We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bridgid Zimerbort a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bridgid , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Gather is a 20 year dream, I saw the vision in 2004. It was a very evolutionary time on the Lower East Side, the area was heavily gentrifying, galleries and cafes were slowly opening in the area. Throughout my career, I have always been involved to one degree or another in hospitality and always saw myself opening a food business of my own. Back in 2004, what I mostly envisioned was a menu and serving the community. At the time, I was working in the interior design industry, at first primarily focused on residential projects, and later on hospitality projects. I was selling textiles and wall coverings to leading interior design firms who worked on hotels and restaurants globally. I was learning in detail how to create environments for the public. After 15 years of working in that industry, I transitioned to a completely different role and was general manager of a catering company. Through this experience I learned the business of food and beverage, worked along side chefs and catered to mostly A list clientele. My dream of Gather never faded, I always knew that I would open, just didn’t know when. So many years of failed attempts didn’t discourage me, rather pushed me further. The idea was getting clearer and clearer, about 3 years ago, it became as clear as day. I was staring at my mood and inspirations boards, writing down brand pillars, thinking of names that align, playing with colors, and working on the layout. This was all before I knew where Gather will reside. The idea became so real and to some extent I let spirit guide me. The Lower East Side is where I feel my roots are. I am a first generation American. My family immigrated from Ukraine and Romania and have spent close to 50 years running businesses when the neighborhood was still considered the ‘bargain district’. I knew that this would be a worthwhile endeavor because it ran through my blood. Part of the mission is to pay homage to the path that my family has paved through their struggles. I watched them succeed in their stores and feel like I have learned from the best. Gather resides in a location that was originally my grandfather’s store. Gather is a unique establishment, it is a hub of exquisite interior design, high quality casual food, and community. The idea is to be a place for the neighborhood to feel at home, an environment that will expand people however it may and open enough to evolve into what its meant to be. We are currently in the process of expanding to a wine bar. The most exciting thing for me is being able to serve in a positive way and stand apart from the rest.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My career has always been in this industry, via design, business management and my earlier years front of house operational positions. I’ve worked in restaurants, managed a catering company, managed high end spas/salons and the majority of my experience lies in sales for hospitality interior design,
Gather provides exceptional food, with an eclectic menu of sandwiches, salads, plates, smoothies, coffee and pastries. We also have a small market of refrigerated drinks and snacks. We offer a beautifully designed environment for customers to casually enjoy a meal, meet with a friend for coffee or tea, read a book, do some work, etc.
We offer catering services, off site or private events in house. There are monthly pop ups / workshops as well. There are several things that set us apart from others : we have a very large space compared to our competition, we don’t serve typical cafe food, our menu is gourmet, we have an open concept kitchen and over 20 feet of counter space for seating, we sell only the best brands in our market that align with our quality. We aim to be as exclusive as possible and carry items that our competition does not. We are the 2nd cafe in NYC to carry our specific coffee blend. We also bake many of our pastries in house (without being a bakery) and make all of our flavor profiles. We are the only food business on our block. Our staff is always happy.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There are many stories I can tell that illustrate my resilience. Being a woman with a big business dream in NYC is never easy, I have been around many different people who would try to discourage me from moving forward or mock the idea. There were potential partnerships that seemed promising but always fell through. These experiences along the way could have easily deterred me from moving forward, but my resilience kept me moving forward, the belief was so strong. When I was finally in the space and picking a construction team, there was so much discouragement, people were not taking me serious because they didn’t believe that a woman can do it on her own. I went through so many walk throughs with contractors who wouldn’t even give me a bid after because they didn’t believe that I was serious. I kept going, they didn’t stop me and eventually hired the best crew I could have dreamed of.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

After my 12th year of working in the interior design world, in 2013, I had to pivot my life because I got married and had my first child. This was a huge turning point for me as I was used to always working and traveling. Becoming a mom definitely shifted me as a person. I did go back to work for three more years in the same industry. Shortly after I took a slight break and spent some quality years home with my children. In 2018 I was back in the workforce, that is when my career took a turn and I worked in catering. This was the final step needed before opening Gather.I learned the business of food inside out. There is still so much to learn, but my foundations were covered.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.letsgatherandplay.com
• Instagram: Gather_les