Chef Hoffman: I Should Have Won Union Square Pavilion Bid

In a piece about the closing of 21 year-old Soho staple Savoy, its owner Peter Hoffman speaks out about the city's pick for the Union Square Pavilion, City Farm Cafe. Hoffman, who has been a Greenmarket advocate since the early 90's and sat on its advisory board for 15 years, submitted a bid of his own. His thoughts:

I was unsuccessful in my bid with the Parks Department to run the food concession there. They gave it to someone who—although he’s a fine chef—has no history of working with the Greenmarket farmers, no relationship with the people who are there and no skill set to amplify the market movement by having the restaurant placed in the middle of Union Square. I think that the city lost a tremendous opportunity by not giving that to us.

As for his new restaurant in the Savoy space, Hoffman says the second room will be "fun and festive" and will include communal tables and perhaps large format meals. Regulars are not so pleased, but as far as Hoffman sees it, "they get upset because, on some level, they have to face their own mortality and face the passage of time...But, you know, artists do need to change the canvas every once in a while."
· Interview: Peter Hoffman [TONY]
· All Coverage of Savoy [~ENY~]