Inside the People’s London Wimbledon Pop-Up

Under Simpson’s in the Strand—a renowned London restaurant where British roast beef is carved tableside on silver trolleys—in a cellar bar named Nellie’s Tavern, a party raged every night during the last week of Wimbledon.

It was thrown by People’s, an invite only salon in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village owned by Margot Hauer-King, the daughter of famed London restaurateur Jeremy King, who owns Simpson’s in the Strand, and Emmet McDermott, the film producer. This was their first venture abroad, an experiment to see how the fashionable set of London embraced this New York City concept. By any and all accounts, it was a roaring success.

Against the wood-paneled walls, decorated with red drapes and portraits, guests including Dylan Mulvaney and Sam Lansky, danced on banquettes to a DJ spinning British pop tunes. Caviar and mini burgers were passed around as were goblets of Moët & Chandon served from a champagne tower, and Belvedere martinis from a cart. The room was packed every night into the small hours of the morning.

The biggest accomplishment of the night was securing a red People’s London hat, a sign to the world that you were part of this secret, fleeting club.