The Swan in the Room: The Odeon w. Roya Shanks

In this episode of Hot Gossip, we sit down with Roya Shanks, Maitre D' at The Odeon in Tribeca. The Odeon has been at one of New York City's most iconic restaurants since 2001. But Roya's story is far more than longevity, it's a masterclass in what it looks like to build a genuinely values-driven life inside an industry that rarely gets credit for it.A Yale graduate who walked away from medicine, Roya came to New York two months after 9/11 with a sublet in Brooklyn, a Village Voice listing, and no restaurant experience. What followed was over two decades of serving, managing, acting, voice recording, motherhood, and becoming one of the most distinctive presences in New York City's dining world, recently recognized by Vogue as a best-dressed style icon.We explore what true longevity in hospitality really means: how a dining room can become your living room, how the art of the host is quietly disappearing, and why Roya's approach to difficult guests, meet them exactly where they are, love them into comfort, is one of the most radical acts of service we've heard described on this show.This conversation touches on the quiet courage of choosing creativity over convention, being visibly pregnant in a dining room for nine months, what New York looks like in 2026 for someone who's lived it across four decades, and why color, bold, vintage, joyful color, is not just a fashion choice but a philosophy for living.00:00 Roya’s Colorful Magic01:42 Service as Style02:32 Values and Guest Care04:35 Podcast Welcome and Bio07:17 The Art of the Host08:24 Finding Odeon After 9/1110:30 Why She Stayed So Long13:36 Passion and Community18:00 Motherhood Night Shifts20:00 How Odeon Changed25:29 Yale to Acting Pivot26:46 Impact Beyond Money32:11 Crafting the Maitre D33:32 Walk In Chaos Strategy34:50 Defusing Grumpy Guests36:00 Hospitality As Community36:37 Style That Commands40:30 Vintage Shopping Secrets42:26 Color Travel Influence44:47 Pregnancy In Public48:48 New York Then Now53:37 Subway Life Perspective55:55 Wild Dining Room Stories57:32 Hard Won Life Lessons59:17 Rapid Fire Wrap Up01:00:50 Where To Find Roya01:01:49 Closing Thanks SupportFollow Jacob and Roya:Connect with ROY HospitalityWebsite: https://www.thisisroy.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hospitablyroy/Connect with Roya: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roya-shanks-110b5951Website: http://www.royashanks.com/