The Oberon Group creates community-focused projects in New York City and the Catskills. Our organizing principle is sustainability: environmental and economic. We believe true hospitality and service considers the long-term impact of all our choices.

Rucola

Boerum Hill’s neighborhood restaurant

Rucola is an intimate Northern Italian restaurant on a historic corner in Boerum Hill Brooklyn. For nearly a decade, Rucola has served our neighborhood ingredient-driven seasonal dishes in the tradition of Northern Italian trattorias, open from breakfast until midnight. The wine list features a mix of natural and classical selections, focused on the terroir and traditions of Northern Italy.

June

Brooklyn’s first natural wine bar

June opened its doors in January 2015 as Brooklyn’s first natural wine bar, drawing inspiration from cozy restaurants and wine bars found in Paris. Our focus is selecting wines with minimal intervention that deploy biodynamic regenerative agriculture techniques in the fields. June was co-founded by Henry Rich and Tom Kearney, previously of Brooklyn favorites Sweetwater and The Farm on Adderly. June’s menu is focused on seasonal cooking, featuring plates meant to be shared among friends.

Rhodora

New York’s first zero-waste wine bar

Rhodora Wine Bar, located in the heart of Fort Greene, is New York’s first carbon neutral natural wine bar and the country’s first trash-free bar. Rhodora’s food and beverage program focuses on low intervention natural wines and sustainably sourced ingredients. In addition to our zero-waste and carbon-neutral commitments, we have created a new, non-hierarchical staffing model where each team member is trained for every position. By eliminating the traditional divide between front and back of house, managers and staff, Rhodora aims to cultivate an equitable and sustainable working environment for all stakeholders.

Anaïs

Natural wine and books inspired by the life and lifestyle of Anaïs Nin in historic Boerum Hill

Open from morning until late, Anaïs serves the historic Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. Opening in the morning with local pastries and coffee and moving to small plates and a thoughtfully conceived selection of natural wines, beer, and cocktails as the day progresses, the cafe is conceived of as a welcoming all-day space in which to linger with a book. In collaboration with Jessica DuPont, owner of Kingston's Half Moon Books, a selection of used books published during Nin's lifetime and inspired by her interests are for sale and arranged on a large shelf for easy browsing along with bottles of wine.

Purslane

New York’s only carbon-neutral, zero-waste caterer

Owned and operated by Oberon, Purslane creates beautiful experiences and delicious seasonal menus that don’t end up in landfill or contribute to carbon emissions. Food waste makes up 1/4 of all municipal landfill and 8% of global carbon emissions. Proudly the first carbon-neutral and zero-waste caterer in the world, Purslane strives to create a sustainable and environmentally responsible way to cater celebrations, weddings, and events in NYC.

The Conduit NYC, Oslo, & London

An international community committed to a better future

The Conduit is a collaborative community of people committed to creating a just, prosperous, and sustainable future. Conduit members are entrepreneurs, investors, creatives, business leaders, activists, civil-society leaders, and policymakers, bringing together knowledge, networks, and capital for sustained positive impact. The Oberon Group is honored and excited to be the hospitality partner for the Conduit Oslo, London, and the expansion of the Conduit to North America.

New Museum Events

Exclusive hospitality partner for the range of offerings from New York's premier contemporary art museum

The New Museum is a leading destination for new art and new ideas. It is Manhattan’s only dedicated contemporary art museum and is respected internationally for the adventurousness and global scope of its curatorial program. The Oberon Group and Purslane are excited to be the exclusive event partner for the New Museum, providing hospitality and culinary services for all special events and dining experiences for the museum.

Accord Market

A Main Street Grocery in the heart of the Catskills

Accord Market opened in 2021, becoming Ulster County's first carbon-neutral market and transforming a former industrial site on the Main Street of historic Accord into a thriving center of community life. Part of a larger project to revitalize the historic district of Accord, the market carries hard-to-find specialty items in addition to basic grocery essentials. With sustainability as a foundational principle, Accord Market sources from local farmers and producers in the surrounding Rondout Valley and greater Catskills region, supporting local farms and vendors and reducing the market's environmental impact.

