In an amicable parting of ways, Tom Colicchio and Danny Meyer in August ended their 12 year partnership at Gramercy Tavern, where Colicchio was also exec chef. Meyer bought Colicchio's shares, and Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group will continue to operate the restaurant. While USHG searches for a new exec chef, Gramercy Tavern's chef de cuisine, John Schaefer, heads up the kitchen. For his part, Colicchio plans to devote himself to his Craft family of restaurants. • In a similar vein, Kurt Gutenbrunner left Thor in August to focus on Wallsé, Café Sabarsky, and Blaue Gans. Kevin Pomplun, Thor's exec chef since its opening, will re-create the menu and take over desserts since Thor pastry chef Pierre Reboul, who also did desserts at Gutenbrunner's other venues, left as well. • In August Christopher Lee of Philly's Striped Bass moved to NYC to replace Paul Liebrandt as exec chef of the recently minted Gilt in the New York Palace Hotel. Joining Lee is new pastry chef Nick Morgenstern, formerly of Gramercy Tavern. (Nancy Olson, previously at Peacock Alley and Django, is the new Gramercy Tavern pastry chef.) Morgenstern replaces Oscar Palacios. Gilt closed briefly for vacation and reopened in September. Lee rolls out his new modern American menu this month. • The highly anticipated L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon at Four Seasons Hotel New York finally opened last month. Exec chef Yosuke Suga most recently oversaw the Tokyo L'Atelier outpost and has worked side-by-side with Robuchon since 1998. Pastry chef Kazutoshi Narita also hails from the Tokyo L'Atelier. • In August Yann de Rochefort, the owner of Suba, launched a casual Spanish place, Boqueria (named after Barcelona's legendary market) at 53 West 19th St. Chef/partner Seamus Mullen, recently exec sous chef at Brasserie 8 1/2, brings some fancy Spanish creds to the table, including stints at the Michelin-starred Mugaritz (Errenteria) and Abac (Barcelona). His regional tapas menu ranges from fried quail egg and chorizo on toast to bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with almonds and Cabrales cheese. • In August Terrance Brennan closed Picholine for renovations at the hands of New York City–based Coffinier Ku Design, reopening last month with an updated look, a wine and cheese bar, and a new menu. • In July Renée and Colin Alevras moved The Tasting Room from its miniscule original home to a larger location at 264 Elizabeth St., adding the word "restaurant" to the name. They reopened the original site in September as "the wine bar and and cafe it should have been in the first place," explains Colin, aptly calling it The Tasting Room Wine Bar & Café. • Philippe Chow and Stratis Morfogen, owners of Philippe restaurant, opened a second Philippe in Mexico City (2620 Paseo de Reforma) last month, partnering with Mexico City restaurateur Pablo Moctezuma. (The trio hopes to open further locations in the capital.) Also in the Chow/Morfogen works, this time with an investor team of NBA players, is a third outpost in Miami's South Beach at the Gansevoort South (the first spin-off of NYC's hip Hotel Gansevoort). The restaurant will open this winter and the hotel in April. • Jovia's new exec chef is Eben Copple, replacing Josh DeChellis in July. Copple was recently exec sous chef at Barbuto.
In August Guenter Seeger announced plans to sell Seeger's and take his toque to a Michelin Guide–reviewed city in the hopes of earning a coveted Michelin star, throwing Atlanta into a state of panic. With legions of fans—including the mayor and governor—begging him to stay, Seeger is reconsidering his ambitious plans and at press time was negotiating with investors so that his beloved restaurant could remain open. Phew! • Also in August, husband and wife team Rafih and Rita Benjelloun opened a tapas place, Ibiza Restaurant & Lounge (2285 Peachtree Rd.), next door to their Imperial Fez. Rafih is chef at Fez, while Rita runs the Ibiza kitchen.
Next month look for The Keating, a luxe boutique hotel, at 432 F St. in the Gaslamp District. The 35 room property is the brainchild of San Diego–based BOND Urban Habitat (responsible for San Diego's TOWER23 Hotel) and local real estate developer Edward Kaen. Italian Pininfarina Extra (think Ferrari) designed a modern look awash in red for the historic building. Details are few on the signature dining venue, which is opening next summer. • Last summer, Debbie Hugonin, who earned her stripes in the Las Vegas hotel and dining scene, and her son Seth Baas, a recent CIA grad, opened Blanca, an upscale 140 seater serving modern Californian cuisine at 437 S. Highway 101. Exec chef Wade Hageman is a vet of the Michael Mina empire.
