‘Top Chef France’ Winner’s New Meatpacking Restaurant Already Closed for Adjustments

A temporary shutter in Meatpacking

Encore, the French restaurant in Meatpacking from Top Chef France season three winner Jean Imbert, has been closed recently, though it opened just late 2018. A PR representative notes that the closure is temporary, due to “minor interior construction work.” It is expected to reopen in a few weeks.

The notorious fire-loving bartender has a new liquor license

Mixologist Albert Trummer — whose pyrotechnical antics at cocktail bar Apotheke included lighting the bar on fire — has secured a liquor license for a new cocktail venue at 324-326 Grand St. in the Lower East Side, despite neighbor opposition regarding the fire stuff. (He was arrested in 2011 for fire tricks.) Trummer also now runs the Sigmund Freud-themed cocktail program at Bar Freud with his brother Jakob and is also known for cocktail bars inspired by hospitals and pharmaceuticals. The new place, dubbed the Atelier, has ten tables and will be a cocktail lounge with small bites.

A permanent shutter in Bed-Stuy

Bed-Stuy’s Filipino restaurant Tamá has closed, according to a long, heartfelt message about the restaurant’s journey that owner Miguel de Leon published this week. Tamá opened a little under two years ago to critical acclaim, including a writeup in Ligaya Mishan’s Times column.

Openings and coming attractions

Gitano Jungle Room throws open its doors in the James New York hotel tonight, moving the sceney outdoor restaurant indoors for the season. Brooklyn-based specialty coffee company Toby’s Estate opens a new retail café and roastery in Bushwick at 8 Wilson Ave. today. This is the brand’s sixth location. Supermarket chain Wegmans is coming to Brooklyn Navy Yard and is currently hiring 500 employees, including 150 full-time positions.

Another grifter hits NYC

Evoking the scamming icon Anna Delvey, Ian Mitchell is a new scammer in town who allegedly convinced three investors in 2015 to give him $33,000 for a liquor license for a new bar at the Hudson Hotel despite having no affiliation with the place. He was indicted in Manhattan on grand larceny charges for that particular scam and pled guilty.