Delmonico's

In 1837, at the beginning of New York City’s evolution as the financial center of the world, the genesis of what would become a world-renowned culinary institution, Delmonico’s Restaurant, was set. A small shop selling classically prepared pastries, fine coffee and chocolate, bonbons, wines and liquors as well as Havana cigars was operated by the Delmonico brothers. Its success led them to purchase a triangular plot of land at the intersection of Beaver, William, and South William Streets where, in 1837, they opened the first fine dining restaurant in the country.