Local Couple Launches Pop-Up Dinner Series Called PlaceInvaders
When Katie Smith-Adair and Hagan Blount moved into a new space of their own on the border of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill in August, 2014, there was a block party right across the street on Clinton Avenue.
“It was like they threw the party just for us,” joked Blount. “Then one weekend soon after, I [had some extra] desserts and there just happened to be another block party — this time, I was able to join in. . . People are real nice here. We love the neighborhood vibe.”
Smith-Adair agreed, noting that “we both like entertaining and Hagan used to cook for home dinner parties on a weekly basis, but it’s not common for people when they are younger to have space for dinner parties. It’s a novelty to go to a home instead of to a bar.”
That desire for a sense of shared community over shared meals has translated into PlaceInvaders, a monthly pop-up dinner — and brunch — series that takes place in a different, yet uniquely fascinating and often gorgeous, piece of real estate every outing. Launched in May of last year, the series has grown steadily and, in December, traversed the Hudson River out of Manhattan and into Brooklyn.
“December was our first Brooklyn event, in an 1860s-era brownstone in Fort Greene,” said Smith-Adair. “Finding venues is mostly done through word-of-mouth and outreach [to owners]. We started with six friends and an AirBnB rental. Now dinners can seat up to 30 people and we’ve even done company holiday parties. It’s exciting.”
Also exciting, of course, is the food.
“Hagan does the cooking,” explained Smith-Adair. “He’s not a trained chef, but loves to cook interesting things, like David Chang’s bo ssam as a breakfast hash and these really unique oyster crabs. Alcohol and wine are donated from New York City businesses, and we get fish on Myrtle Avenue or from the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx.”
The couple also does their best to accommodate vegetarians, pescetarians, or allergies if alerted in advance. “We can’t manage too many types of restrictions in one seating, however, so guests should ask to be sure,” said Smith-Adair.
Like other pop-up dinner events, such as the massive annual Diner En Blanc held in cities around the world, guests don’t know where the meal will be eaten until the day-of.
Unlike such events, though, the PlaceInvaders dining experience is as much about the physical space as it is about the food.
“In New York, people love new experiences and real estate — to see homes that are not our own,” explained Smith-Adair. “I know I read the real estate section of the newspaper first every day, too.
“The thing we’re trying to create is a social, excited community,” she added. “Our biggest reward is to see people feel appreciative, like they’re part of something exclusive. People hug me at the end of the night.”
PlaceInvaders’ January dinner series is this weekend (Friday, January 23 to Sunday, January 25) with five seatings of 14 guests each: a dinner each evening and brunches on Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets are not cheap (Fort Greene Focus readers get 15 percent off with this link), being between $125-200 for dinner and $75-90 for brunch, but include five courses, open bar on cocktails, and “a luxury experience.”
