A Tale of Two Jeffries

Annie Block, Mark McMenamin, and Matthew Powell -- Interior Design, 9/1/2012 2:00:00 AM

Architect Jeffrey Beers and restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow first collaborated back in 1987—that was for China Grill, at Midtown’s CBS headquarters by Eero Saarinen and Associates. A dozen restaurants later, Jeffrey Beers International and Chodorow are exhibiting their Asian-inspired hospitality prowess down in the meatpacking district with a 2,000-square-foot nightlife playground, Toy. Its centerpiece is a huge ceiling installation of mirrored triangles pulsating with projections of geishas and Ming dynasty motifs—sort of origami meets disco ball. Beers also improved sight lines in the irregularly shaped space and defined myriad dining moments: cozy nooks for two, long banquettes, and bar-height communal tables, plus a patio. Not enough? Toyster, an oyster bar, opens in the adjoining Hotel Gansevoort at the end of September.