Salvage City Supper Club Redefining Immersive Dining in Manhattan
At a Glance
An inside look at how Salvage City Supper Club is redefining immersive dining by combining theatrical performance, chef-driven cuisine, and interactive storytelling under one roof in New York City.
Exclusive interviews with Director of Paradise Club Jono Mason, Executive Producer Paul Seigenthaler, and Executive Chef Warren Baird reveal the creative vision, culinary philosophy, and guest experience behind the concept.
Learn how the production evolved from its festival origins into a permanent Manhattan destination and why
Explore what Salvage City suggests about the future of luxury hospitality as experiential travel continues to reshape what discerning guests seek from dining and entertainment.
Luxury hospitality has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade. Once defined primarily by white tablecloth service, acclaimed chefs, and coveted reservations, today's most sought-after experiences increasingly blend culinary artistry with storytelling, performance, design, and social interaction. Across the globe, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues are competing less on menus alone and more on their ability to create memorable moments guests cannot easily replicate elsewhere.
New York City has long served as a proving ground for these experiential concepts. Yet despite the city's seemingly endless roster of Broadway productions, Michelin-starred restaurants, rooftop lounges, and nightlife venues, relatively few experiences successfully merge all of those elements into a single evening.
Salvage City Supper Club attempts exactly that. Housed within Paradise Club at The Times Square EDITION, the production combines immersive theater, live music, acrobatics, culinary storytelling, and audience participation into what is perhaps best described as a living environment rather than a conventional dinner show.
Meet the Creative Team Behind Manhattan's Most Ambitious Experiential Dining Concept
To gain a deeper understanding of the creative vision behind Salvage City Supper Club, I spoke with three of the key leaders responsible for bringing the concept to life: Jono Mason, Director of Paradise Club, who oversees the guest experience and immersive production; Paul Seigenthaler, Executive Producer at Five Senses Holdings and the visionary behind Salvage City's evolution from festival attraction to permanent residency; and Warren Baird, Executive Chef at JF Restaurants, whose culinary leadership helped transform the menu into an integral part of the storytelling experience.
Together, they offer insight into everything from the show's origins and creative philosophy to its innovative approach to hospitality, performance, and dining.
Jono Mason, as Director of Paradise Club, how do you describe the Salvage City experience for someone visiting for the first time?
Rather than asking guests to follow a prescribed storyline, Salvage City places them at the center of the world itself. The experience unfolds around you through live performance, character encounters, music, and ritualized moments that enrich the dining journey. It's orchestrated to feel a little chaotic and foreign, and intentionally designed to be social and participatory, creating space for conversation, celebration and discovery. Whether guests arrive for a date night, a group celebration, or simply a fun night out, they become part of the atmosphere rather than merely observing it.
Paul Seigenthaler, as Executive Producer, how long did it take to find the right permanent home for Salvage City?
Salvage City has been looking for a brick-and-mortar location since its inception six years ago. We've literally been under contract at 11 different locations, and none of them ever felt right. I decided not to pursue them.
Beyond entertainment, what larger purpose do you hope Salvage City serves for guests, Paul?
Food brings people together when we break bread together. It doesn't matter where we're from, how old we are, our political views, or our religion. Breaking bread offers that bond and brings unity to people from all different walks of life.
Paul Seigenthaler, Executive Producer, Five Senses Holdings
What do you personally hope visitors take away from the experience?
What Salvage City is to me is the ability to shut off your mind and come with us on a journey. Meet others that you may know and meet new people that you can build bonds with for the rest of your life.
Paul, the visual world of Salvage City feels incredibly distinctive. How did the concept originally come together?
I think a creative director or producer in my shoes might lie to you or fluff the origin story of this concept. I, on the other hand, will tell you that it came out of necessity.
Why did you ultimately choose a junkyard as the foundation for the show's universe?
We decided that we wanted to build a junkyard. Junkyards can often feel nostalgic, rustic, and in many ways post-apocalyptic.
Jono, the culinary program feels inseparable from the performance. How intentional was that integration from the beginning?
It's very intentional. The menu, as well as the service team are extensions of the world we're creating. It's important to have fun with it. There's a good amount of personal joy, heartache, imagination and dreams embedded in all of it.
Can you expand on how the food helps advance the story being told throughout the evening?
We always knew the dinner was fully integrated with the show. Its theme has elements of post-civilization collapse, indulgence, and theatricality that we explore throughout the meal. If you didn't have a functional kitchen, what would this celebration and meal look like?
Warren Baird, as Executive Chef of JF Restaurants, what role does the food play in delivering the overall guest experience?
It's easy to serve people crabcakes and salmon at a jazz club, but when your performers become servers mid-show, it is an opportunity to connect the two components in a unique way. Salvage City is a highly sensory experience with elements of dance, magic, acrobatics, etc. The food in this type of show needs to have the same goals, or it takes away from the guest experience.
Is there one culinary moment that best captures the spirit of Salvage City?
The tin can is a unique moment. Guests are not sure what to expect, it syncs well with the chaotic nature and spirit of the evening.
Jono, you've described Salvage City as something quite different from traditional dinner theater. How would you define it?
More like an extraordinary dinner party rather than a traditional show.
Paul, what has always been your overarching vision for Salvage City?
Our purpose with Salvage City is to bring all of these things together. To bring the beauty of dance and Broadway, tasting menus and culinary experiences, a cocktail on a rooftop lounge, and the energy of nightlife back together as one.
Paul Seigenthaler, Executive Producer, Five Senses Holdings
Jono, how do you see guest expectations changing across luxury hospitality and experiential entertainment?
The era of velvet ropes and bottle service has steadily given way to something more dynamic. Guests are seeking unique, meaningful experiences that spark curiosity and bring performance, art and community together in unexpected ways.
Jono Mason, Paradise Club, Director
Finally, Paul, what philosophy guides the way every guest is welcomed at Salvage City?
Everyone who walks to our door is a celebrity and will be treated exactly as that.
The Final Take
After speaking with the creative team, one theme surfaced repeatedly: connection.
Whether expressed through shared meals, live performance, unexpected conversations, or collaborative storytelling, every creative decision appears designed to encourage participation rather than observation. The food supports the narrative. The performers become hosts. Guests become contributors to the evening rather than simply consuming entertainment from their seats.
In many ways, that philosophy mirrors where luxury hospitality appears to be heading more broadly. Travelers increasingly seek experiences that feel personal, interactive, and emotionally memorable instead of simply exclusive. Salvage City may not fit neatly into the categories of restaurant, theater, nightclub, or immersive attraction, but perhaps that is precisely the point. In a city celebrated for continual reinvention, its refusal to fit established definitions may ultimately become one of its greatest strengths.
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