Il Buco Founder Donna Lennard on the Antique Shop That Became a Hamptons Hotspot

Donna Lennard, the visionary behind il Buco, recounts the restaurant's transformation from a vintage shop on Bond Street in Manhattan to a celebrated culinary hotspot with branches in the Hamptons and Ibiza. In an interview with CULTURED, she reflects on her path from studying film at NYU to bartending at Arqua, where she crossed paths with Alberto Avalle. Together, they established il Buco in 1994, starting as a 2,000-square-foot antique store. The ambiance combined primitive Americana with European antiques, and the menu transitioned from tapas to a focus on Italian ingredients. Following Avalle's passing, Lennard, supported by her Umbrian cousins Antonello and Lorenzo Radi, introduced il Buco Vita in 2019. The Hamptons location, il Buco al Mare, debuted on Memorial Day 2021. Currently, Lennard concentrates on creative direction, while Danny Rubin and Alex Napolitano oversee operations and culinary leadership, respectively.