Two successful London ventures are taking their concepts to New York, as the Big Apple looks set to become a must-have location for restaurateurs.
Celebrity hang-out Soho House is opening a US version of its exclusive West End club, which is being bankrolled by celebrity and private backers including rock musician and actor David Bowie.
And Cinnamon Club founder Iqbal Wahhab is planning to spend $10m (£6m) on a New York version of his London restaurant.
The New York Soho House will open on the Lower West Side of Manhattan next month, in an area of the city known as Little Britain because of its array of British shops and its attraction for celebrities such as Bowie and fashion designer Stella McCartney.
It will include a 24-bedroom private hotel for members and an 80-seat restaurant, costing $15m (£9.5m).
"Soho House has recognised that there are opportunities for opening private members' clubs here," said Soho House committee member Tim Geary. "Despite the war and the prospect of recession, there is still a boom in building hotels here."
Property prices, while high, are now no more costly than those in London, making New York an attractive marketplace for British businesses, he added.
"There are plenty of private clubs in New York," he said. "There is no end of places that have red ropes and where you can only get in if you know the bouncer or are a beautiful woman."
Most of the club's membership is expected to come from the worlds of film and media, with a smattering of lawyers, bankers and estate agents but also celebrities looking for a bit of privacy.
"Membership is being restricted to make sure we have an environment that is comfortable and never over-crowded," Geary said.
The New York Cinnamon Club is due to open in March 2004 on a 12,000sq ft site on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, replacing the existing Maxim's restaurant.
"We have virtually agreed terms," Wahhab said. "We are into the final hurdle. It is a very prestigious location."
The new Cinnamon Club will have about 300 seats, compared with its 180-seat London counterpart.
Wahhab said that there was a definite gap in the US market for high-quality Indian cuisine.
"New York is such a buzzing city, but Indian cuisine is not happening," he said. "They are about 20 years behind us."