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Barclays Center’s shiny, exclusive new lounge Crown Club, built in partnership with the glitzy restaurateurs at Major Food Group, is now open. The 7,700-square-foot courtside club was modeled off of a “grand residence,” and includes a living room, salon, a fancy pantry stocked with snacks, and an opulent dining room where customers can order the decadent pasta plates like Carbone’s spicy rigatoni that put Major Food Group on the map, according to an opening release.
The club is only open to top-tier ticket holders, according to the company. But Barclays has also been busy this season filling out its regular vendor lineup with buzzy Brooklyn standouts that are turning the sports arena into its own dining destination. Plantain-centric Kelewele opened a stall at Barclays in the fall, as did Bushwick birria favorite Nene’s Taqueria.
Dig appears to still be kicking
Despite a number of its locations around the city remaining dark, lunch chain Dig rustled up $65 million in a new round of fundraising, Restaurant Dive reports. Dig plans to use that money to reopen locations that have remained temporarily shuttered throughout the pandemic, and apparently double its number of total shops from 30 to 60 over the next three years. It currently has 18 locations — plus the sit-down restaurant 232 Bleecker — in NYC.
A new sushi and sake restaurant opens in the Market Line
Gouie New York, from the restaurateurs behind downtown dining spots Izakaya and Dr. Clark, has debuted at LES food hall the Market Line. The 15-seat restaurant — reportedly modeled after the beloved, inexpensive sushi spot Tomoe Sushi that shut down earlier this year — offers eight pieces of sushi for $30 and a variety of sakes, according to the Lo-Down. There’s also a small grab-and-go area.
Fresh Direct fuels a new mobile pantry in NYC
Online grocer Fresh Direct has partnered with NY Common Pantry to launch a new mobile pantry in NYC, the Bronx Times reports. The pantry will serve food insecure residents across the city, offering “fresh food, nutrition education, and social services” from the vehicle, according to the report.
