Yellow Rose Couple Opens a New Williamsburg Hangout

Eater

2 days ago

A patty melt walks into a bar…or is it a restaurant? Rose Marie is still trying to figure it out, but you don't need to think too hard: this is just a plain fun hangout. At the new spot from the couple behind Yellow Rose, which opened over the weekend, the sandwich is sure to be a crowd favorite, topped with a pickled green tomato. It's one of several dishes influenced by specials that first appeared at Krystiana and Dave Rizo's East Village restaurant, and now, after various tweaks, have found a home of their own.
'We had a whole day where we were just making and eating patty melts,' says Krystiana of how they agreed on the one. 'There were many different variations — obviously, everyone has their opinions on what they think the perfect patty melt is, because it is such a classic dish.'
The new Williamsburg spot is a little more freeform in theme: a little Southern but not explicitly so, the type of place where you can stop by for a full meal (saltine-crusted fish) or a snack (a toast piled high with Campo Rosso Farm corbaci peppers, sungold tomatoes, parmesan and olive oil); seasonally-driven drinks like a pickled rhubarb martini or a guava daiquiri, a bar menu designed by Yellow Rose and Ramona bar alum Margaret Fitzgerald.
The name Rose Marie refers to the Bob Dylan song 'Goin' to Acapulco' (It's also fitting as their business partner, Tracy Spetka's mom, is named Rosemary). The design is a hodgepodge of things they've picked up from various auction sites and even from their own home — the kind of couple that's down to drive out of the way to pick up the kind of clown art piece that completes a wall. A requisite Cevallos Brothers poster hangs in the bathroom.
The Rizos had been looking for a space for another project for a few years now. 'We don't have any outside investors, it's literally just me and Dave,' says Krystiana. ' They landed on 524 Lorimer Street, at Ainslie Street, in Williamsburg, a quiet corner of the neighborhood that had previously been a short-lived restaurant, a storefront with character and plenty of natural light.
While searching, the couple knew they didn't want it to be another Tex-Mex spot like Yellow Rose. 'Dave never thought he'd be cooking Tex-Mex — that was never really his thing,' she says. It sort of happened accidentally. During the pandemic, the San Antonio natives started doing taco pop-ups that took off – and saw there was a market for it. In 2020, they opened Yellow Rose, the restaurant, as a love letter to their home state, and in the process, helped give handmade flour tortillas their long-overdue moment in New York.
Dave, who before opening the restaurant, worked at Superiority Burger, has always been the kind of chef who loves to tinker with vegetable-centric dishes, changing frequently by what's available at the farmers market. But the blessing and the curse of being a restaurant known for something — in Yellow Rose's case, tacos — meant that most people want to stick to the signatures and not deviate too much. Rose Marie dishes like the chicken cutlet topped with a creamy Camporosso farm slaw were first piloted in some form there.
The businesses can stand alone from each other, but no matter their space, the Rizos have a knack for creating a casual, friendly atmosphere that doesn't take itself too seriously — the very type of place that has developed strong fanfare and regulars. 'For us, our philosophy has always been the kind of place that everyone can hang out in,' no matter their mood or price point.
Rose Marie is open right now daily from 5 until midnight, and is considering adding brunch down the line: 'We're feeling it out and seeing what the neighborhood wants.' See More: