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This Viennese restaurant is a visual ode to modernism

There are many places where one would expect to see elements of the Wiener Werkstätte, Bauhaus and pop art merge. But a restaurant in New Jersey? To Charlya new Kaffeehaus-inspired bistro in Harrison, those expectations are delightfully subverted.

Located along a bustling residential street in a former industrial suburb of Newark, Charley exudes warmth, playfulness and an undeniable element of cosmopolitan cool. The eclectic bistro is the realization of chef Kurt Gutenbrunner’s longtime dream of creating a casual Viennese-inspired restaurant, under the direction of creative director Max Cutler. Cocktail bar seats eight and features bohemian touches like Moroccan zellige tiles and mid-century-inspired lighting by Artemis Papadatou of Map Design Studio.

In the dining room, fabric pendant lights from the Austrian capital’s historic Loos Bar and olive green velvet banquettes provide a soft contrast to a bold poster wall that draws inspiration from vintage concert prints and graphics Viennese secessionists. With a menu full of Central European bites (short rib goulash, shiitake spätzle) balanced by a refreshing cocktail program including sips like white negronis and elderflower spritzes, Charley’s is a welcome sensory start. anywhere from Jersey to Japan. —Jenna Adrian Diaz

Home Studios brings classic European style to Salt Lake with Laurel Brasserie and Bar.

It’s not often that a hospitality project comes to town in Salt Lake City with a national design name attached to it, but the Laurel Brewery and Bar upsets the status quo. With prolific designers Home Studios at the helm, the new arrival at the chic Grand America Hotel is easily one of the most high-profile openings in years. Located in the heart of the revitalized downtown, the multi-room concept is an ode to classic European styles.

At Bonne Vie, take-out coffee and pastries are served in a space decked out in teal-blue millwork, pastel velvet chairs, and checkerboard marble flooring. Cherry-red leather-covered banquette and picture wall coverings set the scene in the main dining room for Chef Fernando Soberanis’ Euro-American spins such as butter-poached shrimp with mashed cauliflower and classic steak frites with butter béarnaise sauce and hand-cut fries. —Nate’s story

Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila makes bricks from post-production agave fiber.

“Kendall Jenner’s famed 818 Tequila Company has partnered with Mexican non-profit organization SACRED, which works to support rural Mexican communities that produce agave spirits. Together they launched the 818 Bricks program, using 818 Tequila’s post-production agave fibers to create adobe bricks. The first batch of bricks has just been completed and will be used to build a school library and tasting room for a family distillery, 230 km from Distillery 818 in the Mexican region of Jalisco. —[H/T Fast Company]

Amazon obtains permission to build a propeller-shaped tower at its Headquarters 2 in Washington.

“Arlington County Council on Saturday unanimously approved Amazon’s plans to build a unique propeller-shaped tower as the centerpiece of its second emerging headquarters in northern Virginia. Amazon announced in plans for the eye-catching 350ft tower to anchor the second phase of its redevelopment plans in February 2021. The new office towers will support a second headquarters for Amazon which is expected to accommodate more than 25,000 workers when completed.[H/T NBC4 Washington]

Christie’s is launching a fundraising series to support ongoing relief efforts in Ukraine.

“Christie’s has launched a three-part fundraising series beginning April 25 that is expected to raise $1 million for Ukrainian heritage and humanitarian aid to be distributed through the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and its Ukraine Heritage Response Fund, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and CORE, the organization supporting actor Sean Penn. The move follows donations by the auction house for Ukraine aid to the UN Refugee Agency and the Red Cross and the cancellation of its June Russian sales following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. —[H/T The Art Newspaper]

Japan’s tallest building, the A District by Pelli Clarke & Partners, towers high in Tokyo.

Architecture studio Pelli Clarke & Partners’ 330 meters high [1,082 feet] A district tower has peaked in Tokyo, making it the tallest building in Japan. Located in the Toronamon-Azabudai district of central Tokyo, the mixed-use tower – one of three skyscrapers that Pelli Clarke & Partners is designing for developer Mori – has reached its full height. A District takes the title of Japan’s tallest building from Abeno Harukas, a 300-meter tall building in Osaka that was also designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners and completed in 2014. —[H/T Dezeen]

Louis Vuitton will soon release products from the latest line designed by Virgil Abloh.

“Louis Vuitton is set to launch products from its Pre-Fall/Winter 2022 collection, the last designed by Virgil Abloh before his death. Naturally, the product now has a sentimental context and is one of many tributes to Abloh’s enduring legacy. Looking at what’s on offer, the Abloh touch is everywhere. Louis Vuitton has also tapped Milanese tattoo artist Ghusto Leon for a fresh perspective. The result: a series of suits, shorts, shirts, coats and matching ensembles that exemplify an “ideology of childhood”. –[H/T Input]

Today’s attractive distractions:

The Perseverance rover captures otherworldly images of a solar eclipse on Mars.

Heather Benning has transformed an old farmhouse into a dollhouse and burned it.

A new exhibition highlights classic movie sets and the artists who created them.

Entomologists named a newly discovered species of centipede after Taylor Swift.