My first taste of the big leagues was when I worked at Mario Batali's restaurant Babbo. Interning at the hottest restaurant in New York at the time was such a formative experience. The signature dish there was beef-cheek ravioli, with a sauce made from crushed squab livers. I had never seen food like that before, and everything about that experience shaped me as both a chef and an entrepreneur.
Not long after Nobu opened its first location, cofounder Drew Nieporent noticed that diners were coming in with special lists. This was decades before the likes of Yelp or TikTok. But some customers had been blogging about their experience on personal websites, sharing posts like "how to order at Nobu." "Guests would come in with printouts of the list, with step-by-step tips to make the most of the meal,
Spain's leading Asian restaurant chain is making serious waves in South Florida's competitive food and beverage landscape. UDON officially opened its doors at Dadeland Mall today, October 20th, marking a pivotal moment in the brand's aggressive U.S. expansion strategy. This isn't just another mall restaurant opening: it's a carefully orchestrated move that builds on the massive success of their Aventura Mall debut earlier this year. For food and beverage professionals watching market trends, UDON's approach offers fascinating insights into how international brands can successfully adapt to American markets while maintaining their authentic identity.
"I envisioned Sailor to be something for the neighborhood where locals could feel at home," Paredes tells Surface. "When Gabe came to me with this new bar space, I knew we had to carry that same feeling forward and let it evolve. I designed the bar to feel like it had always been there with the same patina and ease as if it had aged alongside the original space." Paredes successfully conjures this lived-in vision, buoyed by a comfortable elegance.
But for restaurateur Stephen Starr, this stretch of wooden planks is more than a backdrop for a family summer vacation. It's where he learned how to do business. Starr worked three summers as a teenager in one of the boardwalk shops, thrusting anything he could - T-shirts, trinkets - into tourists' clamoring hands. "I learned everything about business from being on that boardwalk," he said. "You saw the best and the worst of people, the best and worst of yourself. And we worked 14 hours a day, six days a week."
San Jose welcomes yet another new dining spot with Supreme Crab setting up at 625 Coleman Avenue at the Marketcenter. This location, once home to Sweet Tomatoes, now transforms into a haven for seafood lovers. Construction wraps up as the restaurant prepares to open its doors, complete with hiring for staff to serve the community. The addition marks an exciting expansion for the chain, bringing its popular concept further south along the peninsula.
When Jatin Bunty Grewal moved to California from India in 2018, he found himself disappointed with what he perceived to be a lack of modern Indian food in the Bay Area. There was still a lot of lag in fine dining or the modern definition of food in India, the young India, which was not served here, he said. A supermodel and actor in Bollywood who transitioned into the food industry when he moved to Dublin,
After opening a second outpost of Speedboat Bar in Notting Hill in the summer, Luke Farrell is now gearing up to open another branch of his southern Thai restaurant Plaza Khao Gaeng. The venue, part of the Chaiyo Restaurants group (run by Farrell with JKS Restaurants), is opening in Borough Yards this November, and will follow the same format as the original site in Arcade Food Hall on Tottenham Court Road.
Ryan and restaurant owner Mohamad Al-Zein weren't ready to share every detail, but here's what we do know about Moona 2.0. The concept will be different from day to night. It starts as a cafe, serving breakfast, pastries, and coffee beverages. But by night, it transforms into a convivial dining room with a Levantine-inspired menu that marries staple pantry items from the Levant with New England seasonality.
Following a Campbell opening in August, the Bay Area-founded Square Pie Guys venture is now baking Detroit-style pizzas in Palo Alto. The restaurant credited with introducing San Franciscans to Detroit-style, crispy-edged square pizza is in expansion mode. After this California Avenue opening, the plan is to head to Walnut Creek, founder-owner Marc Schechter has announced. The group opened its first brick-and-mortar in 2019 in SoMa after running a successful pop-up.
Tyler Perry said something to me I'll never forget, because I battle this all the time, I always try to bring everybody with me," Hayes tells Fortune. "'Sometimes you've got to leave them in the sand. Sometimes you've got to go in the water, row the boat, leave them in the sand, and offer to come back and get on the boat' ... Sometimes people aren't going to understand the mission.
You'd think that having the Kardashians, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Barack Obama as fans would protect a restaurant chain from bankruptcy, but in the unusual case of Il Mulino, sometimes success also attracts more problems. You may not have heard of Il Mulino, because even at its height it only had 17 locations. It occupies that strange, rarefied space of high-end chains with a handful of locations in major hotspots, often from name-brand chefs like Gordon Ramsay.
Famed Milanese institution Sant Ambroeus lands on the West Coast for the first time next year. The celebrity-favorite Italian restaurant will open in Beverly Hills in 2026 on the corner of Beverly Drive and Dayton Way, just a block from Rodeo Drive. The first Sant Ambroeus, named after Milan's patron saint, opened in 1936 as an all-day cafe and patisserie. In 1982, the restaurant crossed the Atlantic to open its first stateside location on the Upper East Side in New York.
Wonder's latest opening in Washington Heights features 20 new restaurants under one roof, continuing the company's rapid expansion across Manhattan with plans for more growth.
Show De Carnes introduces a dynamic dining experience in San Jose, featuring rodizio-style service with gauchos carving grilled meats tableside, enhancing the culinary landscape.
