Supermodel Café by Bethenny Frankel opens in East Quogue
Bethenny Frankel at Thursday's opening of her Supermodel Café in East Quogue. Credit: Newsday/Melissa Azofeifa
Long Island is ready for its close-up, with the opening of Supermodel Café, a new Hamptons eatery by Bethenny Frankel. Hundreds of fans lined up early outside the Main Street eatery Thursday morning, some traveling all the way from Nassau County. The excitement was palpable.
Frankel, an alumna of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York City," opened the cafe at 481 Main St. in East Quogue on Thursday. The menu includes bagels in flavors like plain, sea salt, everything and cherry vanilla. Spreads and dips include cacio e pepe, spicy sriracha and sweet cream.
Jenna Recco, and Jenna Abatemarco, both 21 and from Massapequa, woke at 5:15 a.m. to start their trip out to East Quogue for the opening.
"I just love Bethenny and I came here for the chicken salad," Recco said.
Inside, the room was loud and vibrant with a photo-ready pink neon "Supermodel" sign and shelves of merchandise. The excitement peaked when Frankel herself made an appearance.
"It’s perfect," Frankel told Newsday. "We don't even call it a pop-up anymore, only because it doesn't feel like one. It’s like the Billy Joel of bagels, we’re going to stay until no one wants to come anymore."
If you've been following Frankel on her social media pages, you know she has strong opinions on what makes a good chicken salad — so, of course, it's on the menu. She's the CEO of the Skinnygirl low-calorie cocktail brand and recently garnered millions of views on her Instagram for hosting the "Chicken Salad Olympics," urging Long Island delis and bagel stores to send her their deli salad for a taste test. The buzz backed the launch of her own pop-up business serving her version of the dish, which she judges by categories of "chicken," "crunch," "base" and "topping." The name of the cafe is a play on another one of her popular Instagram video series, in which she taste tests "supermodel snacks," or simple-to-make, low-cal dishes.
Frankel was given three weeks to launch the pop-up in the former Goldberg's/Goldbrew space, she said on Instagram.
"This is a line of ‘better for you’ bagels, flavorful dips, all creative flavors," Frankel said in a July 31 Instagram post. "My whole thing is never wanting to sacrifice taste and flavor when you make something better for you. The cafe just happened before I had even fleshed out all the recipes."
There are also six signature lattes, including pistachio coconut cream, honey cinnamon vanilla, banana cream and strawberry matcha.
"This cafe could end up being a moving pop-up, it could be a permanent cafe. We are documenting it; it may be a reality show," Frankel previously said on Instagram. "I am literally running and gunning and doing real, so you’re welcome."
If the cafe doesn't hit, "the people will tell me," Frankel told People magazine. "I’m always pretty open and vulnerable. They’ll come in and they’ll tell me if it’s good, if it’s not good, if it’s at the level, if it’s not at the level. The crowds will determine whether there’s a demand for this."
Supermodel Café, 674 Montauk Hwy., East Quogue, Instagram: @supermodelcafe
Melissa Azofeifa is a restaurants reporter with Newsday's FeedMe team. Having grown up on Long Island, she loves talking about food and its impact on culture. A graduate of Stony Brook University, she joined Newsday in the fall of 2024.
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