BY WINNIE McCROY | Renowned chef Thomas Keller of Per Se will spearhead the development of his own new classic American restaurant at The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards. Anchored by the city’s first Neiman Marcus, the one-million-square foot retail center will offer convenient access to a new six-acre public plaza and the No. 7 subway station.
“Thomas Keller is one of the most innovative chefs and restaurateurs of the 21st century,” said Kenneth A. Himmel, restaurateur and President of Related Urban, the mixed-use division of Related Companies. By 2018, the duo will bring 11 other eateries to Hudson Yards.
Recalling their collaboration on the restaurant collection at Time Warner Center a decade ago, Himmel praised Keller’s business acumen as well as his “unique ability to conceptualize the most imaginative and creative cuisines,” vowing to make Hudson Yards “one of the greatest shopping and dining districts in the world.”
Keller and Himmel are looking to create middle-market restaurants, including Italian, French, Japanese, Greek, Spanish and Mexican. Keller said that some of these chefs and restaurateurs had already been selected. The new American restaurant will be Keller’s only other full-service eatery in New York, besides his Michelin-starred Per Se.
In 1994, Keller took ownership of The French Laundry in Yountville, California, and debuted French bistro Bouchon in 1998. Over the last 15 years, he has expanded his restaurant group to include Bouchon Bakery, Ad Hoc, Per Se and Bouchon Bakery & Café, among others. He envisioned his new restaurant would serve the nostalgic food Americans enjoyed in the 1950s.
Himmel is also a famed restaurateur in Boston, responsible for opening the legendary Grill 23 & Bar, The Harvest Restaurant, Post 390 and Bistro du Midi, a joint venture with Marlon Abela Restaurant Corporation.
“The restaurant collection will have a significant impact on Manhattan’s West Side, and I can’t think of a better place in the city to take on this extraordinary collaboration. For me, it will be also be a personal triumph,” said Keller. “The restaurant I will bring to Hudson Yards is something I have been thinking about for the last 20 years, and to be able to celebrate food in this way, at this place, and at this time, in this city, will be very special for me.”
