Stephen Starr Plots New Bowery Restaurant

James Beard Award-winning restaurateur Stephen Starr is eyeing a space on the Bowery for a new restaurant.

The man behind hits like Le Coucou submitted an application to open a yet-to-be-named restaurant occupying the ground floor and cellar of the building at 46-48 Bowery, as Bowery Boogie first reported. Previously, celebrity chef Eddie Huang had plans to open a Baohouse at the address, but he withdrew his application from the community board last fall. Starr Restaurants has now scooped it up.

Starr and acclaimed Williamsburg restaurateur Joe Carroll (St. Anselm, Fette Sau) long planned to open a steakhouse at 222 Bowery, but it faced several obstacles along the way, including pushback from neighbors. It was scrapped in 2015. The application did not say whether this new Bowery project could be a resurrection of those old plans. Eater NY has reached out to Starr’s team for more information about the proposed new restaurant.

Starr is behind NYC restaurants like Le Coucou, La Mercerie, Upland, and the Clocktower and will also run the Pastis reboot in West Village full time when it opens — a rare partnership arrangement for Keith McNally. He also has businesses in Philly like Serpico, and besides food world darlings, he’s also opened clubbier (and very busy, long-running) restaurants like Bukkadan. He won the James Beard Award for outstanding restaurateur in 2017.

The liquor license application for the new Bowery restaurant will be discussed at the Community Board 3 July meeting. Stay tuned for more.

• Huang’s Bowery ‘Baohaus’ Bows out, Starr Restaurant Group Swoops In [Bowery Boogie]