Synopsis:
New York City is perhaps as renowned for its fancy restaurants as for its art, culture, and architecture. In fall 2001, two old friends, John McCormick and Billy Phelps, decided they wanted to open...
New York City is perhaps as renowned for its fancy restaurants as for its art, culture, and architecture. In fall 2001, two old friends, John McCormick and Billy Phelps, decided they wanted to open a small place on a dilapidated corner in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. They planned for Moto to be a fun, hip bar where people could come for drinks, salads, and sandwiches. But what they thought would take only a few months dragged on for more than a year and a half as they battled the elements, cash-flow problems, and every other imaginable problem that gets in their way. Codirectors Andrew Rossi and Kate Novack, who got married while making this fascinating documentary, intercut scenes of McCormick and Phelps's troubles with interviews with some of New York City's most successful and famous restaurateurs--Daniel Boulud (Cafe Boulud), Keith McNally (Balthazar), and Danny Meyer (Gramercy Tavern) to name a few--who relate stories of their humble beginnings and how they were able to make it in a city where the vast majority of eateries close within five years. Among the highlights are following Drew Nieporent, of Nobu, Montrachet, and the Tribeca Grill, as he receives an honor at a charity gala and takes a walk through the TriBeCa neighborhood he helped revitalize; and meeting Sirio Maccioni and his clan, who run the Le Cirque franchise. Although McCormick and Phelps aren't planning on becoming the next Nieporent or Maccioni, their struggle, especially amid all this success, will tug at audiences' hearts--and make them very hungry.
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