Restaurant Boasting New York City Flair Coming to the Castro

“When it opens this spring, Gramercy Park will serve Californian cuisine in the evenings, New York City-style sandwiches in the afternoons, and all-American brunch on the weekends. Owner Mark White hopes to open the restaurant by mid-April at 216 Church Street, formerly Crepevine in the Castro.

White is fairly secretive about his background. He says he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America 20 years ago, and went on to own four restaurants in New York. But he sold off his stakes in those restaurants — which he did not name — and now has his eyes on San Francisco. He’s starting a new restaurant group, Madison Avenue Hospitality Group, and plans to open five restaurants within five years here. Gramercy Park is the first.”

“Gramercy Park will also occupy a smaller, 480-square-foot space next door — dubbed Gramercy Park To-Go — to serve commuters in the morning with coffee and grab-and-go items. It’ll also provide a streamlined area for delivery services like Caviar and Postmates to pick up orders without clogging up the main dining room. Between the two spaces, White hopes Gramercy Park will be the sort of neighborhood spot folks visit multiple times a month.”

Read more here.

Her Name Was Carmen Opens in Soho With Latin American Seafood

Soho is now home to a two-floor Latin American restaurant called Her Name Was Carmen, with seafood, music, and a design inspired by the modernism from the ’50s and ’60s in Latin America. Thatcher Shultz (the Garret) and Andres Diaz (Felix, Tropicana parties) own the spot at 527 Broome St., and Diaz, who is of Colombian heritage, wants it to be “an elevated Latin American concept.” To do so, they’ve brought on chef Ben Hammou, formerly of Le Bernardin and Flora Bar, to helm savory and chef Victoria Louise to run pastry. Though both of them are of Peruvian heritage, they will be cooking up seafood with inspiration from all of Latin America.

See more here.