“There’s a rock in the sink!” That was the prevailing takeaway last winter after the East Coast contingent of the newsletter’s writing team met for brunch at Flynn McGarry’s stylish, Scandi-inflected Gem Home in lower Manhattan. While the rest of the group waited eagerly for plates of Danish breakfast, Francky Knapp had shuffled off to the restroom, returning to the table with a newfound sense of excitement over this unexpected, geological find. Naturally, a firsthand inspection was required. The slab of stone occupied the entire industrial-style basin, featuring a distinct patch of rust-colored mineral deposits right at its center where the water hit. The immediate thought was simply, "Weird!" before putting it out of mind for months.
That was until an ordinary coffee date with a friend at the Greenpoint, Brooklyn location of Rhythm Zero, an establishment that looks far more like a room in a contemporary art museum than a standard neighborhood coffee shop. There, a large hunk of stone sat prominently in front of a wide mirror next to the service counter. Yet another slab imposed itself inside the narrow confines of the bathroom, positioned strategically between the sink and the toilet, serving as an almost natural architectural absorption point for dripping hands making the brief trip over to the hand dryer. Discovering two different hospitality establishments incorporating massive decorative rocks in such close geographical proximity naturally raised a lingering question: was this a mere coincidence, or a broader, intentional design affectation taking over New York City’s trendiest spaces?
The question was answered definitively upon stepping inside Pizza 4P’s, an ambitiously and intricately designed pizza import originating from Vietnam, for which six literal, uncut boulders were transported directly into the restaurant from a New Jersey stone wholesaler. Finding massive rocks in a third distinct hospitality concept confirmed that a genuine design movement was quietly underway.
It is at Pizza 4P’s, which opened this summer in Brooklyn within a soaring, high-ceilinged industrial space, where this architectural trend can be observed at its absolute extreme. Upon opening the front door, arriving guests are immediately greeted by a host stand shaped entirely out of a large, tablelike boulder. The stone, which required a heavy forklift to maneuver into position inside the dining room, was specifically chosen for its practical utility due to its ideal waist-high stature and a natural notch carved into its corner by time and nature, making it the perfect receptacle for holding heavy paper menus. An adjacent stone, noticeably lower and smaller in volume, doubles as a rustic bench for diners patiently waiting for their tables to be prepared.
Four more colossal boulders erupt from the raw flooring throughout the space, physically forcing the interior layout of the expansive dining room into a deliberate, snaking path. "After we found the stones, we changed the position," global branding director Kazuya Kubota explained during a detailed architectural tour of the venue. None of the stones have been artificially cut or modified into geometric shapes; instead, every single piece was hand-selected purely for its raw size and organic form, allowing the entire restaurant to be designed directly around them.
Some of these geological formations sprout thick, industrial metal support wires, allowing the heavy stones to physically anchor and weigh down the wooden frames mounted along the perimeter walls that hold lush arrangements of hanging plants. The single largest stone—weighing in at an impressive two tons and situated heavily toward the center of the dining room with a dining table directly abutting it—is comparable in overall weight to the restaurant’s massive pizza oven, according to Kubota. Alongside the cascading greenery, these ancient stones impart a profound sense of raw nature onto an otherwise harsh industrial space, effectively bridging the gap between Brooklyn’s gritty urbanism and the pastoral, idyllic farming settings proudly listed on the restaurant’s menu.
For her part, Ivana Somorai, the owner of Rhythm Zero, found her inspiration for incorporating massive rocks in the subtle, restrained use of natural materials found in traditional Japanese design. She explained via email that her primary goal was to inject a "natural, unexpected element" directly into the café’s minimalist interiors. Initially, the Greenpoint location featured several prominent rocks, exceptionally minimal seating, and a striking, large tangerine tree. When she later oversaw a comprehensive interior redesign of the space—which now boasts a generous, comfortable couch and considerably more seating capacity—the heavy rocks stubbornly stayed put, largely because they were simply too massive to easily remove. "I knew they would not be leaving the space for a while," Somorai wrote.
In the time since, these rocks have evolved into an iconic and memorable hallmark of the café brand. While each individual Rhythm Zero location features a distinct layout, all maintain a high standard of stylish interiority, with select locations featuring these monumental stones. The specific rock positioned next to the mirror "unexpectedly became a favorite sitting area for our regulars," Somorai notes, illustrating how organic design choices can evolve. "The rocks began as part of a specific design moment, but they ended up becoming part of the life of the cafe and the way people use the space."
As for why the second rock ended up squeezed tightly inside the restroom, the reasoning is rooted entirely in experiential theater and subverting customer expectations. "I wanted people to be surprised when they opened the door: The bathroom is dark, and then there is this large rock. I wanted them to be like, ‘Why is there a rock here?’" Somorai wrote, confirming the exact reaction shared by visitors.
This underlying desire to pique genuine customer curiosity and challenge interior norms is likely a shared rationale at Gem Home as well. While Flynn McGarry was unavailable for direct comment regarding the specific origin of the Gem stone, a representative noted via email that, to their best recollection, "Gem Home, [the now-closed] Gem Wine, and I think Cove all had/have rocks in their restroom sinks." This charmingly casual confirmation only deepens the mystery surrounding New York’s sudden architectural obsession with heavy geology.
At Pizza 4P’s, these massive rocks are far more than a passing aesthetic whim; they fit neatly into a comprehensive global philosophy. The international chain operates dozens of distinct locations across multiple countries, and each restaurant is entirely unique. The art, custom furniture, and spatial dynamics are completely tailored to their local environment—meaning that heavy boulders in Brooklyn do not translate to identical stones in Cambodia. Instead, each country’s aesthetic is governed by a distinct thematic anchor. In Indonesia, the guiding concept centers heavily on biodiversity, whereas in the United States, the design is anchored by the conceptual idea of "what the earth told me." To fulfill this vision, the development team approached the raw stones with the exact same reverence and intentionality they applied to sourcing their culinary ingredients, with Kubota explaining that the ultimate goal is to identify something inherently beautiful in nature and then painstakingly build an entire environment around it.
Alas, trends are rarely permanent fixtures. On a most recent return visit to Rhythm Zero in Greenpoint, the heavy rock that once guarded the exterior of the bathroom had completely vanished, a casualty of an even more recent spatial renovation. Rather than being discarded, the massive stones were respectfully relocated to nearby Transmitter Park. Somorai aptly described their new home as simply being "where they belong, I guess."
