La Mory’s?

La Cuisine, an elegant, gourmet caterer in Branford, will soon oversee the venerable tables down at Mory’s.

The Baker’s soup and the Welch rarebit, traditional Mory’s favorites, will remain on the menu when the storied private eating club at Yale reopens this summer.

But the new menu will be lighter, fresher, seasonal and organic whenever possible, said Ben Bloom, the owner of La Cuisine and the menu’s creator. 

Bloom (pictured) will also hire the new staff: a new restaurant manager, new chefs, new assistant managers and new wait staff.

Mory’s is expected to reopen sometime in mid to late August – in time for the arrival of the class of 2014.

Bloom’s new leadership role at Mory’s was the subject of discussion at a breakfast gathering last week of the Branford Chamber of Commerce. The 12 best business success stories in Branford were highlighted at the annual event.

Bloom said in an interview that a career restaurant manager, who has trained with the Four Seasons Hotel group, was hired last week for the Mory’s gig. Next to be hired are the chefs.

“We are interviewing executive chefs this week,” Bloom said. ​“We have some exciting applicants, and we will have someone in place within two weeks. And from there we will bring on some assistant managers, a sous chef and then in July we will start hiring hourly help,” meaning the wait staff.

The wait staff may or may not include some of the familiar faces of yore. That depends if they apply.

Mory’s roots ostensibly date to an obscure taproom at 103 Wooster St. discovered in 1863 by Yale students returning from crew practice. After various incarnations of ownership, Mory’s found its home in the circa-1817 federal style building at 306 York St. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Its insides are now gutted as part of a $3.1 million renovation that has been underway for more than a year. The new Mory’s will have an outdoor patio and a new entrance off the walk that leads to Morse and Ezra Stiles colleges.

The changes in the new menu are a reflection of a new style for Mory’s and a new vision for a set of rooms that had the air of an historical museum in an old ale house. Some of the old traditions, from booths to wainscoting, will remain, said Glenn Gregg, the principal architect. 

As significant as the changes are to the menu and to the 1817 building itself, it is the effort to change Mory’s image as an elite private club that may be the most important of all the policy decisions undertaken. 

Despite the size of its membership –13,000 worldwide – the club suffered from declining participation in recent years, especially among Yale newcomers. Many of today’s students view Mory’s as a club they don’t know much about or understand how to get into. Admission is for members only.

It took Mory’s until 1972 to admit women. That happened after the board balked, members fought back and the club found itself at the center of a legal battle. After Mory’s lost its liquor license, the board gave in and admitted women, three years after Yale College did so. It took until 1991 for graduate students to get the same rights.

One major change centers are the creation of two new boards: Mory’s Council, which will oversee the social, civil and cultural life of the club; and the Board of Governors, which will oversee the management and finances of the restaurant. The creation of the two new boards also allows for an increase in the number of women on the boards.

Christopher Getman, president of the Mory’s Council, said the new philosophy of the club is inclusion. As Mory’s once did in the past, it will offer inexpensive memberships to undergraduates over their four years at Yale – roughly a dollar a year. Getman said there also will be a new focus and drive to expand membership to Yale’s graduate students, including those in the law, medical and business schools. Mory’s will stay open longer – until midnight. There will also be a new ​“dear old” Temple Bar, complete with a pub menu geared to students.

“We are going to make Mory’s the place where undergraduates and graduate students want to go,” Getman said of the club’s new rooms and new menu.

Douglas W. Rae, president of the Mory’s Board of Governors, said in a prepared statement that the overwhelming financial support ​“from over 3,000 members and friends to this restoration project is testimony to the fact that Mory’s matters to a lot of people.” 

The draw for Mory’s is the restaurant. Getman said Bloom will oversee the entire restaurant operation. ​“The hope is that the food will improve dramatically and that the service will improve dramatically,” he added. Mory’s has long been a place for faculty gatherings, administrative get-togethers and special parties held in a private room. 

Bloom told the Eagle that there will be ​“a contemporary, attractive menu that will provide food for just about anyone. There will be salads, there will be sandwiches, there will be items for dinner. There will be a separate bar menu for the Temple bar, which is much more casual and youth oriented in order to appeal to the student population at Yale.”

Bloom said the menu will not be released until Mory’s opens. ​“There will be things that are familiar to people but clearly updated. There will be more of an emphasis on fresh and on local, natural proteins when we can use them. We utilize really good, clean ingredients, and we don’t overly complicate how we cook them.”

The food served at La Cuisine in Branford, which is open for breakfast and lunch, is light, natural and easy; a combination of Californian and Mediterranean cuisine. 

Bloom and his family operate three separate business entities at La Cuisine: a restaurant, a catering operation and a market with a garden outside. All are located under one roof at 750 East Main St. (Route 1).

Back at Mory’s, the Whiffenpoofs’ traditional Monday night dinner at their table will resume this fall. Typically the Whiffs sing for their supper. There will be other gatherings of Yale a capella singers, along with gathering for sports teams, political societies, alumni groups and others. Robin Soltesz, the club’s longtime comptroller, will become the overall general manger in charge of arranging events, Getman said.

One of the events that will require a photo will be the reopening of Mory’s. And who knows? Getman may just show up on the new patio with Sherman, Yale’s official Handsome Dan bulldog and his family’s beloved pet. 
 

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