Renovation Spiffs Up Art Deco Elements of Edison Ballroom

Almost a year after the Supper Club unexpectedly shuttered, the venue inside the Hotel Edison is ready to reopen Thursday, this time as a revamped event venue catering specifically to corporate and nonprofit events, as well as social functions. Leased from the building’s owner, the 17,000-square-foot Edison Ballroom is now under the management of Allan Wartski—who owns the Hakata Grill and Christo’s Steakhouse—and received a complete overhaul to the tune of $5 million.Architecture and design firm Glen & Company redid the interior with an eye to highlighting the site's original Art Deco elements, while adding other accents to emphasize the 1930s style—even in the tiled bathrooms. Back is the detailed gold-leaf ceiling, which has been restored and repainted, and new are columns upholstered in tufted leather, plush banquettes, glass chandeliers, and backlit glass tiles. A neutral palette of white, black, gray, and brown plays up these details while hiding some of the production equipment.

In addition to ripping out the old kitchen and putting in a shiny new one complete with service stations in key areas, the new owners invested more than $1 million in upgrading the lighting, sound, and audiovisual systems to theater-grade level. Now on site is an overhead truss rigged with LED and intelligent lighting, as well as an HDTV projector. Audio and lighting production are handled in-house; planners who bring in their own vendors must work with these teams.

Also in-house is the catering. Wartski brought in Mina Newman—a chef with previous experience at Layla, Dylan Prime, and Christo's Steakhouse—to head up the kitchen.