A Tech Philanthropist, A Michelin-Star Vet, & A Reporter Walk Into Union League …

At a table tucked beside the crackling fireplace in Union League, a synchronized trio of waiters set down a lobster special for restaurant owner Alexander Clark; a plate of duck confit for senior consultant David Mancini; and a roasted honey squash for me.

“People come in because they want to have an experience,” said Clark. “Food is just part of that. Whether it’s the patrons around you, the music, the lighting on the walls, or the ambience of a fireplace, all of those things make a difference.”

Clark — a 43-year-old Yale graduate and the founder of Technolutions, an education tech company with headquarters on Church Street — purchased the Union League Café in October 2023. A few months later, he bought the historic 1032 Chapel St. property for $4.3 million and dropped “Café” from the name. The award-winning French restaurant traces its origins to the Union League Club, which was founded in 1884.

In November of this year, Clark and Mancini unveiled renovations to the restaurant’s lobby, main dining room, lounge, and service area. They’re in the process of developing a state-of-the-art wine cellar, seminar room, and second-floor gallery space. (According to Mancini, the Union League renovations cost “several million dollars.”)

Clark also owns ZINC, a fine-dining Italian restaurant located on Chapel Street, and recently opened the Union League Patisserie with Kimberly Pedrick. Outside of the culinary business, Clark, who’s originally from Jackson, Miss., has made significant donations to the Shubert Theatre, Elm Shakespeare Company, and International Festival of Arts & Ideas. He also recently joined a nonprofit devoted to conserving and improving the Green.

“My dream would be for everyone to recognize that New Haven is exceptional and can be even more exceptional,” said Clark, who’s lived in New Haven for 25 years. “And to stop the comparisons to New York and Boston.”

I sat down with Mancini and Clark for lunch on Friday at Union League, where we meandered through all things history, food, and New Haven.

Something Old, Something New

The Union League building — located at 1032 Chapel St. — first served as the home of Roger Sherman, New Haven’s first mayor and the only person to sign all four of the nation’s founding documents. Over the years, it housed a men’s club, Sherman’s Taverne, and Robert Henry’s, before becoming Union League Café in 1993.

The building’s recent renovations are inspired by that “storied history,” said Clark.

Gesturing to the ornate, wooden fireplace next to us, Clark recounted a contractor ripping out its faux marble surround and revealing the original tile underneath. Those small, muted tiles, likely installed in the 1880s, were then each cleaned by hand.

“There is some listening to the bones of the space,” said Clark. Similar, labor-intensive restorations were made to the dining room’s arched, stained glass and ornamental plasterwork.

Mancini, glancing upwards, asked me to find one of a dozen speakers installed on the ceiling, which had been playing gentle, classical music during our lunch. I couldn’t find a single one.

“They’re in the coffers,” said Mancini. “They are invisible speakers.” He said they’re covered with ornamental plaster, which keeps them out of sight.

A waiter, pouring from a ceramic jar, then filled Clark’s bowl with a rich, creamy butternut squash bisque.

Between bites, Clark described the invisible speakers as emblematic of his broader approach to technology, both at the restaurant and as a CEO.

“How I have always viewed technology is that it’s about a production,” said Clark. “Whenever I would go to the theater, I would spend as much time looking up at the lighting rigs” and “the big soundboards in the back” as watching the actors. For both diners and software users, said Clark, the goal is for technology to fade into the background of the experience.

A grand piano — where Tony Airdo performs most Saturday nights — embodies that idea of using new tools to revive old-world ambience. (The restaurant also plans to add live music on Fridays, from 6 to 9 p.m.)

“I’m not kidding when I say, I ordered the piano two days into owning Union League,” said Clark. “But you know what day it got delivered on?” interjected Mancini. “December 5th,” two years, to the day, before our lunch.

Putting down his half-consumed negroni, Clark took out his phone and pressed a button. Across the room, the piano’s keys and pedals began to move themselves, producing a classic jazz melody.

Clark said he’d learned from old photographs that a piano had stood in the same corner of the building for decades. And when Mancini hired Airdo, he found out that the musician had played in that very same spot 40 years earlier, when 1032 Chapel St. still housed the Roger Sherman Taverne.

“In everything we’re doing right now,” said Mancini, “it’s bringing the best of the old things into the new era.”

Why David Mancini Retired From Retirement

Instead of ordering a specific dish, Clark spent a decade asking waiters to surprise him. Usually, he’d end up with the restaurant’s bestseller, or a “safe” menu item like chicken.

Other times, he’d be served something not even on the menu.

When that happened, said Clark, “I thought, that’s amazing!”

These days, Clark gravitates towards the most adventurous dishes — often, something with duck or lobster. On Friday, he selected the lobster special: a seafood-based sausage served over a base of rice pilaf, sautéed spinach, and a lobster sauce.

