For Sarah Meyer Simon, Lucky’s Steakhouse always felt like home. Simon’s father, Herb, opened the original Montecito location with friends and business partners Jimmy Argyropoulos and Gene Montesano (of Lucky Brand Jeans) in 2000; the trio later opened a Malibu outpost in 2020. Since then, Simon has spent countless meals, celebrations and rites of passage, from her 21st birthday to her father’s 80th, at one of Lucky’s white linen tables, surrounded by family. It was a restaurant designed for togetherness, and with a classic feel and menu of pricey steaks and seafood, it honored the tradition of an American steakhouse—but remained a neighborhood joint nonetheless.
“My dad got into restaurants when we all moved to Montecito. It was mainly born out of a personal love for creating community…He sees these restaurants as an extension of his living room and an extension of his daily routine—where he can be comfortable and enjoy meals with family and friends,” Simon told Observer. “That philosophy has helped shape my attitude toward restaurants to this day.”
Simon, still a self-proclaimed Indiana girl (her father owns the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever) despite her footing in Los Angeles and New York, was raised in Indianapolis, where her parents met in the ‘70s. They became infatuated with Montecito in 1988 and, two days into their first visit, purchased the home Mr. Simon still owns today. Growing up, Simon traveled between Indianapolis and Montecito and then later, into her adulthood, between Los Angeles and New York.
So, when the idea arose to open New York’s first Lucky’s, Simon, who also co-owns the vegetarian hotspot Butcher’s Daughter with longtime friend Heather Tierney, was elated to step in. Bringing the Manhattan steakhouse to fruition by July of this year was a multi-generational project with Simon, Argyropoulos’ son, Nico, and their fathers.
“Nico owns the building that Lucky’s SoHo is housed in. In a complete coincidence, I live across the street from the restaurant, and have for 15 years. I frequented the Lucky’s SoHo space for many years when it was Jack’s Wife Freda—the owners are a big part of why I love hospitality. When Nico first pitched the idea of opening a Lucky’s in his building, he didn’t realize I lived right there! It clicked into place like fate,” Simon said.
As Simon’s adult life took form on the corner of Lafayette and Spring, she more deeply cultivated her feeling that the best restaurants exist to connect people—to food, to new experiences, to strangers who become friends, and that walls and tables evolve into a sense of place. Countless New Yorkers expand the square footage of their cramped city apartment to the local cafe or bistro where convivial owners and regulars make it feel like that particular street is the smallest town in one of the densest metropolises.
With Lucky’s, Simon wanted to bring the neighborhood feel she took solace in, first with her dad’s restaurant, and then later with the inspiring path of Jack’s Wife Freda owners Maya and Dean Jankelowitz. The SoHo Lucky’s is a ripple of this Montecito and Malibu energy—something familiar, but still decidedly Manhattan. Instead of clean white walls laden with black-and-white shots of candid crooners and Hollywood’s finest, the dark interior sparkles in the way only New York can. Monochromatic wallpaper fills the intimate one-room space with illustrations of boisterous dancers at a nightclub.
Colossal, coral-colored shrimp and oysters, more sweet than briny, were a perfect start to dinner on the kind of summer night where dress hems are minimal and cocktails are cold. It was a full house, with wine glasses and conversations clattering between the bar and booths. Customers either looked comfortable, like they were pleased to find their West Coast haunt here on the corner of Lafayette, or curious. Outside, three bistro tables line the sidewalk with a street view of SoHo that plugs diners into the rush of orange energy that hums through downtown at dusk. Several passersby deliberated for a moment as they peered through the windows or door, swinging open and shut with diners and servers.
Simon’s favorite dishes at the steakhouse included the grilled artichoke, petit filet with mushroom sauce, skinny onion rings and any of the sides. The Manhattan menu still boasts named-for-family favorites like Gene’s Filet, a 10-ounce filet with red wine and fresh horseradish sauce, Herbie’s Potato Skins and Nico’s Greek Salad; a list of aged steaks and lamb chops with a choice of every great steak sauce (I ordered three); and nine satiating sides.
“It’s all about the side dishes at a steakhouse,” Simon declared.
While Simon enjoys a great cut of meat—as any daughter of a steakhouse owner would—she tends to lean into plant-forward dishes, a dietary lifestyle she attributes to Tierney. She chooses plenty of dishes that are abundant in nutrients from vegetables and grains, but maintains balance with eggs and the occasional filet, remaining in tune with the best purveyors for both restaurant categories.
Tierney and Simon opened The Butcher’s Daughter in Nolita in 2012, following the success of their first hospitality project, Apotheke, a cocktail bar from Tierney and her brother Christopher, Simon’s best friend from Indiana who passed away in 2022 and remains one of Simon’s biggest inspirations. While neither of the spirited restaurateurs is actually a daughter of butchers, the plant-forward restaurant and juice bar, which has since expanded to the West Village, Williamsburg, Venice and West Hollywood, was arguably a catalyst of the movement that turned vegan fare from niche to trendy.
Simon officially opened her first Lucky’s as a partner on July 19. Simon’s wheelhouse of expertise may be dichotomous: succulent cuts of prime meat and plentiful vegan dishes; dim-lit lounge interiors and airy, bohemian respites. For Simon, however, it’s all about what they deliver to each person who enters and what they need.
“There are many differences in both markets, but the similarities are what I lean into. Both cities can feel huge and overwhelming, and all people want is a spot where they feel seen and comfortable,” Simon told Observer. “Both concepts tap into my core beliefs when it comes to the hospitality business. Make a friend and leave things better than you found them. We want to be a part of memories and community connection in all of our spaces.”
Simon has carved out her place as an investor on both coasts running restaurants with reputations that proceed them. But at the heart of it, she’s just a neighbor looking to make the person next door feel a little more at home.
