![]() The Blue Moon Hotel has 22 bedrooms, each equipped with a sink, pots, pans, cutlery, a Kuerig, and a fridge and freezer combo. I mean, we as humans all share these common denominators and that should be cherished.” “People that come here should feel that this is a community and should remember a time when the feeling of having a community was the most important thing. “More than just thinking about the money that has gone into this project, it’s a memorial to New York, the artists, the architects, the history, the neighborhood,” Settenbrino adds. But at the Blue Moon Hotel the culture of New York City itself is also honored. I wanted it to be the kind of place where people come here because they want to eat good food and it just happens to be Kosher.”Ĭlearly, family and cultural recognition are heavily important to Settenbrino, and that is visible in the food he makes with both his Jewish and Italian roots in mind, as well as his ability to speak both Yiddish and Italian. A lot of times you’ll eat Kosher because you have no choice and you want to eat out. “What I wanted to do for the restaurant was to try to adapt my Italian culture to cook with the kosher dietary laws,” Settenbrino says. The cafe serves Italian food with a Kosher twist. Sweet Dreams pays homage to Settenbrino’s value for family, as he comes from a Jewish mother and an Italian father. Guests or anyone off the street can come in and grab something quick like a pastry or egg cream, or sit for a bowl of pasta or salad. Since its post-pandemic reopening, Blue Moon has opened its Sweet Dreams Cafe, located in the hotel lobby. Luckily, following the pandemic, Settenbrino and his family were able to come together again to save Blue Moon, putting heart, soul, and nearly all their money into its repair. The family also grew closer when Blue Moon temporarily leased its grounds to a hostel company that ended up damaging the hotel and many of the relics. His children play piano at the cafe on Sundays. His son can be found running back and forth between front-of-house and back-of-house. His daughter (an artist like her father) painted the Van Gogh-esque ceiling of the elevator. ![]() His children were brought up within the bones of Blue Moon, and are deeply interwoven into the fabric of the hotel and cafe. Before the hotel was originally opened, the Settenbrino family was staying there in one room altogether. In fact, the Blue Moon Hotel may have been Settenbrino’s brainchild, but his family has had hands in the hotel from its restoration to the current day. Every piece of the old tenement building that could possibly be salvaged has been restored and repurposed by the passionate hand of Randy Settenbrino with help from his supportive family. Frames made from old wood moldings now house calling cards from between 18 featuring charming vignettes. ![]() Memories of the building’s old life are mirrored in the entirety of the current hotel, from the massive planter outside growing new life out of an old bathtub to the old fireplace mantels now bordering the walls around the elevators. The walls of the Sweet Dreams Cafe and the hotel hallways are covered with memorabilia including Depression-era Green Stamps, pawn shop tickets, Cosmopolitan clippings, and old advertisements for things like a $4 Babe Ruth mitt or a 9-week long camp stay for just $175. Anyone who steps into Settenbrino’s passion project can feel the ghosts of over a century ago come back to life. “They want to feel like they’re stepping back in time.” This is no exaggeration. And they love New York,” Settenbrino says. “People come here who want to have an experience, and they love art, history, and preservation. By incorporating the found items left behind, Settenbrino has created a museum within his hotel that gives guests and cafe visitors a peek at old New York.
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