Margie’s Rigorous Art and Design Program Barges into New York’s Beachy Rockaway Hotel
Morris Adjmi Architects and Curious Yellow Design, the dynamic collaboration behind the Rockaway Hotel in Queens, has partnered with hospitality designers Dallago Associates and made a post-pandemic return engagement to complete its newly opened Margie’s restaurant. Located on the ground floor, the classic seafood-heavy American bistro represents a new year-round era in dining for one of New York’s most beloved beach destinations.
Design highlights include striking Space Age chandeliers by Ellen DeGeneres, Allied Maker pendant fixtures, Tambour maple panels, and a vase collection sourced in Indonesia along with Arteriors column sconces and Circa Lighting picture fixtures highlighting an exhaustively sourced collection of essential New York artworks. Echoing the Rockaway Hotel’s emphasis on art as the connective tissue of a community, Margie’s also will host a rotating selection of works sourced from local and internationally renowned artists. The restaurant’s artwork plays an integral role in capturing the spirit of Margie Murphy and infusing it with the culture of modern-day Rockaway Beach. Hotel managing partner and creative chief social impact officer Michi Jigarjian curated each piece of art to represent Margie’s brand of hospitality—one that values community and inclusion without sacrificing the style and edge that is distinctly Rockaway.
The works, which are shown in a salon-style hang interspersed with family photographs of Margie throughout her life, include photographs of the 1980s surf culture at Rockaway’s famed boardwalk by Joni Sternbach, contemporary photographs of Rockaway Beach by local artist Susannah Ray, as well as Five Boys, a 1954 drawing by Andy Warhol meant to allude to the five Tubridy brothers.
“Margie’s salon-style hang of artwork is curated to represent the ethos of what Margie meant to Rockaway Beach,” Jigarjian says. “We want the space to embody her legacy as a generous, stylish, edgy and welcoming community member and highlight how she brought inclusion and diversity to the Rockaways through her hospitality,” she adds, noting that the dining room blends internationally renowned artists with the local Rockaway community to honor Margie’s legacy.
“Margie’s is inspired by our grandmother, a woman who represented true Rockaway hospitality,” IGC Hospitality partner Terence Tubridy adds. “This is a real full-circle moment for us. The site of the restaurant is actually where my brothers and I set up a lemonade stand as kids, and now we’re opening a restaurant that not only celebrates our family history, but paves the way for a new generation of dining in the area.”