Mancini, on the other hand, said he often orders with a business purpose in mind.

“There are things I really want to eat on the menu,” said Mancini. “I’d rather have that, but I usually need to see” a restaurant’s “preparation” of a dish. He takes that information back to Union League’s head chef — Olivier Durand — who then uses Mancini’s notes as inspiration for the menu.

Sometimes, said Mancini, patrons aren’t so interested in recipe changes.

He recounted how, back when Clark first purchased Union League, a Michelin-star chef recommended a new recipe for the duck confit. Many longtime customers lamented the change, including his friend’s wife, who pulled Mancini aside and politely asked for the “old preparation.”

Durand readily agreed to make the original duck confit. “And it stayed that way ever since!” said Mancini. He enjoyed the confit on Friday, alongside a glass of Red burgundy that matched his v-neck sweater.

Mancini, originally from Philadelphia, was cajoled out of retirement when Clark began his foray into the New Haven restaurant business. He began as a collector of fine art photography and eventually opened a jazz club in Houston with his wife. There, he served California-style cuisine — an ’80s-era restaurant trend of serving simple dishes made from locally sourced ingredients.

He eventually moved back east, where he found a job directing food and beverage at the United Nations and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). He ended his career by leading Le Bernardin, a French restaurant in New York City, to three Michelin stars.

Mancini said he was “happily retired” in Madison when Clark reached out about consulting for ZINC.

“Alexander had a vision that none of the other restauranteurs had,” said Mancini. “This is all about New Haven.” He had also been dazzled by “Alexander’s vision and foresight and overwhelming personality.” After two weeks of thinking, he retired from retirement and joined Clark’s team.

While my roasted squash lacked the lobster and duck on my companions’ plates, it was still thoughtfully prepared and wildly flavorful, served alongside tender mushrooms, Tuscan kale leaves, and a bed of cashew cream. I was also pleasantly surprised to have been able to choose between multiple entrees — a rare luxury as a vegetarian.

Carpe Beauty

Referencing Billy Joel’s “Moving Out,” Clark said, “‘Saving his pennies for someday,’ right? Someday doesn’t always arrive when we think it does.”

That sense of carpe diem animates Clark’s philanthropy in New Haven, as well as the “very real local pride” he sees across the city.

He’s often focused on the arts, partly because of the “theatrical DNA” he inherited from his mother, a theater major. Even off the stage, Clark’s annual Slate Summit brims with theatrical flourishes, including kabuki sniffers, 45-person orchestras, and three-hour keynote speeches.

When reflecting on the dining experience, Clark reaches for the same vocabulary. “It’s a lot more theater than anything else,” he said.

At Union League, the performance begins when patrons open the palatial doors on Chapel Street and ascend into a grand dining room, replete with tall ceilings, sweeping arches, and white linens. A staff member takes their coats and escorts them to their seats, where they’re promised a fancy meal and attentive hospitality, all within the backdrop of a historical institution.

Clark, who claimed to have once been the restaurant’s fourth largest patron, said customers have always associated Union League with birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings.

“People wanted it to be special,” said Clark. “No one every described it as somewhere where they wanted to come in jeans and a t-shirt.”

The decision to buy Union League, said Clark, reflects his commitment to supporting the various niches and “anchors” that make New Haven “the greatest small city in America.”

So. Now that Clark has renovated Union League and ZINC, donated $1.5 million to the Shubert Theatre, funded a stage for the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, contributed $250,000 to the Elm Shakespeare Company, and opened a need-blind school in North Haven, where does he want to invest his time and money next?

Clark named “safety and perception of safety” as a top priority.

“How do we make more people feel welcome and comfortable here? I think the way you solve it is not alone through the traditional methods of policing,” said Clark. “I think good displaces bad, and that a more effective strategy” combines “law enforcement,” “social services,” and other “resources.”

One way that he’s contributing to safety, said Clark, is by supporting groups and places that that give people positive reasons to gather.

That’s why he joined the nonprofit Green Conservancy, which is aimed at “activating” the city’s central green space.

“What drives a lot of how I like to think about things in life is centered around beauty,” said Clark. “I’m not sure people always voice that they like beauty, but they can feel it. They know when they’re around something that is beautiful and special.”

He said the Conservancy is developing ideas for enhancements that will improve residents’ overall perception of the space.

Separately, Clark is also interested in supporting nonprofits and making it easier for entrepreneurs to open small businesses.

When he considers what the city needs, Clark doesn’t just “wait for someone to create it.”

“We don’t know what New Haven or the country or the planet will look like 20 years from now,” he said. “But we do know that maybe we can nudge it in the right direction.”

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