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David Chang's two-Michelin starred restaurant Momofuku Ko closed at 8 Extra Place in October of last year. Fast-forward a few months, and the East Village space will once more be home to a Momofuku concept, this time led by Paul Carmichael, the former chef of Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney, Australia, which was the company's first-ever eatery outside of the United States when it opened back in 2008.
According to The New York Times, the culinary guru is scheduled to make his return to the U.S. in mid-June, a trip that will take him to the downtown Manhattan kitchen but also kickoff a reshaping of the company as a whole.
“There are only two reasons to open a new restaurant,” said Marguerite Zabar Mariscal, the chief executive at Momofuku, in a statement to The New York Times. “One is having a really great concept. The other, which is much rarer, is a talent like Paul that you can build around.”
Although the company hasn't yet confirmed that the new eatery will even open this year—let alone what it will be called—the Times reports that the food served will be Caribbean, just as was the case at Momofuku Seiobo.
“I want to create something extremely fun, something representative of the West Indies and something super-tasty,” Carmichael said to the Times. “The actual concept is going to come based on what we can and can’t do in the space.”
Momofuku Noodle Bar at 171 1st Avenue near 11th Street and Bāng Bar near Columbus Circle are the only two operating restaurants under the company's umbrella at the moment. Considering that Momofuku turns 20 this year, it certainly feels like the appropriate moment for the company to re-expand its roster of destinations.
According to Eater, the upcoming plans also include "an expansion of [Momofuku] pantry products in stores like Whole Foods and Target." Why not try your hand at a classic Momofuku recipe at home while waiting for the empire's latest restaurant to officially open?