Downtown hotspot Jeans gives Canal Street luxury bootleggers the VIP treatment

Jean’s has never been particularly interested in behaving like a normal restaurant.The NoHo hotspot known for its over-the-top antics has turned dinners into ragers and let guests ride motorcycles through the front doors.So perhaps it was only a matter of time before New York’s street vendors became part of the controlled chaos.This weekend designer bootleggers, who typically sell their knockoff wares along Canal street, found themselves on the other side of the velvet rope at Jean’s latest edition of Dojo Pomodoro.

At this notoriously rowdy late-night party, drinks eventually give way to bowls of pasta on a packed dance floor.Videos from Saturday night show vendors hawking their wares outside the restaurant as revelers headed in, with knockoff designer bags eventually making their way onto the packed dance floor.“We built the place to be a never-ending wedding,” partner Max Chodorow previously told The Post.“A little bite, a little drink, a little dance.”Jean’s opened in 2023 at 415 Lafayette Street, taking over the storied former Butter space and pairing a farm-to-table bistro upstairs with a notoriously exclusive nightclub downstairs.

The restaurant was launched by Chodorow — son of veteran restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow — alongside Ashwin Deshmukh and quickly became one of downtown’s buzziest tables.Jean’s is arguably just as well known for what happens after dinner: celebrity-filled parties, fashion events, and the crush of guests lining up to make their way to Jean’s downstairs, where a no-frills disco ball hangs over a crowded checkered dance floor.“Jean’s is all about serving and celebrating the true essence of New York City,” John Fio wrote on X about the spectacle on Saturday night.“So we brought a few Canal Street vendors to set up in front of our doors and sling designer knockoffs to the people in line.”“Dance floor was packed with proper counterfeit Louis and Prada all night,” he added.The bootleg sellers weren�...