Do Not Feed Alligators

At first glance, you might get the impression that Do Not Feed Alligators had been designed with the sole aim of being Instagrammable; the buzz it’s generated on social media since opening earlier this year certainly suggests as much. But lingering inside — over a beverage and book perhaps — guests soon find that the aesthetic appeal that first drew them in gives way to an atmosphere that’s refreshingly sincere. What has made DNFA so well loved in the community is not a matter of style — but rather the type of interaction it was designed to inspire. Not long ago, Bleecker Street, the once-lively heart of the West Village in Manhattan, teetered on the brink of oblivion. Shops were boarded up and sidewalks were empty of tourists and locals alike, as the city struggled to find a way to reinvent itself amidst the turmoil of the pandemic. Ways of gathering and forming community had shifted, together with much else in our lifestyles — and a new model of space had yet to be invented to accommodate this change. Do Not Feed Alligators offers its guests a microcosm of the magic of post-Covid urban life, promoting a mix of culture and camaraderie when we need and crave it most. It invites the community to intermix while sipping expertly-crafted European coffees, peruse a carefully curated selection of art books (including the proprietor’s own eponymous tome), attend a robust roster of live events, or sit in a hidden plant-lined courtyard as a record spins whimsically in the background. The design of the space takes on the character of a host: thoughtful and accommodating, but never loud. It’s inspired by a pair of distinctive notions of social experience: hygge, a Danish word signaling a particular kind of coziness, and lebenskraft, a German concept of vital, bustling energy. These terms are said not to be directly translatable into English, but the design works to translate them into the more evocative language of space. Patrons of DNFA are rewarded by taking a deeper look at the layered and complex materials throughout the space that might initially present themselves as neutral. During the afternoon, the sun line cuts across the terrazzo floor and plaster walls in a dramatic fashion. In the evening, the garden lights come on and the food and beverage mix shifts from coffee and black matcha to organic wine and unique cocktails. Breathing new life onto Bleecker Street, DNFA has become a neighborhood staple and a visitor’s must-see. And of course it doesn’t hurt that it’s nearly impossible to take a bad photograph of the space!