After much rumor and speculation, chef Paul Kahan and his partners at Avec and Blackbird, Donald J. Madia and Eduard Seitan, along with Terry Alexander (owner of del Toro), have inked a deal to open a yet-to-be-named spot serving beer-friendly cuisine, at 845 W. Fulton St., sometime next year. • Takashi Yagihashi, who recently left Wynn Las Vegas, is planning to open Restaurant Takashi, a contemporary small plates spot with French-Asian leanings, next summer in a downtown location. Meanwhile, Yagihashi, a member of Macy's culinary council, has introduced a quick service sushi and noodles spot in Macy's State Street (formerly Marshall Field's State Street), still unnamed at press time. • Plans are in the works to renovate Pump Room and its home, Ambassador East hotel, this winter. Tru's Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand's recently formed restaurant development and management company, Cenitare, will consult on a new menu, and Pump Room exec chef Nick Sutton will remain at the helm. • Bent on expansion, owner Debbie Sharpe closed Cru Café and Wine Bar last winter, reopening this month with roomier digs and a proper hot kitchen captained by exec chef Patrick Crane, who hails from The Art Institute of Chicago. In the bargain, Sharpe opened a next door outpost of her Bucktown specialty food shop The Goddess and Grocer. • In Geneva, the core crew from much-missed 302 West, founded by the late Joel Findlay, are still together working at the similarly-themed contemporary American Niche Restaurant (14 South Third St.), which opened in August. Owners are exec chef Jeremy Lycan, who was handpicked by Findlay to carry on his legacy at 302 West, and Jody Richardson, in charge of Niche's wine program and the front of the house. Joining them are 13 former 302 West staffers. • After Aria Bar in The Fairmont Chicago hotel got a massive revamp, it was reborn in July as a sexy pan-Asian lounge, replete with a sushi bar manned by chef Byung Kyu Park (aka BK), formerly of Mirai Sushi. • Alinea's pastry chef Alex Stupak left in August to join the WD-50 team in NYC, replacing Sam Mason. Grant Achatz will take over desserts at Alinea. • Rushmore served its last meal in August.
Starting this month, John Tesar, formerly top toque at RM (New York City), stepped in at The Mansion on Turtle Creek, replacing Dean Fearing. • Speaking of Fearing, last summer his wife, Lynae Fearing, and Tracy Rathbun, both local industry vets, opened Shinsei, a sushi and pan-Asian spot at 7713 Inwood Rd. Exec chef is Casey Thompson, formerly a sous chef at the Mansion. • Kimpton Group opened the 198 room Hotel Palomar Dallas (formerly a Hilton) in September. Adjacent to the hotel is Central 214, American Food and Cocktails, with Tom Fleming, lately of Old Hickory Steakhouse at Gaylord Texas Resort & Convention Center in nearby Grapevine. • Speaking of Gaylord, Fleming's replacement there is Joanne Bondy, recent chef/partner at Ciudad (Dallas). Also new to Gaylord is Thomas Giulioni, who emplaned from the Omni San Diego Hotel to become exec director of f&b, replacing Rick Hopkins. • Fresh from introducing their Las Vegas hot spot ghostbar to downtown's sparkling new Victory Park last summer, the Las Vegas–based N9NE Group, owned by Michael Morton and Scott DeGraff, is adding two new properties to the $3 billion 75 acre development. This December, keep your eyes peeled for Nove Italiano (the original opened this month in Las Vegas at Palms Casino Resort with Geno Bernardo, A N9NE Group vet, as exec chef) and N9NE Steakhouse. N9NE Group consulting chef/partner Michael Kornick designed the menus, while exec chef Chris Conlon, of N9NE Steakhouse in Las Vegas, will be running the Dallas N9NE steakhouse.
