Latest news with #KwameOnwuachi
Eater
27-05-2025
- Business
- Eater
A Major Patty Chain Hailing From Jamaica Opens its First New York Locations
A Caribbean fast-food chain, well-known in Jamaica, has made its New York debut. Juici Patties opened in Bed-Stuy on 1293 Fulton Street, at Nostrand Avenue on Sunday, April 27, followed by a Bronx outpost that opened in the Boogie Down Food Hall at the Bronx Terminal Market on 610 Exterior Street, Fourth Floor on Thursday, May 22. Both counter-service restaurants serve all sorts of flaky patties, with fillings like beef (mild or spicy), curried chicken, shrimp, and vegan shrimp. Then there's coco bread, plantains, and fries. A rep for the company boasted that this Brooklyn location is its 'highest-performing opening' in the company's 40 years in operation, selling 24,000 patties in a week. This is the start of a major New York expansion for the company, with plans to open restaurants elsewhere in Brooklyn and the Bronx as well as Queens. Founder Jukie Chin started Juici Patties in 1980 in Jamaica, and now there are more than 65 locations there, as well as its first American locations in Florida starting in 2024. It's one of several big patty openings for New York this month: in related patty news, chef Kwame Onwuachi debuts his patty restaurant, Patty Palace, in Citi Field earlier this spring, and has plans to open a second location in Union Square. A comfort-food favorite is finally opening in Manhattan Queens comfort food restaurant Comfortland is finally making headway on opening that long-awaited Manhattan location. The new Lower East Side expansion will open at 92 Rivington Street, near Ludlow Street, in late June. This third location was announced about two and a half years ago and was supposed to open in April 2024. However, issues arose, and Donnie D'Alessio announced the team signed a new lease in mid-May. The original Astoria restaurant opened in 2010, becoming known for its hearty foods such as loaded fried chicken sandwiches, chopped cheese empanadas, and croissant breakfast sandwiches. It expanded into Williamsburg earlier this January with a ghost kitchen location only offering pickups and deliveries. New Japanese cafe opens in Manhattan Adorable food alert: Brooklyn cafe Kijitora opened its third location and first Manhattan one this month. The new cafe opened in the East Village at 534 East 14th Street, between Avenues A and B, on Friday, May 23, with limited service and hours. The Japanese cafe menu includes coffee, espresso, teas and lattes such as the tiramisu, the dirty black sesame, and the location-only azuki matcha latte And while it's most known for its Neko grilled cheese sandwiches, made in the shape of a happy cat face, it's alas not available at this new Manhattan location. But there are other sandwiches in the meantime. Owner Ayaha Otsuk opened her first location in Williamsburg in 2022, followed by East Williamsburg in 2023. Sign up for our newsletter.
Eater
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
Award-Winning Chef Kwame Onwuachi Opens a First-of-Its-Kind Steakhouse in Las Vegas
Chef Kwame Onwuachi — a James Beard Award winner, Top Chef champion, and the force behind New York's acclaimed Tatiana — is heading to Las Vegas. His next project: a first-of-its-kind steakhouse on the Strip that draws from his Afro-Caribbean heritage while shaping the city's next wave of chef-driven dining. The Sahara announced that Onwuachi's newest restaurant, Maroon, will open at the resort in late 2025. Unlike his acclaimed New York restaurant Tatiana — twice named the best in the city by The New York Times and his Dōgon restaurant in Washington, D.C., Maroon is a wholly new concept — a Caribbean steakhouse that embraces Jamaican cooking, including jerk cooking methods, with Las Vegas's unique brand of showstopping steakhouses. Fittingly, Maroon will open in the space currently occupied by chef José Andrés's Bazaar Meat — which is closing and reopening at the Venetian Resort this year. Maroon takes its name from the Maroons of Jamaica — enslaved Africans who escaped bondage and created self-sufficient communities in Jamaica's Blue Mountains. In his book, My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, Onwuachi writes, 'There they lived a hardscrabble existence, eking out a life from subsistence farming and occasional raids on the British occupiers.' It was in that rugged terrain, he explains, that Jamaican pepper, Thai bird chili, wild thyme, and a breed of wild hog thrived. 'Jerk was born, and it lives still two hundred years later,' he writes. At Maroon, Onwuachi's menu will feature live-fire cooking, jerk rubs, dry-aged cuts, scotch bonnet-infused sauces, grilled seafood, and sides that draw on West African, Jamaican, and Creole traditions, according to Travel and Leisure. It will echo the Afro-Caribbean influences seen at Tatiana — where curried goat patties and braised oxtails take center stage — and at Dōgon, his D.C. restaurant with dishes like curry-brushed branzino, charbroiled oysters, and grilled wagyu short rib with red stew jam. The restaurant is a first for Las Vegas — a Black-owned Strip restaurant that puts diasporic flavors front and center, telling a story that's as personal as it is universal. Its bold vision and Onwuachi's star power add momentum to a growing wave of out-of-town talent bringing fresh ideas to the Strip — like Simon Kim's Korean steakhouse, Cote, and Jeremy Ford's tasting menu stunner, Stubborn Seed. It's no surprise that Onwuachi is leaning into big ideas with Maroon. He was named as one of Time 's 100 Most Influential People of 2025; he acted as the culinary lead of the 2025 Met Gala, where he curated a menu infused with Caribbean flavors; and he is one of the subjects of Netflix's Chef's Table seventh season. In 2023, the World's 50 Best awarded Tatiana as the One to Watch. In 2019, the San Francisco Chronicle called Onwuachi 'the most important chef in America,' the same year he won the James Beard Award for Emerging Chef. Maroon marks a major moment for the Sahara, a resort on the quieter north end of the Strip. Its last headline-grabbing restaurant debut was Shawn McClain's Balla in 2022. Now, with Onwuachi's arrival — and newcomers like Stubborn Seed at Resorts World, and Mother Wolf and Kyu at the Fontainebleau — the north end is quickly becoming one of the Strip's most exciting culinary frontiers. Sign up for our newsletter.
