NEW YORK (AP) – This is a promotion that could be taken directly from the Don Draper “Mad Men” game manual.
The famous Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn has joined the Madame Tussauds team to mix wax characters with customers, promoting the reduction of coronavirus pandemic restrictions in restaurants inside New York City.
A Jon Hamm wax – known for portraying Draper, the commercial for the hit series – could be found Friday at the restaurant bar with a cocktail in hand. Other figures borrowed from Madame Tussauds include Michael Strahan, Jimmy Fallon, Al Roker and Audrey Hepburn in Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” mode.
Peter Luger “thought this would be a fun and safe way to fill some of the places that need to remain empty as we continue to fight the pandemic,” said restaurant vice president Daniel Turtel.
As of Friday, restaurants in the city were allowed to fill 35% of their indoor seats, compared to 25% previously.
Peter Luger, who has been working for over 130 years, will keep the mannequins until Monday. After that, they will return to the recently reopened Madame Tussauds in downtown Manhattan.