Raising the bar(s)

NORA VARCHO • Gin & Luck

CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine

NORA VARCHO • marketing director • Gin & Luck
Neighborhood you work in: Soho
Neighborhood you live in: Greenwich Village

It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I’m the marketing director at Gin & Luck, a cocktail-anchored hospitality group. Right now, we’re preparing for a huge 2025 — a new bar concept called Close Company opening in three cities, a new boutique hotel debuting in Savannah, Municipal Grand, and a fifth Death & Co location, this one in Seattle — so the weekend is a chance to get away from my desk and refuel.

My laptop is ideally shut by 530p and I’m heading out for an early dinner. Lately, you’ll find me beelining for Bar Bete in Cobble Hill for wine and comforting small plates or Raku for a beer and the city’s best udon. My home-away-from-home and the perfect Friday night date is Rosella. (A martini at Death & Co beforehand is always a good idea.)

Where are you drinking or dining this weekend?
Saturday mornings are for spending in your neighborhood — convince me otherwise! My favorite breakfast sandwich is at Daily Provisions, so after the gym I’ll swing by and pick up a sausage, egg, and cheese and a cappuccino, and maybe a seasonal cruller. I also love stopping into Hudson and Charles for meat and produce — maybe short ribs for a Sunday braise.

I live above two of the most popular bagel spots in the city right now, so I’ll hide out in my apartment, clean, read (a book picked up at McNally Jackson), listen to a podcast (I loved Ezra Koenig on Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton) until the crazy lines die down. Then a long walk along the West Side Highway with a snack slice at Lucia on the way home.

How about a little leisure or culture?
My boyfriend is a chef from Long Island, so we’ll sneak out to the North Fork for fresh air and farm stands whenever we can. I love 8 Hands — the soft serve is life-changing — and Sang Lee. Cityside, I’m hoping for a rainy weekend so I can head to the Regal Essex Crossing for a matinee and dinner at Deluxe Green Bo or Cervo’s.

Any weekend getaways?
A friend of mine lives in Wassaic in the Hudson Valley, and visiting her is such a treat, because she has all the boons of upstate without the packed city crowds flocking to Hudson and Kingston. We love getting drinks at Tenmile or Troutbeck and dinner at Canoe Hill or Swyft, and breakfast the following morning at Vitsky Bakery (see Nines below).

What was your last great vacation?
Portland (OR). My favorite meals were at Eem and Oma’s Hideaway. We also squirreled away a few bottles of wine from Ardor and my breath was taken away by the stunning drive to the Oregon coast. Can’t wait to return.

What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
Near-perfect condition Prada patent Oxfords from Seven Wonders Collective on the Lower East Side. An incredible collection in-store from a handful of impeccable vintage collectors. I also got a burger tattoo in Seattle from Lollipop Tattoos. Highly recommend.

What store or service do you always recommend?
Can I cheat and list three? A haircut with Zorka at her brand-new salon, The Cutting Studio, a facial with Ashley at Sofie Pavitt Studio, and a bottle of wine from Jones Street Wine.