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Travel + Leisure
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Travel + Leisure
Exclusive: Chef Kwame Onwuachi's Newest Restaurant Is a Caribbean Steakhouse in Las Vegas
Chef Kwame Onwuachi has a new restaurant coming to Las Vegas. The chef spoke to Travel + Leisure about restaurant's inspiration, his aspirations for the Vegas dining scene, and how his background (both his upbringing in North Bronx and his Afro-Caribbean roots) continues to shape his approach to food. When Kwame Onwuachi speaks about food, he's not just crafting menus—he's conjuring memory, migration, and resistance. The Top Chef star and James Beard Award recipient is a storyteller who shapes his dishes around history and heritage. Now, Onwuachi is bringing his vision to Las Vegas with Maroon, an Afro-Caribbean steakhouse at Sahara Las Vegas. Onwuachi's vision for the restaurant is to reimagine the classic American steakhouse through the lens of Caribbean cuisine. There will be jerk rubs and dry-aged cuts, live-fire cooking, scotch bonnet-infused sauces, grilled seafood, and vibrant sides rooted in West African, Jamaican, and Creole traditions. It's fine dining grounded in cultural memory. But for Onwuachi, Maroon is more than a restaurant. It's a reclamation of history and culture through the lens of fine dining—and it all starts with nomenclature. The name Maroon is a reference to the Maroons of Jamaica—descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped bondage and created self-sufficient communities in Jamaica's Blue Mountains. "The Maroons didn't just run,' Onwuachi told Travel + Leisure. 'They thrived. They created something new, something powerful, out of pain and resistance. That energy—that story—is what this restaurant is about." 'This isn't just about food,' he added. 'It's about telling the stories that haven't been told. It's about honoring a legacy and recognizing that the food we're putting on these plates has a deeper meaning. It's not just a meal—it's history, it's resilience, and it's a testament to the strength of those who came before us.' Onwuachi is no stranger to building a restaurant that becomes a cultural moment. His New York City flagship, Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi, opened at Lincoln Center in late 2022 and quickly became a sensation. (In both 2023 and 2024, it was ranked the No. 1 restaurant in New York City by The New York Times, topping its annual list of the city's 100 best restaurants.) His new Washington, D.C. project, Dōgon, is also earning massive acclaim. That's exactly what he hopes to do in Las Vegas. Maroon will be the signature culinary anchor of Sahara Las Vegas's ongoing evolution—a resort that has quietly but intentionally repositioned itself as a destination for thoughtful luxury. "We were intentional in selecting Kwame Onwuachi as our partner for the next chapter of Sahara Las Vegas' culinary journey,' Sahara owner Alex Meruelo told T+L. 'His incomparable fusion of storytelling, culture, and outstanding cuisine is uniquely captivating. Maroon will not only advance chef Kwame's personal vision but also revolutionize the current steakhouse experience on the Strip and beyond.' Chef Kwame at Tatiana in New York City. Gladimir Gelin In a city with dozens of luxury steakhouses—most modeled on classic American or European dining traditions—Onwuachi's take stands apart. It's not just that the flavors are different; it's that the purpose is different. Maroon is also the first concept on the Strip led by a Black chef-owner, rooted in diasporic cuisine, and designed from the ground up to represent a broader cultural vision. But Onwuachi is quick to note that representation alone isn't the endgame. 'It's not just about being the first,' he said. 'It's about making sure we're not the last. It's about opening the door and then holding it open for others.' This ethos extends beyond the kitchen. At Patty Palace in Queens, Onwuachi sells Miri, a sparkling water brand he founded to support clean water initiatives in Nigeria. A portion of the profits from every bottle sold goes directly toward building wells in underserved communities. 'The goal is always to create something that leaves a positive mark,' he said. 'Whether it's through food or philanthropy, it's about impact.' A portrait of chef Kwame Onwuachi. Scott Suchman As Las Vegas continues to evolve from a playground of extravagance into a city with growing cultural nuance, Maroon feels perfectly timed. Las Vegas has always been a place for big names and big concepts, but the Strip hasn't often been a place where food carries this kind of weight. Maroon is poised to shift that balance. Its arrival is a signal that the dining landscape is shifting toward something more inclusive, more rooted, more real. For Onwuachi, this next chapter is a return to origins, and a way of bringing past and future into one place. 'Food is memory,' he said. 'It's how we remember who we are—and how we show the world what we can become.' Travelers descending on Las Vegas this year will undoubtedly find all the usual thrills, but at Sahara, they'll also find something soulful, ambitious, and long overdue. A seat at Maroon will be an invitation to experience a story told in fire, flavor, and freedom.
