Queer Eye star Antoni Porowski to open New York restaurant in historic LGBT area
Queer Eye star Antoni Porowski is set to open a restaurant in New York City, just a short walk from the historic LGBT+ landmark the Stonewall Inn.
The hit Netflix show’s resident food expert will partner with restaurateurs Eric Marx and Lisle Richards to open a “fast-casual” restaurant in West Village in Manhattan, Eater reported on Thursday.
“I guess it’s official, then? ” Porowski tweeted, sharing the article.
Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski (Courtesy of Netflix)
West Village makes up part of the larger Greenwich Village neighbourhood, an area widely considered the birthplace of the LGBT+ rights movement.
Porowski, Marx and Lisle will relaunch the Village Den diner at 225 West 12th St at Greenwich Avenue, situated round the corner from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.
“I’m all about like cheese and pork belly and decadence, and as a result of the increased vanity of being on camera all the time and working out and eating healthy, I’m developing a fast-casual food concept restaurant that I’m gonna be opening here in New York,” Porowski said at an event in New York in June.
On his love of food, he added: “I realised that it’s been this constant that’s always been there in some way, shape, or form, whether it’s privately cooking for my family and loved ones and friends, to working in a professional capacity. It’s always been there.”
Although Porowski has never opened a restaurant before, he has experience working as a manager, a sommelier and a waiter.
For three years, he worked as a personal assistant to Ted Allen, the food expert on the original series of Queer Eye, which aired in 2003.
Queer Eye returned to Netflix screens in June (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Porowski has been mocked for his penchant for grilled cheese sandwiches and avocado, but Allen has confirmed his cooking skills are up to scratch.
Speaking to Vanity Fair in April, he said: “I know better than the haters do on whether the boy can cook. I’ve witnessed his passion. I ate his food for three years.
“Bottom line, when you are dealing with people who don’t know anything about cooking, you don’t begin by showing them how to roast a goose or make a croquembouche.
“I would argue that there is an art to making a good cheese sandwich, but I hear you: it is simple. But you start with the basics.”
The restaurant is expected to open in September.
The second season of Queer Eye aired on Netflix in June, which saw the Fab Five return to the Georgia heartland to transform the lives of eight more people through fashion, food, culture, home decor and grooming.
