In 2016, Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, the chef couple behind Via Carota, “New York’s most perfect restaurant,” bought what many would consider to be a perfect apartment: a West Village two-bedroom, two-bathroom corner unit in a prewar co-op a block from Washington Square Park. Beamed ceilings, a wood-burning fireplace, and, as the New York Observer noted at the time, a predictably impressive open chef’s kitchen.
But it seems the pair are moving on. Their apartment at 136 Waverly Place just hit the market for $2.95 million, a half-million more than the $2.45 million they paid just over eight years ago. It’s listed with The Agency broker Tami Kurtz, who declined to comment.
When Williams and Sodi bought the apartment, it was described in the listing as gut renovated, and listing photos from that time do suggest that it had a thorough going over, but the finishes, to be honest, lacked charm. The kitchen island was a dark butcher block, for example, that made for a stark contrast with the white cabinets, and the backsplash looked like something you might find at Home Depot.
The couple — renowned nearly as much for the design and atmosphere of their restaurants as for the food— redid the apartment to their own taste. The backsplash, island, and countertops are now a creamy marble, there’s a copper sink, and the cabinetry is custom Plain English with accents in Farrow & Ball’s rusty-nail paint. The appliances are also top notch: Miele induction cooktop, Wolf oven, Sub-Zero fridge, a separate wine fridge. The apartment has a number of other Plain English custom built-ins finished with Farrow & Ball hues, and the bathrooms have been redone as well, again with marble.
No new sales were registered under their names in city records, so it’s unclear why they’ve decided to sell, although it’s become de rigueur for celebrities, and even low-key celebrity chefs, to use LLCs, so who knows. Still, it seems hard to improve on a four-minute walk to Via Carota.