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Return of Restaurants We’re Dying to Try: 5 intriguing restaurant openings

New beginnings spring eternal, even as the restaurant industry faces its toughest, most complicated summer in recent memory. Here are some concepts opening in the face of a different world, full of reinvention and promise.

Tara Fitzpatrick, Senior Editor

June 22, 2020

21 Slides
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While some restaurants are diving into reopening (or cautiously dipping a toe in), some are starting with a totally blank slate. These new concepts are a product of the times: practical minded but with a much-needed sense of levity, fresh ideas and fun.

“I’m happy that we have something positive to look forward to,” said Matthew Kuscher about the opening of Kush Coconut Grove last week. “We all need that.”

Kuscher and other restaurateurs are looking at the market and essentially hoping to meet a need that customers — and communities — are feeling at this moment in time.

Impasta is a virtual brand out of Los Angeles, with an eye toward takeout options and low-or-no-carb cauliflower crusts and comforting pastas to meet the need for a big bowl of pasta balanced with the need to be well.

In Brooklyn, Jean Georges alumni are getting back to basics at Public Display of Affection, starting with breakfast burritos wrapped in foil and centering on a wood-fired pizza oven for sourdough pies topped with local produce.

A melting pot of ingredients and cultures is evident elsewhere. In West Hollywood, Calif., Australian and California cuisine are blended in surprising ways at String of Life. And on Edisto Island, S.C., Briny Swine is blending pork and oysters on a seaside menu that’s full of innovation.

Related:7 new experience-focused concepts from Peter Beck, Brad Wise, Kyungmin Hyun and more

Contact Tara at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter @Tara_Fitzie

About the Author

Tara Fitzpatrick

Senior Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group

Tara Fitzpatrick is Food Management’s senior editor and a contributor to Restaurant Hospitality and Nation’s Restaurant News, creating editorial content for digital, print and events. Tara holds a bachelor of science degree from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kent State University. Before joining Food Management in 2008, Tara was associate editor at National Association of College Stores in Oberlin, Ohio. Prior to that, Tara worked as a newspaper reporter in her hometown of Lorain, Ohio, where she lives now. Tara is a fan of food history, legends, lore, ghost stories, urban farming and old cookbooks. 

Tara Fitzpatrick’s areas of expertise include the onsite foodservice industry (K-12 schools, colleges and universities, healthcare and B&I), menu trends, sustainability in foodservice, senior dining, farm-to-table and innovation.

Tara Fitzpatrick is a frequent webinar and podcast host and has served on the board of directors for IFEC (International Food Editors Consortium).

Tara Fitzpatrick’s experience:

Senior Editor, Food Management (Feb 2008-present)

Associate Editor, National Association of College Stores (2005-2008)

Reporter, The Morning Journal (2002-2005)

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