Front of the House Restaurant Gadget: Do You Know What This Is?

We went out with friends this weekend and were taken aback by something new we saw near our table.

We wanted to share this cool gadget that might be the next new trend at Valley restaurants.

Here’s a picture of it. We love the modern sleek design.

Do you have any idea what this is or what it’s used for?

The answer after the jump…

Ta da! It’s a handbag hook.

Sorta makes you feel like your purse is a little bit on display but it’s a lovely and very considerate gesture nonetheless — especially when floors can get pretty dirty during haboob season.

We saw this at Postino Central being used out on the patio. They’re also at Windsor and Chelsea’s Kitchen – also only on the patio. They’re isn’t much room for them indoors and they can be dangerous (especially for the dudes). But outside where there is a bit more space, you’ll find these sleek metal purse stands made by local metal artist.

The stands came out of a (funny now) unfortunate incident. Craig DeMarco, his wife Chris, and partner Lauren noticed a group of North Central ladies lunching out on the patio. One woman in particular had set her mighty fine Prada handbag on the groud below her. An accidental footballer walked by, kicked it and the “purse went flying,” 20 feet passed a few other tables. It was at that time that they decided to create a solution.

They employed their metal artist to custom make a handbag holder for them. It took them several tries, in fact, because they discovered that they really needed to make them heavy-duty stands. The first round didn’t have a big enough base to support a purse weighing 14 pounds (not unheard of these days).

The powder coated them a few different colors and sent them around town to their restaurants. Postino’s are red and the stands at Chelsea’s Kitchen are yellow.

Mightly clever. We love them.

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