Wild North Bikes

Bikes and e-bikes for the Catskills community

The Catskills contain the largest network of carriage roads in North America. Oberon is excited to bring a bike rental and e-bike sales store to the Rondout Valley to help locals enjoy the bike trails as well as assist in the transition to climate-positive transportation.

The Granary

A center for health, sustainability, and community

Oberon has acquired the Anderson feed mill complex in downtown Accord, a collection of farm buildings that were the thriving economic hub of the Rondout Valley for 100 years before closing in the 1980s. The site will contain a restaurant, outdoor venue, book-store, coffee shop, bike shop, and other retail that facilitates enjoyment of the surrounding environment.

The Jenny Brook River School

A naturalist retreat center

Oberon has acquired the old Yama Farms trout farm as a space for guests to connect deeply with nature, themselves, and one another. Similar to Mohonk Mountain House, the Yama site was a regular weekend destination for guests such as Teddy Roosevelt, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and environmentalist John Burroughs. This land, which is surrounded by 60 vernal pools and sits on the largest private aquifer in the Northeast, has been in private hands for decades since Yama closed in 1939. We are humbled and excited to reimagine this land as a sustainable gathering place for this century.

Casino

Coastal French & Italian fare in NYC's Dime Square

We are proud to support Aisa Shelley's vision. Located in the heart of LES, Casino draws inspiration from the fresh, coastal cuisine of the French and Italian Riviera.

Casetta

We are proud to support Aisa Shelley's vision for an all-day neighborhood cafe and wine bar on Hester Street.

Frog

Neighborhood natural wine bar

We are proud to support Charles Gerbier and Alexandra McCown’s vision for a neighborhood natural wine bar in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

Windham Mountain

An elevated après-ski food and beverage experience in upstate New York

Oberon collaborated with acclaimed chef Gabriel Kennedy to consult on the food and beverage programs at the Clubhouse at Windham Mountain and Tavern 23, a beloved neighborhood restaurant in the heart of town. Together, Kennedy and Oberon are creating a range of innovative, healthy, and adventurous offerings that reflect the seasonal character of the mountain destination.

Fitzcarraldo

Special project space at the border of East Williamsburg and Bushwick

Fitzcarraldo is an intimate, romantic oasis nestled between Stagg and Meadow Streets at the border of East Williamsburg and Bushwick. Designed by Henry Rich, the warm, rustic interior features reclaimed wood paneling, Mexican cement tile, abundant natural light and greenery, a marble bar, and an open kitchen. The space has alternately been used for restaurants, art installations, community gatherings, and events.

Silo NYC

Zero-waste pop up

Oberon was honored to collaborate with Chef Doug McMaster and zero-waste entrepreneur Lauren Singer on the Silo pop-up, the first trash-free restaurant pop-up in the United States. Chef McMaster's Silo restaurant in London is widely considered to be the most acclaimed and ambitious zero-waste restaurant in the world.

Public Records

Pre and post opening food and kitchen operators and consultants of restaurant and bar

Public Records is a community listening space built within the historic former ASPCA Headquarters on the edge of the Gowanus Canal. For this project, The Oberon Group consulted for 6 months before and after opening to execute an entirely vegan food concept focused on local and seasonal ingredients with minimal manipulation.

Nowadays

Food and beverage partner for outdoor music and event venue for over 1,000 guests

Nowadays was opened as a seasonal outdoor bar, restaurant, party haven, and hang-out in the summer of 2015 by Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter, resident DJs and organizers of Mister Saturday Night and Mister Sunday. In 2017, they brought on Henry Rich as a partner to reimagine the food and beverage offering and open an indoor nightclub space to serve the underground dance community year-round.

