WPPB | Guest Eric Lemonides of Almond Restaurant | 1/20/2019

This week our guest is Eric Lemonides, co-owner of Almond Restaurant & Bar and L & W Market in Bridgehampton.

In his early teens, Eric was allowed to go to two places without supervision — his uncle’s restaurant, which was right downstairs, or La Gamelle, a nearby French Bistro owned by friends of his dad. At La Gamelle he would sit at the bar, eating steak frites, drinking Pepsi with a splash of red wine, and making small talk with the bartenders and regulars at the age of 13. It was on those nights that he realized how much he loved being in restaurants and that it was the restaurant world in which he would make his mark.

Years later, he walked into the newly-opened Della Femina looking for a waiter position and walked away the new general manager, which became  the stepping stone for his next position as general manager of F.illi  Ponte in Tribeca. Following F.illi Ponte, Eric opened Pacific East in Amagansett and Chelsea, as well as the original Market in the  Meatpacking District. He opened Lunch on Hudson Street in 2000 and successfully ran it until selling it in 2001 so he and childhood friend Jason Weiner could open Almond.

We're looking forward to talking with Eric about his total coolness and  the creative process involved in restaurants, food, entrepreneurship,  and life.