Iconic Peter Luger Steakhouse fills empty dining tables with celebrity mannequins

Iconic Peter Luger Steakhouse fills empty dining tables with celebrity mannequins

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The acclaimed Brooklyn steakhouse, Peter Luger, believes he has found a way to make indoor meals 35% less awkward. Following in the footsteps of the Inn at Little Washington, the Michelin-starred steakhouse equipped its main dining room with celebrity mannequins as part of an inventive and somewhat frightening partnership with Madame Tussauds New York.

Starting today, customers can cut one of the restaurant’s porterhouse steaks under the watchful eye of Jon Hamm, twice a Golden Globe winner. Wax figures of Audrey Hepburn and Jimmy Fallon are also seated in the restaurant, while journalist Al Roker is parked at the entrance to direct customers to Peter Luger’s second floor. The mannequins will remain on the premises until March 1, when they will then return to the recently reopened Madame Tussauds in Midtown Manhattan.

“We are excited to welcome customers back home with 35 percent and we think this would be a fun and safe way to fill some of the places that need to remain empty as we continue to fight the pandemic,” said Peter Luger, vice President Daniel Turtel, in a statement.

A Jon Hamm-like wax figure is at the bar of an American steakhouse in Brooklyn

Jon Hamm, twice a Golden Globe winner, squeezes an old-fashioned cocktail at the bar
Peter Luger [Official]

Two workers in a restaurant wearing gloves and masks stand next to a wax figure reminiscent of journalist Al Roker

Journalist Al Roker greets customers at the entrance to Peter Luger
Peter Luger [Official]

If all of this seems a little familiar, it is because Peter Luger is not the first restaurant to equip its indoor dining rooms with mannequins during the pandemic. (Although he may be the first to use celebrities.) Early in the pandemic, mannequins dressed in vintage 1940s clothing appeared in the dining room at the Inn at Little Washington, the three-Michelin-starred showstopping restaurant in the DC area. Our colleagues at Eater DC correctly reported that the change was “theatrical” and “a little scary”.

The wax figures are the latest in Peter Luger’s struggle to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, an ongoing effort that moved the restaurant to offer delivery and accept credit cards for the first time in 133 years, among other changes. The restaurant is currently open for take-away, delivery, outdoor dinners and indoor dinners with reduced capacity.

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