Eater
20-05-2025
- Business
- Eater
Chef Kwame Onwuachi Is Bringing His Jamaican Patties to Union Square
The state of New York food halls is in flux with so many shutters and overhauls, yet upcoming food halls don't seem to be deterred by other location's bad news. A forthcoming Union Square food hall with momentum from its Dumbo location is banking on a big-name chef to help bolster its roster: Chef Kwame Onwuachi is going to roll out a second location of his new fast-casual Jamaican patty shop Patty Palace at Time Out Market's upcoming food hall at 124 East 14th Street, near Third Avenue, opening in the fall. Fresh off Onwuachi's Met Gala appearance and cooking gig, the chef confirms that he'll be expanding Patty Palace via DM. He debuted the fast-casual stand earlier this spring, inside of the New York Mets' stadium Citi Field with a single item: the curried chicken patty with coco bread. The Manhattan food hall stand will have additional dishes — potentially classic beef patties and jerk mushroom iterations — as well as his sparkling water brand Miri. Time Out Market's tentative vendor list for Union Square was publicized by EV Grieve per Community Board 3's committee meeting about liquor licensing applications. Seven food vendors will open in the space. The market's questionnaire indicates there are plans for 219 indoor seats, live music and DJs, an outdoor backyard dining area, and a own bar serving alcoholic drinks. The company's list of potential and aspirational food vendors includes Onwauchi, funnily categorized as a 'media darling.' This will be Time Out's second New York food hall (and 11th overall with locations around the world. The publication also plans on opening in seven other unnamed cities through 2027. Eater has reached out for more information. This Union Square address was previously another food hall, Urbanspace Union Square, which opened in 2022 and closed this past March. The other Urbanspace locations throughout the city underwent a name rebranding in 2024. But also it's actually reopening its Union Square Night Market on Thursday, May 29, taking over the park on most Thursdays and Friday evenings in the summer through mid-October. —Melissa McCart contributed to this report Sign up for our newsletter.
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First Post
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
Met Gala 2025: Meet Kwame Onwuachi, the young American culinary chef who went from selling drugs to serving stars
For the Met Gala 2025, the young American culinary chef Kwame Onwuachi has taken the responsibility to serve the stars attending the event read more Met Gala 2025 has gone alive and once again the global celebs are winning the hearts of their fans with their on-point fashion game. Apart from fashionable outfits, the other thing which creates curiosity among fans about the prestigious event is the eclectic food menu. For the Met Gala 2025, the young American culinary chef Kwame Onwuachi has taken the responsibility to serve the stars attending the event. Onwuachi's life is not short of inspiration as it showcases the journey from rags to riches. In his growing up years in the Bronx, Kwame admitted that he was a 'class clown' who always got in trouble! To teach him discipline, he was sent to Nigeria to his grandfather 'until he learnt respect'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He recalled how he used to get punishment of carrying a cinder block across a soccer field eight times for not doing homework. Unlike American schools, there was no concept of suspension rather they had to dig their height. While his life turned disciplined in the hardest way, everything changed when he returned to New York. With just $20 in his pocket, Onwuachi had barely any money to eat alone or for tuition. Kwame started to hustle and did multiple jobs for survival including mixing punches, making 'hood cocktails' and procuring weeds. He also reportedly sold candies on subways and on trains. The chef recalled that Barack Obama in the highest office in the US brought him back to his senses as he flushed all the drugs in the toilet and entered the kitchen to make a simple chicken curry. After all the hustles, he opened Shaw Bijou, however, it closed after two months. Left unshaken by the setback, Kwame went on to open another place called Kith/Kin, for which he bagged the James Beard Award. He also appeared on Top Chef, where he impressed by making a variety of dishes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He later opened a restaurant named Tatiana followed by another one titled Dogon. Kwame also made it Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People List, this year. As the theme of Met Gala 2025 is Supefine: Tailoring Black Style, the chef wanted to infuse his menu with the theme. 'I wanted to create something that highlighted the theme, sure, but also something that's just… delicious. I wanted to really capture Black culture in all of its elements—from the diaspora to the Caribbean to the American South, even to just the boroughs in New York,' Kwame told BET.
