Five high-profile restaurants are bravely opening in Manhattan in the midst of the holiday season — the most difficult time to launch new places, owners and chefs agreed.
The roster of top toques includes Michelin-star earners Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud and Andrew Carmellini — all of whom are counting on their star power and experience to overcome the pitfalls of opening a restaurant when tree-gazing tourists can outnumber local culinary mavens.
Hiring staff is less of a nightmare for their long-established restaurant companies than it is for smaller, individual operators.
Even so, “People who spend substantial money for dinner are not forgiving even if you just opened a few weeks beforehand,” said veteran restaurateur and industry consultant Don Evans.
“It’s simply best to open during slower months to fine-tune your kitchen and front-of-house staff.”
Simon Oren, an owner of 10 Manhattan places including soon-to-open middle Eastern-themed Acadia at Sixth Avenue and West 57th Street, agreed that “It’s kind of a different animal opening in the holidays.”
For one thing, the openings come too late to catch most of the holiday season private-party wave, which began over a month ago at such popular eateries as Cellini on East 54th Street and Porter House at Deutsche Bank Center.
So Acadia’s second floor, tailored to private events, will mostly have to wait till next year for the full windfall.
Party-driven revenue in the year’s last three months can account for up to 40 percent of a popular restaurant’s annual take, Oren said.
Also likely to miss out on most of the bonanza are Vongerichten’s Four Twenty Five, Boulud’s relocated Cafe Boulud, and David…