Eats
Chelsea’s Motel Morris brings family feel to area
BY GABE HERMAN
The Chelsea restaurant Motel
Morris is family-owned and
focuses on offering the same
neighborhood feel as a nearby café
that’s owned by the same people.
The eatery is at Seventh Avenue and
West 18 Street, and offers American
food with slightly elevated versions of
classic dishes, according to co-owner
Sam Nidel.
Nidel opened the restaurant in 2016,
along with his brother and sister-inlaw.
They all live upstairs in the same
building, as do other family members,
and cousins designed the restaurant.
This family spirit led to the idea to give
the place a family name, after Morris,
one of Sam’s grandfathers.
In 2009, Sam opened a small café on
the High Line, and was the fi rst place
to sell food and beverages there. He
worked there in the winter and at Pier
45 at Christopher Street during the
summer.
In 2011, rents at the park went up
and that led to opening a coffee shop,
The Commons Chelsea, which is just a
few doors down on Seventh Ave. from
where Motel Morris is now.
Nidel said of the Chelsea area, “We
knew it needed a coffee shop. And then
in 2015, we knew it needed a restaurant.”
The idea was to open a neighborhood
restaurant, which meant not just good
food but good service and a friendly
environment. “A place that was more
upscale but not too high end,” he said.
“Our goal is to build a neighborhood
restaurant that’s approachable and accessible
to people,” Nidel said. That includes
serving good food and cocktails.
“We feel we’ve done that, and know we
want to work to maintain that level of
consistency we’ve gotten so far.”
The owners wanted the restaurant to
serve new American food, said Nidel,
including a little bit of everything. He
Motel Morris serves American food in Chelsea.
said that consistency and reliability are
key. “I think that’s so important to a
neighborhood place,” he said.
The menu, from executive chef Bill
McDaniel, includes entrees like grilled
marinated skirt steak, grilled Idaho
brook trout, and oven roast chicken,
which Nidel said is a favorite of his.
Daily specials include baby back ribs,
lobster pot pie, housemade pasta and
buttermilk fried chicken.
Nidel credits a great team and staff
for the restaurant’s success, and said
it makes a difference when there’s a
happy workplace. “I think it permeates
throughout the restaurant,” he said.
There have been some challenges in
running a restaurant, Nidel said. People
have stolen items from the bathroom,
which is decorated with interesting
items like posters and tchotchkes and
a pink fl amingo plunger. “We didn’t
think people would have the nerve,” he
said, and added that items have since
been removed or fi xed in place so they
can’t be taken.
There is also the occasional diffi cult
person to deal with, which comes with
being in the customer service industry.
But there are also good things like
a person randomly leaving a big tip.
And funny moments like people coming
with a suitcase, thinking from the
name that the place is an actual motel.
“You defi nitely get to see the best of
people and the worst of people,” Nidel
said. He added that they have a good
team, and “whatever comes our way we
PHOTO BY BRIANA BALDUCCI
seem to be able to fi gure out.”
The family feel of Motel Morris extends
beyond the vibes to the art inside,
which was curated by Nidel’s sister-inlaw
and includes a wall of family photos,
including Grandpa Morris and
Grandma Sylvia.
The two businesses on the block have
also been a good way to meet neighbors
in the area, Nidel said. “It is a nice
neighborhood, we’ve gotten to know a
lot of local businesses in the area,” he
said. “I feel like a lot of people in the
neighborhood are an extension of my
own family.”
More information on Motel Morris
can be found at motelmorris.com.
212 - 254 - 1109 | www.theaterforthenewcity.net | 155 First Ave. NY, NY 10003
Hooked on Happiness by Tom Attea
November 29 - Dec. 1, Tix $15
Thur - Sat 8PM, Sun 3PM
Brother Soy by Victor Vauban Junior
November 29 - Dec. 15, Tix $18
Thur - Sat 8PM, Sun 3PM
The Assassination of J.Kaisaar by Stephan Morrow
December 4 - Dec. 15, Tix $12
Wed - Sat 8PM, Sun 3PM
Bread & Puppet by Peter Schumann
December 5 - December 15, Tix $18
Thur - Sat 8PM, Sat & Sun 3PM
Schneps Media November 28, 2019 19
/www.theaterforthenewcity.net
/motelmorris.com
/www.theaterforthenewcity.net
