Celebrity Chef Todd English Is Taking Another Swing at a Restaurant in NYC

In perhaps the surest sign yet that NYC’s economy is on the upswing, Todd English is, once again, announcing plans to open a restaurant in the city. According to the New York Post, the one-time celebrity chef has signed a lease for a 20,000-square-foot establishment at 15 Park Row, near City Hall, in the Financial District.

It is unclear what English plans to do with the space, which formerly housed sprawling retail spot J&R Music up until it shut down in 2013. English has a history of making grand plans that don’t always come to fruition, including a Chelsea food hall and a glitzy hotel restaurant in the Financial District. One of his biggest NYC projects — which still remains closed to the public during the pandemic — is the food hall at the Plaza Hotel, where English was sued for sexual harassment in 2017. Outside of New York, English just opened a new hotel in Las Vegas and maintains a roster of other restaurants stamped with his name in places like Connecticut, Alabama, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.

Towering Danny Meyer spot Manhatta sets reopening date

Manhatta, the glitzy Union Square Hospitality Group restaurant perched on top of a skyscraper in downtown Manhattan, is finally reopening on March 17, according to the New York Times. The space, which has been closed since the citywide shutdown in March 2020, is gearing up first with a focus on bar snacks and drinks led by a new head bartender, Dante alum Cameron Winkelman. The restaurant itself will return later in the spring with a different head chef, the Times reports.

Mayor tours East Village restaurants on the first day of the vaccine mandate rollback

After announcing last week that restaurants will no longer be required to check customers’ proof of vaccination, mayor Eric Adams is hitting the town today to check in with businesses in light of the news. Starting at around 11:15 a.m., Adams will be stopping by Chinese dry pot standout Ma La Project, Mexican restaurant La Palapa, and local barbecue chain Dallas BBQ to talk about the elimination of the vaccine mandate, according to a representative for the mayor’s office. The tour will be capped off with lunch at East Village diner Veselka to show support for the restaurant’s Ukraine relief efforts.

Balthazar to donate dinner revenue to Unicef in Ukraine

Following in the footsteps of other restaurants like Veselka, restaurateur Keith McNally is using his high-profile Soho spot Balthazar to raise funds for Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion. McNally declared in a post on Instagram that he’ll be donating all of Balthazar’s dinner revenue on Tuesday, March 8, to Unicef’s efforts to protect children in Ukraine. The restaurant usually generates between $35,000 to $45,000 on Tuesday nights, according to the post. On Wednesday morning, McNally plans to publish the total amount of money raised the prior evening.