Goddess of Wine in New York: The Story of a Soulful Georgian Restaurant

Badageoni is a newcomer to the New York restaurant business, since it was only opened on July 1, 2019. It is located in Westchester County, New York and is gaining in popularity every day. What attracts people to this secluded place and why, having been here once, do they want to come back here again? You can find the answer to this question by reading the Badageoni story.

Photo: Badageoni

Badagoni is a fertility goddess whose statue was found in Georgia in the 1980s. Her age, for a minute, is 8 thousand years! Among Georgians, she is considered not only the goddess of fertility, but also of wine. Moreover, “badagi” is sweet grape juice.

И Badageoni lives up to its name. In this restaurant you will find a wide selection of wines that will please even the most sophisticated gourmet. The wine list includes more than 20 different names with a detailed description of each brand.

“The number of Georgian wines impresses our guests. From the very beginning, when we opened the restaurant, many visitors were fascinated by our drinks. Moreover, the best thing is that this concerns Americans who knew practically nothing about Georgian cuisine. Adults are delighted with wine and chacha, and children cannot be pulled away from lemonade. This is new to Westchester. And although we were a little afraid that not everyone would be able to appreciate the taste of Georgian dishes and drinks, the risks were justified,” says Inga, co-owner of Badageoni.

Georgian hospitality in New York

Restaurant owner Giga originally planned to open a restaurant in Riverdale. But after exploring other areas and neighborhoods where you can place your brainchild, the brother and sister opted for Mount Kisco in Westchester County.

“This town welcomed us very warmly. We felt warmth and love when we arrived here. It is calm and cozy here, beautiful nature, friendly people. All these factors played a big role in opening a restaurant in Mount Kisco, bringing a piece of Georgian cuisine and soul here,” admitted Inga.

The owners of Badageoni were surprised that a large number of immigrants from the countries of the former Soviet Union live in this district, as well as in the neighborhood.

“We understood that opening a restaurant is a risky business in itself. But also because they didn’t know whether there were Georgian or Russian communities nearby. Fortunately, in Westchester and around it, in Connecticut, there are a sufficient number of Russians, Georgians, and Ukrainians,” Giga joined the conversation.

Photo by the author

And yet, the presence of "friends" nearby did not give the owners Badageoni relax. Because, whatever one may say, most of their guests are Americans. So what is it that attracts people to this secluded place and why, having been here once, do they always want to come back again? It’s not easy to answer in one word, but the most appropriate would be “soul.” After all, it is its presence in this restaurant that comes to the fore when you find yourself in it. And every minute you begin to feel other factors of Georgian hospitality that will captivate your heart.

“I believe that the key to our success is love. We try to put it into every dish we prepare. It seems to me that if you do something with love, then you will succeed. When people are happy and come to us again, we are happy. A satisfied client is the key to our happiness. After all, some have never even heard of Georgia before, let alone Georgian food. They knew that there was such a state (the name of the American state of Georgia and the country of Georgia are written and sounded the same in English. - Ed.) and asked where our country is geographically located. Americans are open people. And they don’t hide their emotions, so looking at them, it’s easy to understand whether they liked the dish or not,” notes Inga.

Fun for children, a piano and the winner of “Jurmala”

As in most restaurants in Georgia, you will not find frozen or convenience foods in Badageoni. Badageoni's chef Nino, who has many years of experience in the elite cuisines of Georgia, Russia and European countries, spoke about this in more detail.

“The main highlight of this restaurant is that all the dishes, as the chefs say, are prepared “under the knife.” We have some preparations in the kitchen, but almost everything at the time of ordering is prepared from fresh ingredients. Everything is like in Georgia. Almost (laughs). We do not have frozen products, we actually make everything to order. And the tastes are very close to Georgian cuisine. Even better. I am also a chemist by profession, so I know how to experiment with ingredients and, so to speak, “plant the taste” by choosing the right flavor spectrum. When you try our dishes, you will understand! It doesn’t cost us anything: people order all the dishes that are on the menu, and it’s very difficult to single out just one thing. Soups, meat products, khachapuri, vegan dishes - everyone orders it,” assures Nino.

According to the chef, unlike Georgia, Americans are much less likely to order pork and beef shashlik. Lamb dishes are preferred in the USA.

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Separately, it should be noted how much Badageoni open to children, for whom Georgian dishes are a real wonder.

“They often come to visit us with children. They are the decoration of our restaurant. Children really like Adjarian khachapuri and khinkali. They like to mix the egg with the cheese and then tear off the edges of the dough and stretch the cheese. It's such fun for them. It turns out something like cheese fondue. And what amuses them about khinkali is that you don’t need a fork and knife, you can just hold it with your hands and bite. Children enjoy the shape of the khinkali and how the juice flows out of them,” Inga laughs, noting that children are delighted with the lemonades along with khachapuri. Their favorite is Tarragon. “We give them a choice of delicious sweet tea or lemonade, but they always order lemonade.”

Another highlight of Badageoni is the vintage piano.

On Thursdays, Georgian pianist Irakli Sharadze delights restaurant visitors with his music, playing various compositions for guests of the establishment. And on Sundays, everyone can enjoy live music performed by the Jurmala winner Nini Shermadini.

“She is well known in Georgia, as well as outside the country. She can perform any world hit. It is not a problem for her to sing in Georgian, Russian or English. Her voice is great! And for many, she has already become a favorite in the restaurant,” Inga admires.

However, it is not only the invited stars that have the opportunity to entertain Badageoni visitors. One could be convinced of this literally right after the interview, when one of the guests approached the piano and asked permission to play it. Having received approval from Gigi and Inga, the girl performed several compositions, causing a standing ovation from the visitors present and applause from the owners of the establishment.

As it turned out, the guest from Kiev not only knows how to play talentedly, but also does it professionally. In confirmation of this, Irena Portenko presented her disc to the owners as a keepsake.

Promotions, discounts and future plans

Many restaurants have a “happy hours” system, where diners are offered food at special prices. Badageoni keeps up with modern trends.

“We change our offerings regularly based on the dish of the day. We see what people like the most and constantly make changes to the menu. We also do discounts and offer promotional dishes during happy hours,” notes Giga.

In addition, Badageoni is considering introducing discount cards for regular restaurant guests.

“Most of our visitors are regular customers. When they come back every week, it's a sign that they like our cuisine. Therefore, we plan to introduce special discounts for such guests. We want people to feel our gratitude and want to come back to us again and again,” Inga emphasized.

In winter, Badageoni can keep warm not only thanks to chacha, but also with the help of Georgian soups.

“For the winter period we have kharcho and chikhirtma. When it's cold outside, our visitors have the opportunity to warm up with hot soups. By the way, many people don’t know, but chikhirtma is very good for a hangover,” noted Inga.

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Overall owners Badageoni talk very modestly about the future of their restaurant. Although they do not hide the fact that they would like to open another establishment.

“We have a lot of thoughts and ideas that we would like to implement. But we are still a new place. People come, learn about us, enjoy Georgian cuisine, and we try to meet their expectations, be at a high level and continue to improve. At the moment our business is growing. Every week there are more and more visitors, people come to us to celebrate birthdays, and also hold corporate events and arrange various parties. Of course, we would like to open another restaurant, but it’s too early to talk about it,” Giga emphasized.

On my own behalf, I would like to sincerely wish these wonderful people prosperity and successful continuation of the family business. After all, when you put love, soul and a piece of your heart into a business, everything must definitely work out!

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