Foodie Files

Sweetiepie Doesn’t Want Anyone to Grow Up

Big enough for an adult male.
Big enough for an adult male. Photo: Melissa Hom

Co-owner Julie Daniels Janklow had a smart business plan when she opened Sweetiepie: combine a child’s paradise (birdcage seating, giant sundaes, grilled cheese) with a nostalgic adult-fantasy world (absinthe, caviar, and mini wedding cakes). But her plans seem to go beyond filling a need for hip parents who want to bring their kids to good restaurants, according to a profile on Elle.com today. The article begins with this quote, which she tells her son while hugging him tightly: “I love you, you’re perfect, I want you to be gay and live with me forever and ever.” The restaurant, adds Elle, is “an homage to her mother and a present for her son.” Since her mother took the family to restaurants in lieu of cooking, the restaurant allows Janklow to be a kid again with homey meals she always missed. But let’s get back to the kid. Sweetiepie may be geared to adults so he could be happy growing old there, but now we’re concerned as to why his “present” included a human-size birdcage.

New York Restaurant: Sweetiepie [Elle via Feedbag]

Sweetiepie Doesn’t Want Anyone to Grow Up