What a Feast

For their upcoming restaurant at Manhattan's Breuer building, Roman and Williams partners with Sotheby's to deliver multisensory meals like no other

- SAM COCHRAN

STEPHEN ALESCH AND ROBIN STANDEFER OF THE AD100 FIRM ROMAN AND WILLIAMS AT NEW YORK'S BREUER BUILDING, THE FUTURE SITE OF MARCEL, THEIR NEW RESTAURANT WITH SOTHEBY'S.

When Sotheby's New York reopened in Manhattan's landmark Breuer building this fall, it brought along the unique dynamics of a bustling auction house.

Sales come and go, and with them masterworks of every style, size, medium, and era. Those rhythms all presented an exciting opportunity, creatively and entrepreneurially, for Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, cofounders of the AD100 firm Roman and Williams. After collaborating with Sotheby's on a 2024 installation of Impressionism, for which they were tasked with subverting assumptions of the movement, the duo are now conceiving the company's new restaurant, Marcel, named after the architect. Designed and operated by Roman and Williams, the project opens this spring.