With Costs Soaring, Restaurateurs Embrace DIY Design | Eater NY
"When building the original Bushwick location in 2007, the plumber quit, leaving a graveyard of pipes and a pipe cutter; Hoy repurposed the pipes into bases for bar stools, tables, and chairs. “I had this cutter. I am handy. I figured it out quickly,” he said, reflecting on how he repurposed his plumber’s abandoned pipes into restaurant furniture. “The longer you are in this business, the more thrifty you become.” He makes wall coverings from restaurant photos and uses old barn doors for communal tables, and for lighting—a huge cost—he opts for cheap outdoor fixtures, hand‑painted. Even at a newer Manhattan location he leaned into DIY: to create a private dining area he used a shade cloth pinned up with carabiners instead of custom curtains. “It’s cheap, but it’s fire-rated,” he said. “All in it cost me $300, whereas if I went with custom drapery it would have been $3000.”" - Andrea Strong
