NEW YORK (AP) – It’s a promotion that could come straight from the “Mad Men” Don Draper playbook.
Brooklyn’s famed Peter Luger Steak House has partnered with Madame Tussauds to mix celebrity wax figures with customers, furthering the mitigation of coronavirus pandemic restrictions on indoor dining in New York City.
A wax Jon Hamm – known for his portrayal of adman Draper on the hit TV series – could be found in the restaurant’s bar on Friday with a cocktail in hand. Other figures Madame Tussauds has loaned include Michael Strahan, Jimmy Fallon, Al Roker and Audrey Hepburn in Holly Golightly from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” mode.
Peter Luger “thought this would be a fun, safe way to fill some seats that should be left empty while we continue to fight the pandemic,” said restaurant vice president Daniel Turtel.
From Friday, restaurants in the city were allowed to fill 35% of their seats indoors, compared to 25% previously.
Peter Luger, active for more than 130 years, will keep the mannequins until Monday. Then they return to the recently reopened Madame Tussauds in downtown Manhattan.