Episode 1: Sunken Hundred, New York in the 90s, and Living Through 9/11 - Illtyd Barrett:

New York Welsh

Illtyd Barrett came to New York in the 90s with the intention of experiencing the good, the bad and the ugly side of a city that would come to be his home for the next two decades. After years of feeling like the only Welsh person in the city, the artist and musician, decided he wanted to create a bar and restaurant that would be a beacon of Wales across the Atlantic. In 2016 Illtyd and his brother Dom opened the doors of the Sunken Hundred—named after the mythical lost kingdom submerged by the rising sea—to which they received enthusiastic reviews from The New Yorker and New York Magazine. Unfortunately, even the reputation of serving the city’s most spectacular pasty wasn’t enough to keep the restaurant from being swallowed up by rising rents and a competitive restaurant scene and, earlier this year, the brothers called final orders for the last time. In this episode, the boys discuss Illtyd’s arrival on a vanishing New York art scene, the days surrounding September 11th, and what it means to be part of a community in a city that never sleeps.