Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio has recently announced that he will be closing his Chelsea steakhouse, Craftsteak, to open a restaurant that he will have much more of a role in and that has some personal meaning to him as well.
Tom Colicchio is preparing to open his new restaurant, Colicchio & Sons, appropriately named since the celeb chef is now the father of a four-month-old boy. The new restaurant will be opening in the space where Craftsteak is currently located in Chelsea, however current chef Shane McBride will be remaining to help perfect Colicchio & Sons. Colicchio, for the most part, will create the new menu and despite his new role as a father, he does plan on spending more time in the kitchen at the new locale.
Colicchio says that while he’s not sure if the steakhouse trend has bottomed out or not, but for him personally the excitement has worn off and “with the economy, people aren’t really coming out for $100 steaks.” Despite this setback, Colicchio says he loves the Craftsteak space, and wanted to do something a little personal there, which is where Colicchio & Sons comes in.
With Colicchio & Sons, the celeb chef says, “Part of that is looking backward at what I’ve done in the past and doing some of those dishes I did at Mondrian and Gramercy; but now after having a second child, I’m also looking to the future.”
Colicchio is expecting that his final decision on the menu will be that there will be no difference between appetizers and entrees; it will all be the same kind of portions and the prices will range from $12 to $14 and $38 to $40. From his other endeavor, Tom: Tuesday Dinner, Colicchio says that he has recently done baked gnocchi with Brussels sprouts, pumpkin, chestnuts, and white truffles in addition to a dish with roasted octopus, pork belly, and chorizo vinaigrette which he may carry over to Colicchio & Sons.
