Checking in to The Inn LW12
Holly GoNightly
March 13, 2008
The Smiths are on the speakers. Kids are posing up against the walls for party-hopping photographer Bronques. This must be a new Tuesday night party. An unlikely location, party advocate Mike DeGuzman explains that’s part of its charm, as I see a collection of scenesters toe-tapping curbside in the heart of the meatpacking on Little West 12th. They filter into some slick Canadian gastropub. Gastropub? Had it not been for the trust fund jerks cat-calling from a nearby cab, I could have sworn I was on the L.E.S. Charming.
Eager to seek refuge, I climb the stairs to The Inn LW12, known mostly for its poutine and star restaurant consultant Daniel Boulud, though judging from the turntables blaring M.I.A and the cigarettes being passed around the darkened corners on this second-floor hideaway, one could easily forget such implications. Phil, the innkeeper as he likes to be called, is amazed by the crowd. “It’s not usually quite like this” he says. “People just usually, um, eat.” There was very little of that happening; instead models sway to the Stones, towering like trees above slouching boys in hoodies. In lieu of Canadian fare on the menu, people pass around bottles of Jack Daniels and a makeshift dance floor has been arranged in the center of the small room. And on the couches. And in the stairwell. And, apparently, on the roof.
While Phil may be befuddled, DeGuzman says he planned it this way, “We don’t want clubs all the time; we want to relax, dance, and hang out with our friends without being bothered by bouncers.” He should know from experience, a veteran host of parties with club kids Amanda Lepore and Miranda Moondust.
Noticing the lack of clipboards at this pop-up speakeasy, I wonder what might happen if the obnoxious cat-callers down below stumbled in. “Whatever,” he shrugs. “We’ll hang out with anyone, and if they were really dreadful, we’d just stage a coup. We are all friends here.” Perhaps a bit on the “Cheers” side, his unpretentious posture coupled with the night of posing makes this a very charming place to be seen after all.
Photos courtesy of Last Night’s Party
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