Last summer, owners Gerard and Virginie Ferry sold L'Orangerie, a longstanding temple of French haute cuisine, to Nobu Matsuhisa, chef/owner of his namesake spot down the street, Matsuhisa, and partner in the Nobu family of restaurants, and Nobu partner Robert De Niro. Richie Notar, a player in the Nobu empire, is also a partner, but Myriad Restaurant Group is not involved. L'Orangerie will serve its last meal New Year's Eve, and in January renovations will begin to morph the space into Nobu Matsuhisa. Once the new place is open, the original Matsuhisa will close. • This month ushered in Blue Velvet, a hip eatery housed in The Flat, a new apartment complex in downtown L.A. (750 Garland St). Owners are developer Bret Mosher and two Standard Downtown L.A. alums, Robert Hartstein and T. Elliott. Exec chef Kris Morningstar (formerly of Opaline, Grace, and AOC) regularly raids a rooftop garden for his modern American menu. • Tucked into the foothills above Los Angeles in Glendale, find the sleek and sexy MINX Restaurant & Lounge, which opened in August. Heading the globally aspiring kitchen is Joseph Antonishek, who has cooked at L.A.'s Coco Pazzo, Raffles L'Ermitage Hotel, and O-Bar. • Josef Centeno, of recently shuttered Meson G, is the new exec chef at elegant Opus Restaurant, formerly a steakhouse called Opus Bar & Grill that's been under new ownership since August.
Coming in January to Cary is The Umstead Hotel and Spa, a luxury property owned by Ann Goodnight, co-owner of Prestonwood Country Club and An. The property's signature dining spot is the 98 seat Herons, with Phil Evans in the kitchen. The former exec chef of the St. Regis Resort Aspen will serve American with Southern local flair (think crispy pork belly, butterscotch beans, and smoked ham hock salad). • In Charlotte, Anthony Soriano, recently of Harper's Restaurant Group's Upstream, is the new chef de cuisine at Arpa Tapas-Wine Bar-Grill (also a Harper's property). Soriano replaced Warren Baird in August. • Pastry chef Jessica Garon left Emeril's Atlanta to perform the same role at Frank Scibelli's Mama Ricotta and both Cantina 1511 locations (all three are in Charlotte), a position created especially for her.
Last month ushered in The Tuxedo Room to St. Louis' theater district (Grand Center) at 522 N. Grand Blvd. Owners are entrepreneur Brett Cervantes (whose father once owned the historic building) and industry newbie Reginald Dickson; exec chef is Anton Keller, who found his way out of Wilderness Ridge Golf Club (Lincoln, NE). Look for Continental fare served in a 1930s supper club setting. • In July Joshua Galliano, a New Orleans transplant who worked at Commander's Palace (which reopened this month), replaced John Griffiths as chef de cuisine at Larry Forgione's An American Place.
After three years of bringing fashionable small plate dining to Albuquerque, Jennifer James left Graze by Jennifer James and sister bar/lounge Gulp in October. Citing differences in business style, James and co-owner Mike Chesley dissolved the partnership, but he plans on keeping Graze and Gulp open. As for James, she promises: "I will be cooking again in Albuquerque by 2007." • Mark Curran left Larkspur (Vail, CO) to help Scalo Northern Italian Grill owner Steve Paternoster launch Brasserie La Provence in August in the old Stella Blue space. Shortly after arriving, Scalo top toque Rob Wells took off and Curran stepped in and revamped the menu; he's currently doing double duty helming both kitchens. • Geckos Bar & Tapas, an Albuquerque hot spot owned by Wally Minoli, spawned a sibling this month at 5801 Academy Rd. More spacious than the original, the 150 seater offers an expanded dinner menu with full entr•es. Chef Todd Lovell heads both kitchens.
Speaking of Opus Bar & Grill, its former exec chef, Sara Levine, is now doing small plates at Vertical Wine Bistro (70 N. Raymond Ave.), which opens this month. An ambitious wine bar striving to be both serious and user-friendly, it offers 100 wines by the glass and 20 different flights. Owners are film producer and first time owner Gale Anne Hurd and partner Mike Farwell (formerly of Wine Bar & Bistro 112). • Tom Ryan, a vet of the Las Vegas dining scene, is new exec chef of all the Smith Brothers Restaurants, replacing David Tarrin. • West Hollywood•based Barney's Beanery opened a third outpost at 99 Colorado Blvd. and plans to roll out additional Barney's throughout California and in Las Vegas. Last summer, Paul Rosenbluh and Monique King, owners of FireFly Bistro (South Pasadena), added a wine bar and a snack menu to the space.
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