems. "I didn't like my father's business," says Aretsky, "but I liked the restaurant business
and I liked the characters that I was meeting. They were a fascinating group of people." So with
little experience, but an idea he felt could blossom into success, Aretsky opened Truman's in
1972.
Located in the village of Roslyn on Long Island's north shore, in a house Aretsky converted
into a restaurant, Truman's featured a café on the main floor, while the second floor–inspired by
Maxwell's Plum–was known as Upstairs at Truman's. The only problem was that Aretsky ran out of
money before completing the upstairs dining room, so it remained closed, even though a brass
plaque on the front of Truman's suggested otherwise. "Truman's started doing well and the food was
really good," Aretsky remembers. "Suddenly people began calling for reservations upstairs, but we
weren't open upstairs–the room was empty." Not wanting to turn patrons away, Aretsky instead said
they were booked. "The more we told people that we were booked, the more they wanted to come."
Eventually Aretsky finished Upstairs at Truman's. By that time, the restaurant was besieged
with customers, thanks to excellent reviews in local papers. Truman's did so well that Aretsky
opted to sell his share of the restaurant in 1975. "The truth is, I couldn't understand how it was
going to continue to be as busy as it was," he explains. "I wasn't really knowledgeable. I just
thought I got lucky, which in fact I did."
After moving back to New York City, Aretsky tried his hand as a stockbroker. Then, in the
summer of 1978, he bumped into Steve Orenstein, a high school friend, at Jim McMullen's Restaurant
on Third Avenue. Aware of Aretsky's success with Truman's, Orenstein, a sportscaster and
successful male model known to his friends as Oren, suggested they open a restaurant together.
Aretsky didn't give it much thought until he passed an abandoned bar on Third Avenue with a
"For Rent" notice taped to the window. When he returned the next morning, the door was open, and
inside he discovered an "unbelievable Irish bar" that convinced him of his future. Hours later,
Aretsky was shaking hands with the owner and handing him a check for $4,500–three months' rent. "I
didn't have money to cover the check," Aretsky recalls, "but it was July 4th weekend, so I figured
I had [a few days] to come up with the money."
Elated, Aretsky called Orenstein and asked him if he was serious about going into business
together. When Orenstein said "very serious," Aretsky invited him to see the place. "He said, 'It
looks kind of dumpy,'" Aretsky says of Orenstein's first reaction. "I said, 'It is kind of dumpy,
but when we get done with it, it's going to be terrific.'"
The partners decided to call the place Oren & Aretsky, and by the time they opened in December 1978, they were dead broke. It didn't help that after the opening night party, customers were few
and far between. All of a sudden what seemed like a promising venture wasn't panning out. At one
point, Aretsky and Orenstein were so desperate for patrons that they rented a limousine and parked
it in front of the restaurant in the hope of attracting stargazers. It worked. Slowly but surely,
people started coming in.
The real turning point for Oren & Aretsky, however, came courtesy of the New York Rangers
hockey team, which began the 1978-'79 season in horrible fashion. Defenseman Dave Farrish and many
of his teammates began showing up after games to nurse their wounds. "They couldn't win a game,
but they were the nicest guys," says Aretsky. "The truth is, in my heart of hearts, I think the
reason they came to the restaurant was because it was empty and they didn't get booed."
Aretsky and Orenstein soon became friends with the players. Then the Rangers started winning.
"Suddenly they were the toast of the town and everyone was on the bandwagon," remembers Aretsky.
"All the networks and all the sportscasters wanted to interview them, and the players insisted
they be interviewed in Oren & Aretsky. We were on every channel and we got busier and busier and
busier."
While the Rangers went on to the Stanley Cup finals, Oren & Aretsky went on to become one of
the city's hot spots and was flooded with celebrities and sports stars such as Reggie Jackson, Ken
Norton and Wayne Gretzky. Rock bands were a constant, as were professional models such as Carol
Alt. Aretsky and Orenstein also became friends with Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager of Studio 54,
and they all referred customers to one another. "It was the most amazing time," say Aretsky. "It
was like magic. Every night was an experience."
By the early '80s, however, things began to change. Rubell and Schrager were in prison for tax
evasion and the original Studio 54 had closed; the Yankees didn't re-sign Reggie Jackson; and
social diseases such as AIDS were dulling the city's lust for nightlife. "I really got cold feet,"
says Aretsky. "I got scared. I thought my business was going to be terribly impacted by all of
these things happening around the same moment, and I wanted to get out.
Photographs by David Eustace
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