David Pasternack Customshops Charlotte

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The trend among celebrity chefs of opening outlets off the beaten path has taken a new turn South. David Pasternack, partner of Mario Batali in Esca, is partnering with Charlotte, N.C. restaurant consultant John Sergi in Customshop, opening February 1, reports The Charlotte Observer. Why Charlotte? "It looks like it could be a really fun town. It's obviously very different from where I live. But from a business standpoint, I think the city is ready," he told the Observer. What does that mean? There is less competition than New York and real estate prices are lower. There is plenty of money and residents have traveled and are willing to pay for a special occasion restaurant. Charlotte does have the surrounding farms for the requisite fresh produce that a restaurant would need. What else? David doesn't have to live in Charlotte to get a cut of the restaurant's upside. Trey Thomas will be the chef and David will be consulting chef and partner. He will develop the menu and then visit regularly to update it with the changing seasons. If chefs play their cards right, they pick a city with attractions like golf (Tom Colicchio at Kiawah Island see Super Chef pp. 201-202) or David (Charlotte has Nascar) and attractive weather so that visiting for work is an added pleasure. They do challenge local fine dining chefs with an added burden on top of National chains like Morton's Steakhouse or McCormick & Schmick's. But they may also raise the bar by making local restaurants fight even harder for customers. The question is, are celebrity chefs going to find the kind of deals that make Las Vegas and Orlando so attractive? Previous articles: Le Cirque: Third Time Charmed? Wolfgang Puck: Newseum Museum Catering Wolfgang Puck: 'Vegas' TV Restaurant Jose Andres: Zaytinya, with Ladies in Lavender Wolf Want Meat: Wolfgang Puck Steakhouse Columbus Day Special: Chubby's BBQ of Emmitsburg Rocco DiSpirito: Be Warned by Me! Blue Hill: Everybody Must Get Stoned Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to superchefblog