Development and opening The establishment of the venue—the first waterfront restaurant in Manhattan—traces back to a
request for proposals for waterfront development issued by New York City in 1978 for a restaurant and a public promenade on the site, which was previously occupied by two parking lots. The following year, MDO Development Corporation signed a 25-year lease agreement with the city to construct and operate the restaurant. The venue was developed by Michael D. (Buzzy) O'Keeffe, who owned
The River Café in Brooklyn and had prior experience with the challenges associated with opening a waterfront restaurant in New York City. Built at a cost of $5.2 million, the venue consisted of two former lumber barges moored in the East River and was connected by ramps to a structure on land that contained the kitchen, a bar and lounge, and a two-story glass lobby with a staircase leading to an outdoor bar on the rooftop. The restaurant included a parking lot with valet parking on the bulkhead to the north of the venue, along a waterfront promenade with landscaping and benches designed by
M. Paul Friedberg. The promenade was developed as a required public amenity and forms a section of the
East River Greenway. The south barge (used for private parties) first opened on September 9, 1982, and was followed by the restaurant in the north barge, which opened a few weeks later on September 28.
Operation Just a few months after the restaurant opened, The Water Club made headlines when it refused to serve
Mimi Sheraton, the
food critic for
The New York Times. Sheraton had eaten at the restaurant unnoticed the first time she dined at the venue, but was recognized when she returned for dinner with four guests on December 30, 1982. It was the first time she had been refused service by a restaurant. In a news conference that followed the incident, O'Keeffe explained that he decided to exclude the food critic because he thought her reviews were inaccurate and was particularly unhappy about the
one-star rating that she gave his River Café in Brooklyn. In 1988, O'Keeffe hired
Richard Moonen to serve as the restaurant's head chef, where he remained until 1994. The Water Club was located in a prime viewing spot for the
Macy's 4th of July Fireworks usually held over the East River; the venue had been used during the event as a command center for the fireworks show, a filming location for its broadcast on television, and private receptions for
Macy's guests. The waterfront promenade built as part of the restaurant included of docking space that was used by private yachts, including vessels owned by
Malcolm Forbes and
Donald Trump for viewing the fireworks display on the
4th of July. In 2001, the restaurant's original lease agreement with the city was amended and the term was extended through 2030. The agreement was made through the city's
Department of Small Business Services and administered by the
Economic Development Corporation. The restaurant had been previously accused of inaccurate record-keeping when its former manager was found guilty of embezzling $485,000 when he worked at The Water Club from 1983 to 1986; at that time it was the tenth largest grossing restaurant in the country. Like its sister restaurant The River Café, The Water Club was heavily damaged by
Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, forcing its temporary closure for repairs. The venue's event space reopened in May 2013, followed by the rooftop bar over the summer and the restaurant in October 2013. The restaurant was later converted into a venue for private events. Subsequent to what was originally announced as renovations, The Water Club closed permanently in 2024 when the remaining time on the venue's lease was turned back over to the city. ==References==