Metrograph Commissary

Consulting restaurateur on Metrograph Bar, Commissary, and popcorn recipes

Alexander Olch created the stylish downtown Manhattan theater, Metrograph, to bring old world glamour and sophistication to the movie-going experience. He tapped Henry and Oberon to assist in the opening of Metrograph’s onsite restaurant, The Commissary, which is inspired by the backlot cafeterias of Old Hollywood studio lots where stars sat beside stage hands to eat their daily meals. The Commissary was built for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 500 person parties.

Cassette

French Catalonian neighborhood restaurant in Greenpoint

Cassette opened in 2015 as a neighborhood morning to evening destination serving brunch, lunch, and dinner in a spacious 91-seat space. Chef Joe Pasqualetto’s menu showcased the more approachable side of French cuisine by focussing on Catalonian peasant fare with an emphasis on seasonal vegetables. The space featured a large window spanning the entire front of the restaurant, a range of small and communal tables, and a generous bar equally well-suited to daytime espresso and pastries and evening craft cocktails and European ciders.

Mettā

Founder and collaborator on carbon-neutral restaurant driven by wood-fired cooking

The Oberon Group opened Mettā with Francis Mallman alum Negro Piattoni in March of 2017. The restaurant featured wood-fired cooking, executed in the traditional style of Argentine asado, but also featured local and seasonal vegetable dishes and ferments from the team’s time at Bar Tartine in San Francisco. The cocktail list was the first in NYC to feature adaptogenic additions of ashwagandha and elecampane and the wine list featured old-world natural producers that paired well with the juicy, sour, and smokey flavors of Chef Piattoni’s cooking.

Republic of Booza

Startup and management consulting

Oberon consulted for 4 years on the pre-opening and operation of this project. Booza is the original ice cream — the first frozen dairy-based dessert from which the ice creams we know today evolved. It was developed alongside the technology for freezing dairy, 500 years ago in the Levant region of the Eastern Mediterranean and is known for using mastic and orchid root for its signature stretchy consistency.

The Night Heron

Creative advisor for speakeasy in NYC water tower

In 2013, Oberon worked with N.D. Austin to realize his vision of a speakeasy experience driven by a gift economy. The secret bar was located in a water tower atop an abandoned Chelsea building. Entrance was secured by the gift of a pocket watch, purchased by a previous patron so that they may gift the experience to someone else. In this way, the speakeasy experience was offered up freely, as a gift, to those lucky enough to be invited.

The Threesome Tollbooth

Friend of the booth, facilitator of undisclosed location

A semi-secret bar the size of a tollbooth that holds three people — one bartender and two guests. Ticketed guests are treated to an hour-long sequence of perfectly-sized cocktails and conversation with the bartender, N.D. Austin, in a precisely-designed interior about the size of a large armoire, filled with cocktail bibles and old-fashioned bar-tending accoutrements.

Creative Time: Bring Down the Walls

Nightclub programming and support in collaboration with Nowadays

In May of 2018, Creative Time, in partnership with The Fortune Society, visual artist Phil Collins, and over 100 collaborators, presented Bring Down The Walls, a three-part public art project which turned an unconventional lens on the prison industrial complex through house music and nightlife. The project consisted of a communal space that functioned as a school by day and dance club by night.

Mr. Fong’s

Pre-opening advisor

An unassuming watering hole featuring Chinese-inspired cocktails and bar bites, plus a jukebox in the Two Bridges neighborhood of Manhattan. Mr. Fong’s has become a legendary late night spot conceived by Rucola alums Aisa Shelley and Lucas Moran.

BRIC Arts Café

Cafe operator

The Oberon Group concepted and operated the café space for BRIC Arts Media’s central venue, BRIC House. Anchored in downtown Brooklyn, BRIC Arts is New York’s premier public arts organization. A leading arts and media institution, BRIC is responsible for helming some of Brooklyn’s most beloved festivals such as Celebrate Brooklyn.