Last Thursday, Real Housewives of New York star and Skinnygirl virtuoso Bethenny Frankel opened the doors of her East Quogue elevated bagel pop-up, Supermodel Cafe, and for a few splendid hours, the grand opening went off without a hitch. The line stretched down the block with hungry Hamptoners; chicken salad, schmear, and specialty lattes flew off baby-pink shelves; and patrons even purchased $43 bagel sandwiches dubbed “the nepo baby,” featuring “a dollop of caviar nestled in the bagel hole.”
But then came the haters, i.e. the Southampton/New York State Building Code, to ruin everyone’s bagel fun. On Friday, Southampton Press reported that just hours after Supermodel Cafe’s opening, the fire marshal had posted a damning yellow stop-work order to the storefront, featuring one dramatically checked box reading, “a dangerous and unsafe condition exists.”
“Today’s Supermodel Café launch drew an extraordinary turnout, and we are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support from the community,” a representative for Frankel told Us Weekly. “The café received a yellow notice labeled ‘Warning Stop Work Order’ following concerns surrounding the unusually high volume of launch-day attendees.”
“The team is working cooperatively with local officials and taking the appropriate steps to address those concerns,” the rep. added. “The notice does not require the café to close, and there is no anticipated disruption to business.” The outlet also reported that over 700 people showed up for the grand opening, so the “unusually high volume of launch-day attendees” would have been an understandable hazard… IF that were the actual reason they received the stop-work order.
According to the Southampton Town Public Safety and Emergency Management Administrator, Ryan Murphy (who holds no known relation to the other Ryan Murphy), the shop was found in violation for two completely different reasons: 1. Improper change of signage; and 2. Oversized tables and chairs on the sidewalk, which the local paper said was “deemed to be an obstruction.”
For reference, these were the so-called obstructive chairs.
They just love to hate a successful businesswoman thriving and selling out of her calorically light chicken salad. Typical.
Frankel went to TikTok to update fans on the details of the violation, but seemed to be under the impression it was about construction at the time. She captioned her post, “Stop work order is for construction… supermodels never stop WERKING, you’re welcome.” Try, try you can, New York State Building Code Enforcement, but there’s no stopping this entrepreneurial runaway freight train of a woman. Supermodel Cafe will resume service on Wednesday, after Bethenny and her staff get some much deserved R+R.
While Murphy claims the business still “failed to take corrective action,” perhaps he is just pissed about the $43 bagel sandwich—so consider this mystery solved.
