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Julian Davis, owner of 14 Wall Street Restaurant, didn't have great expectations for corporate parties during the holiday season.
His lower Manhattan eatery opened on Oct. 29, long after most year-end celebrations are booked.
Mr. Davis was wrong. Three weeks before Christmas, his party capacity is nearly sold out, with Bank of New York, PaineWebber and J.P. Morgan among the 20 companies that will hold events at the restaurant. Demand has been so great that he is opening on weekends--a Wall Street rarity--exclusively for corporate revelers.
A year after the big holiday party came back into style, the favored venues for after-work celebrations are brand-new restaurants and clubs. High on cachet, eager for bookings, and often more affordable than established places, up-and-coming boites are catching the most limelight this season.
"I own three restaurants, but Mesa City is getting way more calls than the others for corporate parties," says Bobby Flay, owner and chef of the Mexican spot on 66th Street and Third Avenue, which is celebrating its first holiday season. "Being new is a big part of it--you're of the moment and that creates demand."
Howard Stein, co-owner of Certrude's, which debuted in July at 33 E. 61st St., was getting calls for holiday reservations while the restaurant was still under construction.
"We're holding at least one party a day, sometimes two a day, throughout December," he says. "The corporate response has been great."
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