Chef Joël Robuchon Eyes Former Colicchio & Sons Space For New L’Atelier

Esteemed French chef Joël Robuchon may soon be opening a new outpost of his highly acclaimed tasting counter restaurant L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Chelsea. The chef and restaurateur, who closed a Midtown location of L’Atelier in 2012, has been eyeing the huge 10th Avenue space that last housed Colicchio & Sons. (Tom Colicchio’s restaurant closed last month.) Robuchon has nine locations of L'Atelier globally, including outposts in Las Vegas, Paris, and Taipei. These restaurants have open kitchens and offer both a la carte and prix fixe dining. Most of them have Michelin stars.

Robuchon, one of the world's biggest and most well-known fine dining chef/restaurateurs, hasn’t had a restaurant in New York for a while, but recently, plans to be back in the city have ramped up. He signed a lease earlier this year on two stories of a Midtown condo building, for a location of Joël Robuchon Restaurant, a French market, and a pastry shop. His team has said that he’s been working on a L’Atelier in New York, but a location had not been released. A spokeswoman for Robuchon says that the chef has not yet finalized or signed the deal for the Colicchio & Sons space. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

• Chef Joël Robuchon Plans Return to Manhattan [ENY]