Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Public Kitchen Coming to the LES in June

From the Studio 54 founder to an ex-con pardoned by Obama, hotelier Ian Schrager will open the New York branch of Public at 215 Chrystie Street, a hotel that houses a restaurant called Public Kitchen, a partnership with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The hotel is taking reservations starting June 6, with a Public spokesperson confirming the restaurant’s opening the same day.

Public cites a focus on health and wellness at the restaurant, with this all-caps description: “THE BEST OF ‘NEW YORK’ FOOD, ‘WORLD FOOD’ REALLY, AND ALL OF THE CULTURES THAT MAKE UP THE ECLECTIC MIX AND MELTING POT THAT IS NEW YORK CITY.” It’ll have a wood-burning grill as a focal point and a variety of menus, including one that’s vegan.

Eater reported the slew of JG restaurants last year, while yesterday Florence Fabricant fleshed out details in the Times including that Public will house Louis, a market and dining counter serving pastrami sandwiches, dumplings, and a salad station, as well as a bar and lounge called Diego. Expect gawking of any sort on The Roof, a nightlife spot with barbecue served weekends, she reported.

It’s not the first Schrager/Jean-Georges pairing. The two united with the debut of the Marriott International-backed hotel chain in Chicago in 2011, when Schrager spent $60 million in the purchase and renovations to the Ambassador East. It was here that he teamed up with Vongerichten for The Pump Room, which served “a blend of what’s popular in New York and four or five classic Pump Room dishes,” he told the Times, with an emphasis on “keeping affordable prices.” Schrager put the hotel up for sale in 2015 and sold it in 2016.

Public Kitchen is the latest for Jean-Georges’ New York-based restaurants, in addition to the fourteen restaurants with his name on them in region, which include the ABC partnerships, Topping Rose House, and Le Dock out east. Also in progress: the 10,000- square-foot casual restaurant at Pier 17 he’s opening with partner Phil Suarez, as well as an adjacent seafood market in the Tin Building.