One of my favorite things about New York City and New Yorkers are the ways we gather. New Yorkers are continuously reinventing what it means to be social in a culture where our interaction with each other is increasingly filtered through a screen. But there’s one thing still requires physically showing up: brunch.
Brunch is a social technology that never becomes outdated, and host Saada Ahmed and Chef Roble Ali—two of the greatest brunch minds in New York City—have brought us brunch 2.0 by way of their Everyday People Series (EP).
When I show up to their latest epic breakfast session, there is already line forming outside the DL in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. People arrive dressed like urban kings and queens, encouraged by hosts to have their outfits “participate”—and participate they do. There are wide-brimmed hats and piercings, suspenders and ten-inch heels. People are using straps in ways I’ve never seen straps used before. I’m surrounded by shaved heads, dreadlocks, braids, hi-top fades, and dyed Afros. The guest list is a who’s who of Black New York, but it is truly a multicultural affair: the New York City that Girls never seems to show.
Guests deep in conversation at the last Everyday People Brunch. Photo by Hafizah Geter.
In Ahmed and Chef Roble’s world, brunch is a multilevel. Downstairs guests enjoy brunch items and street fare inspired by Chef Roble’s travels and the global ethos of EP. The menu includes street dogs and baked beans, barbecue waffles, and a variety of tacos like smoky brisket, roasted mushroom and hominy, and chicken tinga.
The menu at EP is as original as its guests. Photo by Hafizah Geter.
A few flights of stairs up, there is a secret happening. There’s a glass-enclosed rooftop and a balcony. There are people lounging on outdoor furniture and whispering in the ears of bartenders. A team of DJs including DJ Moma & Rich Knight, DJ Equal and Khali Livin’ Proof & Paulie Lovejoy of Back to Life man the booth.
EP started in 2012, conceived as a day party that brings people together. Initially, EP was small, bringing together friends and friends of friends; it has now grown to over 1000 people and travels to different venues from Afropunk to The Brooklyn Museum, and in cities across the country (they’ve done stints in D.C., L.A., Philly, and Chicago). This summer, the event will go international, with a June session planned in Barbados.
Jermaine Frazier, an engineer for AT&T, and London, a screenwriter, both 32 and criminally handsome, have been coming to EP since 2012.
“We keep coming back because it’s got a great vibe and great energy that makes it easy to connect with friends,” says London. For Frazier, it’s the crowd that only EP can provide. “It’s laid back. Very trendy but not pretentious.”
The dance floor at Everyday People Brunch. Photo by Hafizah Geter.
Another duo, Bria, 22, and Prince, 27, dance with their heads thrown back and a perpetual laugh in their throats.
“I live in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where there aren’t a lot of people like me walking the streets,” says Prince, an EP regular. “When I come here I feel a part of something…like I’m incorporated. I wanted [my friend] Bria to experience that too.”
It is important to note that EP is more than just brunch and more than just a party. Guests are encouraged to bring their full selves, including their political and social consciousnesses. Adjacent to the rooftop bar, EP provides a volunteer-run voter registration booth, encouraging folks to do their civic duty in an upcoming election that is increasingly high stakes.
Kathleen Graves, 33, and Megan Linde, 27 manned the registration booth.
“I think it’s incredible. I was recently doing voter registration in Fort Greene Park and people mostly go by you with their headphones in. People at EP are casual and already talking, so they come ready to have a conversation with us,” says Linde. In the span of an hour, the two women have been able to register more people than they normally reach after three hours canvasing the streets.
Another stylish guest scopes out the scene at EP. Photo by Hafizah Geter.
For co-founder Ahmed, EP is a political act.
“I specifically wanted to create a day event for people of color,” she says. “A lot of venues don’t want to see a line of black people. But we’ve never had any incident. There is always love. There is always energy.”
Ahmed says she could feel the necessity of EP more strongly than ever during the beginnings of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Shortly after Michael Brown was killed we had an EP and Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” came on and people went crazy for it,” she says. “That kind of thing would happen anytime any kind of black activist or conscious music was spun; you could sense it in the party. That people really felt it. We want to be a positive, safe space where people can vent out their frustrations and you can be black without it being dangerous.”
Cathartic, EP is. It might be the weather, the election, or something more profound that’s got you in its claw, at EP you can eat, dance, and—based on the sea of body language—fall in love, at least for the weekend.
We got a brunch-worthy playlist from DJ MOMA. Listen now:
EP happens once a month from March to November. Their website and Instagram provides a plethora of photos for those who deem outfit research a must. Follow them on Twitter for updates on Everyday People events and join the next party at the DL on Sunday, April 17, 2-10 p.m.
