15 hours ago
A ‘Top Chef' Winner's Flatiron Restaurant Closes After Less Than a Year
Flatiron's Time and Tide closes today following its debut in October 2024. The upscale Flatiron fish house from Kent Hospitality and Top Chef winner Danny Garcia will reopen as a new concept from the same team — but an unexpected residency will be in the space until then.
After a kitchen fire closed neighboring Massara on June 11, the Southern Italian spot from chef Stefano Secchi and his partner, David Switzer, will pop up at 48 E. 26th Street, at Park Avenue South, starting Thursday, June 19, until further notice, while the original Massara location undergoes repairs at its 913 Broadway location. It will be called Massara on Park, with reservations available on Resy. The menu will feature many familiar signature dishes inspired by the coast of Campania as well as new ones — particularly with a focus on crudo for the summer.
'Kent Hospitality Group is lending a helping hand to its friends at Massara … after a fire caused their original location to close indefinitely,' a spokesperson told Eater over email. 'During this time, KHG and Chef Danny Garcia will reimagine the Time and Tide concept.'
'We are extremely grateful no one was injured and for the FDNY's rapid response,' said Secchi in a statement to Eater. 'As rebuilding Massara will likely take a few months, our entire team is grateful to our friends at Kent Hospitality Group.'
The cause of the kitchen fire at Massara is still under investigation. For perspective on how long the repairs could take, a fire at New York's Gjelina shortly after it opened in 2023 shut down the famous restaurant from Los Angeles for almost two years.
Time and Tide seemed to be struggling to get its sea legs, with Saga and Crown Shy restaurateur Jamal James Kent and Garcia originally collaborating on the restaurant before Kent's untimely death last June. The original fish and seafood-filled menu was based on Kent's summer memories of his grandmother's home in Sag Harbor and Garcia's summers in Fire Island, with elements of seaside memories woven throughout the restaurant. However, a menu overhaul last month added more international dishes like grilled dates and frena bread with labneh, chicken katsu, and skate muhammara.
Time and Tide was the first solo project from Top Chef Winner Garcia, and the first restaurant opened by Kent Hospitality Group following the unexpected passing of its namesake founder. Time and Tide was one of the most anticipated restaurant openings of 2024. Since Kent's death, the restaurants from Kent Hospitality group have shifted to reflect emerging leaders, with Michelin-starred Crown Shy overseen by Jassimran Singh, two-star Saga overseen by Charlie Mitchell, and World's 50 Best bar with a spectacular view, Overstory from Harrison Ginsberg.
The team's largest undertaking yet has been overseeing the operations for several hospitality projects inside the Financial District's luxurious new department store, Printemps, including Maison Passerelle and Salon Vert — both overseen by James Beard winner Gregory Gourdet. The group is also behind the newly opened Birdee, the Brooklyn bakery in the Domino development from pastry chef Renata Ameni.
Earlier this year, the Times reported Billy Durney, of Hometown Bar-B-Que and Red Hook Tavern acclaim, has taken on investment from Kent Hospitality, and will open a restaurant with the group at 9 West 57th Street. And earlier this month, the group signed to open a place in the former Bistro Les Amis space in Soho, which will be a bar overseen by Ginsberg.
The timing lines up for now: Garcia is reworking his first spot just as Massara loses its home, but it's anyone's guess whether the two will sync up again when it's time for the Italian restaurant to return. See More:
