Last night, in a venture probably more rare than a trip to Mykonos, Alexandre de Betak, Constance Jablonski, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Linda Fargo, and others traveled to Astoria, Queens. The reason for the Monday evening drive across the Queensboro Bridge? The celebration of Sofía Sanchez de Betak’s new Globe-Trotter luggage collection with the Luxury Collection, which was held at the local Astoria—and decidedly authentic—Greek restaurant Loukoumi Taverna.
“It’s so me!” exclaimed Sanchez de Betak, as dear friends, including a group from her childhood in Argentina, entered the warm room, helping themselves to ouzo and red wine before the feast.
“Seriously, I had planned for a much smaller dinner,” reflected the hostess. “We had to add tables at the end! It’s amazing that you all made it, and it’s such a beautiful group of friends and faces that I adore. We are really lucky, Alex and I.”
The dinner consisted of course upon course of Greek specialties—Greek salad and keftedakia, charcoal grilled octopus, classic meatballs and chickpea balls, grilled chicken kebab, and much, much more. “I feel like tonight is the birth of our baby,” mused The Luxury Collection’s Meredith Dichter. “We’ve been working since June of 2014 to create the perfect luggage, and here we are.”
The celebration came to a close with live music, Junior’s cheesecake (“I have a bit of an obsession,” grinned Sanchez de Betak), and, if you lasted late enough into the night, the throwing of plates into the street. “Together, we can do anything,” teased Waris Ahluwalia, as he and a friend lifted a massive bottle of red to refill their table’s glasses.
It’s safe to say Sanchez de Betak’s friends will be returning to Queens—and most likely planning trips to the Greek islands, with new luggage in hand—very soon.