Last November, Mr Lyan group opened Seed Library in New York’s Nomad neighbourhood, a sibling to the Shoreditch, London, bar that shares the same name. Despite ostensibly being a sequel venue, its launch marks a couple of momentous firsts for its troupe of serial bar operators. First, it’s the only Lyan bar concept to coexist in multiple locations, but more significantly, it’s the group’s first permanent venue in the city that birthed the modern cocktail.
“It’s bucket list territory,” says managing director of Mr Lyan venues Alex Lawrence Milia. “When I started being serious about bartending, my dream was just to one day go to New York to just visit the source of modern cocktails. Fast forward a little more than a decade, and here we are with a bar in New York.
“We’ve always opened in markets that aren’t so obvious, so to break ground here feels incredible. It’s such a dream come true for both of us. Opening a bar with your best mate is hilarious, no matter where you do it, never mind getting to do it in New York.”
Seed Library New York is the group’s ninth opening since White Lyan debuted in 2013, the third outside of London and second in the US, but while the scenery has changed, there’s a wealth of the familiar.
“Covid was very difficult on the city,” says Mr Lyan founder Ryan Chetiyawardana. “But after the pandemic, there was an incredible explosion as the momentum was able to restart. It felt like a lot of the energies were similar between New York and London; we were seeing parallel motions. We saw the same frustrations, the same need for reconnection with things that are excellent but not convoluted.
“That was a sentiment we were feeling when we were creating Seed Library London. So, it hasn’t been about transporting something; it’s about looking at the shared emotions between two places that we’re excited to call home and examining how a shared feeling could take on a fair reflection of two very different characters.”
Transatlantic transplant
That twinship is the foundation of why the team felt that Seed Library would make for an ideal transatlantic transplant, the bars operating as examinations of kindred cities without the clutter of set dressing.
“Developing a new, highly conceptual, layered thing doesn’t feel appropriate everywhere, and especially not in New York now,” says Lawrence Milia. “Seed Library was designed to be a Lyan version of a neighbourhood bar in the softness of its concept, and that makes it quite malleable to its location. Seed Library New York and Seed Library London share similarities in appearance and a few common drinks, but the approaches are very different.
“When we opened Seed Library London, it felt like we’d just opened a bar for ourselves to hang out in. New York has an element of that stripped awareness central to the concept. Making things feel more human is always going to resonate with bartenders, and New Yorkers really understand a bartender-led approach. But more importantly, people just need somewhere nice to hang out in, and that's very close to the point of Seed Library.
“We’re not trying to land with a bang; we’re trying to make really good things and really take care of our guests – that DNA has evolved from London. There are differences; less is more here, people appreciate a stripped-back, confident clarity, while London has a bit more texture, and we use more language. And people drink differently here. New Yorkers drink a little bit more, they drink for a little bit longer, and they tend to lean towards punchier, shorter drinks.”
The launch also coincides with Lawrence Milia’s departure from Mexico City, where he had been living since 2024, opening Outline and Café Arixi in the city as part of MWA Group. In November, the same month that Seed Library New York opened, Lawrence Milia announced he would be leaving Mexico alongside wife and business partner, Maura and returning to London.
“Professionally, this has been the most important thing I've ever done for so many reasons,” he says. “It was very vindicating, and it was perfectly well timed. Personally, I was going through a lot, and professionally, I was probably the most insecure that I’ve ever been – I felt like my philosophy was shaken. I didn’t change anything for this opening; we did what we know best, and because we stuck to our values, the launch went really well.
“After the launch, I went back to Mexico, picked my bags up and moved to London, so it really felt like a full stop at the end of a very challenging couple of years.”
But now with Mexico in the rear view, Lawrence Milia and Chetiyawardana are adapting to a new bar and a new city, and so far, the duo hasn’t lost their sense of wonderment about being the newly minted owners of a bar in midtown Manhattan.
“Openings are tough, especially the way that we do them – we put a lot of investment into the people side, and that requires a huge amount of presence and energy, but the area is perfect for what we do,” says Chetiyawardana. “There are great cultural spots around us, there are amazing restaurants, but there’s not a heap of bars, and that’s the kind of setup where we tend to shine. But most importantly, we’re opening a bar in Manhattan. The idea of owning a place here, with your best mate, in the original city of cocktails, that’s really quite wonderful.”
