Pearl Oyster Bar opened on July 2, 1997 on a shoestring with a bar, a counter and one four-top table. With all of her savings, a $60,000 SBA loan Rebecca's 25 years of experience secured, and investments from her mom, a long-time friend and a former line cook who had worked for her and would now be a sous chef and junior partner, Pearl opened for just over $120,000. In 2003 “the little restaurant that could”, as Rebecca has nic...

Pearl Oyster Bar opened on July 2, 1997 on a shoestring with a bar, a counter and one four-top table. With all of her savings, a $60,000 SBA loan Rebecca's 25 years of experience secured, and investments from her mom, a long-time friend and a former line cook who had worked for her and would now be a sous chef and junior partner, Pearl opened for just over $120,000. In 2003 “the little restaurant that could”, as Rebecca has nicknamed it, expanded into the space next door, adding plenty of tables and a small private dining room.
Visually, Pearl was meant to be an oasis of Yankee charm; a sliver of Maine 's Southern Coast in the middle of Greenwich Village . For years Rebecca looked for the perfect space where she says, “You'd carry the feeling of Pearl outside with you when you left.” When she found 18 Cornelia Street , she knew she had found it. Rebecca did not hire designers and architects to create a New England ideal; instead she drew on her memories, exactly as she had with the food. Inside a collection of antique oil lamps from the flea markets on Rt. 1 in Wells, Maine line Pearl 's walls. Fish signs like those at Portland 's Harbor Fish Company, hang on the walls. Even the color scheme she chose-gray, silver, pale blue and sand-is meant to reflect colors you find at the beach.

Pearl is New York City , too, though. Chef Charles wanted an open kitchen so that curious New Yorkers could watch their food being prepared and they are just as likely to see her bringing their plates out as a waiter. "Everyone does everything here and when I get out of the kitchen I get the chance to really talk with customers,” says Charles. “New Yorkers have become savvy about food and on most nights, we end up with a pretty lively discussion up and down the bar ‘what's good where,' recipes, that kind of thing."

Because Pearl 's menu relies largely on what is available each day, all eyes are on the blackboards during lunch and dinner. The restaurant serves beer, wine and soft drinks. Rebecca recently agreed to offer Diet Coke and a “artificial sweetener” breaking her no diet policy for the good of customers and waiters who had been forced to hide stashes of Equal and Splenda under the counter. These recent accommodations aside, Rebecca says she will not be putting in an espresso machine despite the numerous requests. “This is after all,” she laughs, “quintessentially American food—fried oysters and espresso? I don't think so.”

Pearl is open for lunch Monday through Friday, from noon until 2:30PM. Dinner is served Monday through Saturday, from 6:00PM until 11:00PM.