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New Kid on the Block: Warren Peace
The conversion of Warren 77 from a sports bar to a bar-bar and restaurant is a real win for the neighborhood — and maybe this is coming from a 50-something for whom sports is only an occasional form of entertainment, but so be it. The place is low-key, but I can still see it as a lively hang out if it was at capacity. The vibe at Warren Peace is homey but not quiet: the music is fun (Psycho Killer was on when I walked in), the lights are dim and the corner bar (a reverse L) looks classic with the TV screens removed.
Owner Briken Fejzullai has created what for these days is a reasonably-priced menu, and we liked everything. But the well-seasoned duck-fat parm fries (the wedges are split, so they are V-shaped, giving them extra edges for crispiness) and the tomatoes with feta would be all I need along with a couple drinks for the night. We also ordered the burger (more fries) and the two tuna options: the carpaccio (very refreshing) and the Everything Tuna — quarter-inch slices grilled rare on a bed of chevre risotto that was surprisingly light.
Oh, and the grilled vegetables, which is a recipe from a time before refrigeration when the veggies would be grilled then stored with no oxygen in olive oil at room temp, were simple but special. (The chef came out to explain that part.) The Department of Health won’t allow that these days, so the chef refrigerates them at night and brings them to room temperature to serve in a tangle on top of a couple huge leaves of butter lettuce.
Fejzullai is one of those bred-in-the-bone hospitality people: bus boy by age 14; working in restaurants in Tirana, Albania, till he was 20; another 10 years managing restaurants in Milan; then back to Albania. At age 40 he wanted to try something new, and New York City was always the dream. His parents came here in 1996, so he brought his own young family over last year and started scouting locations. (He found the awesome workman’s aprons, which all the staff wears.) Tribeca was his #1 choice.
“It was love at first sight,” he said of the neighborhood, which he first heard of when De Niro started the film festival. “You feel the vibe. That’s something you either have or you don’t.”
He scouted several spaces, but knew this was the one as soon as he saw it. “I could imagine what it would look like — and you have to have that vision. Otherwise you have to hire an architect and an interior designer and I wanted to design it myself.”
He also decided to keep some of the details left behind by Warren 77 — the custom lights outside, the signage on the door, the bar, the opaque windows in the front — anything cool.
“The space has a history and I wanted to create my own place without it feeling like an invasion — where you come in an change everything,” Fejzullai said. “You have to do your own vibe but you also have to meld it to the neighborhood. I kept what I could and brought something of my own.”
PS: The leather menu covers were made in Ukraine, where he, until recently, often sourced crafts for his restaurants. These arrived two days before the war started.
Warren Peace
77 Warren | West Broadway & Greenwich
347 889-5710
warrenpeaceny@gmail.com
Monday – Saturday, 4p to midnight
Sunday, 4p to 11p
13 Comments
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Shhhh! It’s too good. Go away. We want it to ourselves.
Briken, Shah, Lilly and Max are all awesome hosts! And the duck fat fries have ruined me for life.
Welcome to the hood! So pleased you’re here. See you soon!
You took our best guy. Albania’s nightlife is already suffering…
Tribeca and NY are so lucky to have Briken now! The guy’s vision, creativity and dedication as a restaurateur and club and bar developer and manager are impeccable! Some of the best, leading going out food and drink places in Tirana, ( a capital city with one of the most vibrant entertainment and nightlife scenes) carry his signature! It would seem like he paid me to say this 😁, but honestly he hasn’t! Ask any hip, trendy, “in crowd” person in Tirana about him, and they would tell you exactly the same thing!
Tribeca and NY are so lucky to have Briken now! The guy’s vision, creativity and dedication as a restaurateur and club and bar developer and manager are impeccable! Some of the best, leading going out food and drink places in Tirana, ( a capital city with one of the most vibrant entertainment and nightlife scenes) carry his signature! It would seem like he paid me to say this :), but honestly he hasn’t! Ask any hip, trendy, “in crowd” person in Tirana about him, and they would tell you exactly the same thing!
Briken, o zotëri, hopefully I’m going to be there sooner than I thought! Wish you all the best o zotëri!
This guy gave Tirana’s nightlife a huge uplift back in the days. Now, the streets miss him and Tirana is getting more and more jealous of NY for having him. Keep rocking man. U deserve it!
I loved that place the moment I saw it here, I wish I could have a drink there someday, Tirana ‘s night life already misses you and us too. Good luck Brike, you ll always be the best, anywhere in the world. Hugs ❤❤✌
Hi! Is there contact info, times, etc…
I have to go by again to check! There’s nothing online… Stay tuned.
There’s a real lag with Google — so you won’t be able to search it for a while. I’ve updated the post and the draft website is here.
This guy has a bar the best one in Tirana just next door where I lived . Now he moved to New York not far from where I live and am so happy to know that. Going this weekend …
Tribeca Citizen, has Warren Peace closed? I haven’t noticed it open recently despite the gorgeous weather.
Totally open. It’s been busy!