The restaurant space at 78 Leonard — a Tribeca classic with a beautiful glass facade — has been turning over faster than I can write: I have yet to visit one iteration and am now catching up to this one from September. The address was home to Tetsu for two years; then it converted to Goa, which closed in 2024 after a year or so. And now it is Farzi, which has its name on the facade (it opened last spring) and last fall they took on a subtenant in the the private nightclub-slash-art-slash-performance collective CX.

HOWEVER! Since I spoke with Manena Frazier last fall, things have changed. She is is no longer a partner at CX and instead is running her own brand, Lumo Ombro, with a chef partner, Steven Hubbell, whose credits include a Michelin Bib Gourmand shoutout for Veerasway in Chicago and Michelin star at Junoon here in the city.

Photo by Michael Tulipan

Frazier and Hubbell are now offering counter service lunches and evening cocktails in the front of the space, all in partnership with Farzi, which continues to serve dinner. Coming soon to Lumo Ombro are pop-up brunches and a flower shop. (A. caught a mention of Lumo Ombro in The Times, otherwise I would not have known about this shift.)

And while Frazier is no longer a partner at CX, the club will do occasional artist showcases and performance nights in the lower-level listening lounge.

“We heard the community’s feedback, and no further large late-night events will be hosted here,” Frazier said. (CX has another location in Chelsea for larger events.) Lumo Ombro will provide the food and beverage program for the lower-level performance lounge.

A recap on CX, since it will hold its smaller events at 78 Leonard: It is a membership club for “wild thinkers, creative makers, and edge-seekers” who pay $75 to $100 per month for “talks, salons, wellness experiences, and our infamous nightlife” in a variety of locations. They communicate with each other on a private social app. There is a scholar-in-residence who helps brainstorm the spectrum of programming.

Frazier found 78 Leonard from a listing — Farzi wanted to sublet. She runs her liquor sales through Farzi, and uses the front of main floor (it’s huge, as you might recall) and the basement as the Lumo Ombro lounge.

Frazier has also developed a bar concept that is bio regional with a focus on non alcoholic “elixirs.” “Nightlife culture doesn’t have to be about drinking,” said Manena, who was the visual director at ABC Carpet & Home for 15 years, and brings that sensibility to the space. “Nightlife without alcohol makes people more present and more available for real conversation.”

Lumo Ombro means light and shadow, and that is sort of the theme of the space and the menus. I will return soonish for lunch and hopefully flowers: Manena grew up in the United Arab Emirates, where her mother had flower shops (“The unlikely fact of a Mexican American business woman in the Emirates. She really was such an epic inspiration and force.”) and she started the flower program at ABC. “The offering that was there,” she promised, “will be here.”

Lumo Ombro
78 Leonard | Church & Broadway
Lunch 11a to 3p, Wednesday to Sunday
Cocktails 3p to 10p, Tuesday to Sunday

Photo by Michael Tulipan