Tucked in the stacks of the “New York” section at McNally Jackson Books on Prince Street are a few copies of a slim white volume titled “My Nights at Raoul’s.”
The 112-page book contains about as many photos, all taken and self-published by the author and photographer, Pepe Diniz.
Diniz’s photos and anecdotes provide a glimpse into an older New York – the Italian and Portuguese side of SoHo in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Back then, Diniz was a server at the now-iconic French bistro on Prince Street, carrying plates from Raoul’s then-unknown chef Thomas Keller to the likes of patrons Warren Beatty and Miles Davis.
Diniz, who was born in Morocco to Hungarian and Portuguese parents, lived across Europe and moved from Paris to New York in 1974 to pursue a photography career. He knew he needed a restaurant job to both feed himself and pay the bills.
After being turned down by 22 restaurants across the city, he happened to take the photograph below during a stroll through SoHo.
In September 1977, Pepe Diniz paused on Prince St. to photograph this car, outside of Raoul’s.
Photo © Copyright by Pepe Diniz
As he walked away, he realized his fluency in French might get him in the door at this “Restaurant Français.”
French brothers Serge and Guy Raoul had opened the bistro less than two years earlier in December 1975 and hired Diniz on the spot.
“I’ve known Pepe my whole life,” said Karim Raoul, who took over from his father Serge in 2014. “He was part of the original crew.”
Diniz’s photographs still adorn the restaurant’s walls, and each one has an anecdote to match.
When legendary photographer Richard Avedon came to Raoul’s, “he’d usually order the truite à l’Alsacienne,” Diniz said in an email.
“You need to be somewhat skilled to debone it without splashing sauce all over the place,” said Diniz. “I think Avedon was more impressed with my deboning skills than my photos.”
Diniz, 78, who now lives in the Hudson Valley, declined to speak…
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