Newbie Restaurant Owner Piper Perabo Knows How to Make a Mean Martini
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Piper Perabo is walking around a restaurant, a big smile on her face. She stops to chat and hug everyone. The restaurant, Jack’s Wife Freda, is partly owned by Perabo, along with her friends Dean and Maya Jankelowitz, who also run it. Last night, they celebrated the opening of a second location in Manhattan’s West Village (the first one is in Soho), and in between greeting new friends and keeping her host duties, we had a chance to ask the Coyote Ugly star a few questions.
Yahoo Style: Congratulations! You are now owner of two restaurants, how did you get involved with the restaurant world?
Piper Perabo: I used to live on the same block as this restaurant Schiller’s on the Lower East Side, and every time I would go there it was so busy and I always had to wait outside. Dean was the maître d’ there and it was inevitable that I made friends with him since we were both standing outside often (laughs). We ended up becoming really good friends, and then he started dating Maya, who was a maître d’ at another restaurant, Balthazar. So then the three of us would have dinner all the time, and when they said they wanted to start a restaurant of their own, me and some friends got behind them and that’s how Jack’s Wife Freda started.
YS: Are you good in the kitchen?
PP: I don’t really cook at home ever. I am trying to get better at it, but living in small New York City apartments with small kitchens for most of my life is just not conducive to cooking. It’s how I ended up really getting into restaurant culture. There was a time when I would eat all three meals a day at Schiller’s, and one of them would be with the staff! I was just there all day.
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YS: The drink we are having tonight is called “Piper’s Punch” did you come up with it?
PP: No, Maya came up with it. I just told her I wanted it “tart and boozy,” which she did. I can sort of make a martini, and that’s as good as it gets!
YS: So what other projects do you have in the works?
PP: Well, we just filmed the last season of Covert Affairs. I have two things in the works but I can’t say what they are right now! But, I’m producing, which is really exciting. I really like female-led shows that feature smart, powerful, and interesting women. There’s a huge audience for it and I want to showcase women living big lives! That’s as much as I can say!
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