On September 22, the John Wick prequel series, The Continental: from the John Wick universe, will premiere on Amazon, which explains the beginnings of the protagonist of one of the highest-grossing action films of recent times. It's been almost a decade since Keanu Reeves burst onto movie screens playing a retired hitman who returns to action, after leaving a criminal world with strict codes of behavior, which is governed by the rigorous rules of the clandestine organization called the High Table.
Among the curiosities of this mafia are that they use gold coins that are not legal tender, although they use them to pay for the services they need, they have silver talismans that are actually favors that can be claimed, and everyone can rest quiet in The Continental hotel, a safe place, and if someone breaks this last rule they suffer serious consequences, are expelled from the Table and are pursued by hired assassins who seek their reward.
Although it is a fictional location, the exterior façade of the Continental Hotel was filmed in the Delmonico's building, at 56 Beaver Street in New York. An eight-story building, made of brick and brownstone, which was designed by James Brown Lord as a commission from brothers Pietro and Giovanni Delmonico, in 1891, to house a restaurant. In Renaissance style, it is one of the best buildings from the late 19th century preserved in the financial district of Manhattan.
It was the first restaurant in the United States to place white tablecloths and offer diners menus printed on one side in English and on the other in French, offering a luxury never seen before, and its rooms could also be rented for private dinners. And culinary delights such as Newberg lobster, Delmonico Steak, eggs Benedict and baked Alaska were created from their kitchens. Over time it became one of the most famous in the city, among its diners we can find Oscar Wilde, Theodore Roosevelt and Edward VII, among others. Its doors closed in 2020, but this year it has been renovated to shine again, so it is possible to visit it and eat at its tables.
And if that were not enough, fans of the series can live a unique experience in first person coinciding with the premiere of the series. The Continental: The Hotel Bar Experience is a pop-up bar at 82 Beaver Street, where it will be possible to go back to the seventies to have a cocktail in the John Wick universe, in addition to being part of an interactive story to discover the dark secrets hidden inside the famous assassin hotel, from September 21 to 24, from September 27 to October 1 and from October 4 to 8. Tickets are special currencies that must be exchanged for drinks.
