Celebrity Chef Cat Cora’s Next Move Is a Weight Watchers Cafe in Barclays Center

Don’t call her down and out: Celebrity chef Cat Cora is bouncing back into the New York City restaurant world with nothing other than a Weight Watchers — now known as WW — cafe in Brooklyn arena Barclays Center.

Officially called the mouthful of WW Freestyle^TM Café: BKLYN, the restaurant focuses on Mediterranean food created by Cora — the brand’s newest ambassador. Menu items include grilled street corn, sesame lamb meatballs, and baked jalapeño poppers, and every dish will be displayed with how many points eating it incurs, according to the WW system.

It’s set to run for a year, which would be longer than Cora’s last NYC venture. Her Southern restaurant Fatbird was open for a total of seven months, during which time it was panned in reviews and fairly empty. The closure culminated with Cora suing her partner for a $400,000 fee she says she was never paid for use of her name, likeness, and recipes. That suit is still ongoing.

It’s a long way from Cora’s early days as an Iron Chef on Food Network. Beyond this deal, she also has restaurants in Singapore and Santa Barbara, and her name is plastered on restaurants in airports and casinos across the country.

Other restaurants in Barclays Center include Major Food Group’s Italian hero shop Parm and David Chang’s fried chicken chain Fuku. WW Freestyle^TM Café: BKLYN is now open.