This new Orange County spot blends old-world charm with chic city vibes.
The soaring, ornately beautiful ceiling is a focal point at The Fed of Warwick, a new restaurant housed inside a historic building on Main Street. When longtime NYC restaurateur Michael Tzezailidis toured the space—built in 1864 and formerly a Chase Bank—he caught a glimpse of the original ceiling through a small window in the HVAC room. “It was beautiful, and the building was so well built,” says Tzezailidis, who moved to Warwick with his family in 2017 and initially thought about buying a farm and opening a brewery. “It reminded me of Grand Central Station. I wanted to bring it back to what was originally built.”
So Tzezailidis stopped shopping for farmland and focused on creating a sophisticated space where guests could enjoy a craft cocktail and tuck into small and large plates influenced by his Greek heritage. The wood barrels that sit atop the centrally located bar are a reference to drinks like the Older Fashion made from cask-aged bourbon and the Oaked Negroni—aged gin and Campari with a charred-oak infusion. (There’s also an extensive wine and beer list, including Beertails, devised when IPAs and pale ales are shaken or stirred with spirits like Campari and Mezcal.)
Diners can grab a seat at the bar or head to one of the leather banquettes and order bites like zucchini fritter balls, the deconstructed moussaka (“It’s a fun play on a traditional dish. We break it down and cook each part separately,” explains Tzezailidis), or the flavorful mini souvlaki, a taco-like presentation in which homemade mini pitas are filled with chicken, sausage, halibut, steak, shrimp, or eggplant and topped with yogurt sauce and assorted vegetables and microgreens.
“Some of our menu…is authentically Greek. But we also have burgers and a fried chicken sandwich. We’re really trying to cater to everyone.”
For larger portions, the Pasta Santorini is overflowing with seafood and comes with either wheat or razor-thin spiralized zucchini noodles. Or try the Hellenic Frites, a selection of protein—lamb, steak, halibut, or shrimp—with vegetables and oregano truffle Parmesan fries. Every meal starts with a complimentary serving of mini pitas that Tzezailidis’ staff makes from scratch each day and serves alongside olives and tapenade. “I take a lot of pride in that, because most restaurants don’t make their own pita,” says Tzezailidis, who also owns two Manhattan restaurants: Death Ave and Taqueria on Tenth. “Some of our menu, like the pita or the eight-hour octopus, or the way we cook our fish, is authentically Greek. But we also have burgers and a fried chicken sandwich. We’re really trying to cater to everyone.”
Wherever possible, Tzezailidis repurposed the building’s original details: two of the old bank vault doors now serve as both the entrance to a private cocktail lounge upstairs and as a decorative touch in the main dining room. And upon discovering that much of the dramatic ceiling had been destroyed over the years, he had it restored—a painstaking and lengthy process. But in a fortuitous sense of timing, he was finally able to open The Fed last October on Warwick’s famous Applefest weekend, when thousands of people descend upon the town’s orchards and Main Street. “The community here has been really welcoming.”
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