Joachim Splichal and Nick Valenti of the
Patina Restaurant Group Selected to Create
Lincoln Center's Destination Restaurant
Lincoln
Center Also To Significantly Expand Variety
of Dining Experiences Available to Public
Throughout its 16 Acres by 2009
NEW YORK; (December 20,
2006): Lincoln Center announced today
that Joachim Splichal and Nick Valenti
of the Patina Restaurant Group have been
selected to create a new 175-seat fine
dining restaurant opening in the fall
of 2009 when Lincoln Center will celebrate
its 50th anniversary.
The new restaurant, designed by Diller
Scofidio + Renfro in association with
FX Fowle for Lincoln Center's redevelopment
project, will provide destination dining
in one of nine dining experiences in an
expanded portfolio of eateries at Lincoln
Center. It will have entrances both on
West 65th Street and on the plaza level
facing the iconic reflecting pool and
classic Henry Moore sculpture. Open to
the public seven days a week for lunch,
dinner, and post-theater dining, the restaurant
will also feature a street-level casual
dining operation. Plans also include outdoor,
seasonal terrace seating and a private
dining room. The elegant, glass-enclosed
restaurant will feature a unique sloping
grass roof atop the dining facility. This
campus "green" fusing landscape
with architecture will provide a quiet
oasis for visitors to Lincoln Center.
The announcement was made today by Reynold
Levy, President, Lincoln Center, who commented,
"We are excited by the prospect of
opening this beautiful restaurant to patrons,
West Side neighbors, visitors, and food
lovers, and expect that the imaginative
culinary excellence achieved by Joachim
will create here at Lincoln Center an
unsurpassed dining experience. We fully
expect the restaurant to complement the
outstanding performances offered at Lincoln
Center, to serve as a destination dining
experience and to reinforce our role as
the host of events for hundreds of organizations.
We are committed to providing a variety
of delightful dining experiences at many
different price points."
Splichal and Valenti said, "We look
forward to bringing the highest Patina
quality restaurant with the finest cuisine
to Lincoln Center, the world's largest
performing arts center. As the first property
announced under the Patina Restaurant
Group, there is no better venue to provide
our premier dining experience."
Hailed as one of the nation's "Legendary
Chefs" by Bon Appétit, Joachim
Splichal is widely acknowledged as a major
contributing force behind the growth of
Los Angeles into one of the world's premier
dining capitals. A James Beard Foundation
award recipient, Splichal was also named
"Best California Chef" and nominated
twice for "Chef of the Year"
by the prestigious organization. In October
2006, Splichal and CEO Nick Valenti purchased
Restaurant Associates / Patina and formed
the Patina Restaurant Group with a portfolio
of over 50 premium restaurants and food
service operations on both U.S. coasts.
The premier Lincoln Center property will
be the first to launch under the formation
of the Patina Restaurant Group. The company's
restaurants include the only award-winning
Relais & Chateax restaurant in Los
Angeles, Patina at the Walt Disney Concert
Hall, and the newly opened Leatherby's
Café Rouge at the Orange County
Performing Arts Center. In New York the
company operates the acclaimed Sea Grill,
Brasserie and the Grand Tier at the Metropolitan
Opera House, open to all Lincoln Center
ticket holders for dinner on performance
days.
The new restaurant will be part of the
nine dining options that will be located
around Lincoln Center (significantly greater
than the five currently available). The
others include a new café/bar open
seven days a week at the dramatically
transformed Alice Tully Hall; the completely
revitalized Panevino and Café Vienna
in Avery Fisher Hall; Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
in Frederick P. Rose Hall at Columbus
Circle; as well as a seasonal outdoor
café, a new take-out/café
facility at the Harmony Atrium, and a
new café at the Film Society's
new Film Center.
It was also announced that Restaurant
Associates Managed Services has been selected
to run the catering operations at Lincoln
Center, including revamping the casual
dining options in Avery Fisher Hall.
Lincoln Center, the largest performing
arts center in the world, unites on one
campus 12 of the finest performing arts
and educational organizations located
anywhere. After more than four decades
of artistic excellence and service to
its community, the nation, and to the
world, Lincoln Center is embarking upon
a major transformation initiative to fully
modernize its concert halls and public
spaces, renew its 16-acre urban campus,
and reinforce its vitality for decades
to come.
Much of Lincoln Center's infrastructure
and many of its notable performance and
educational facilities require renovation,
and in some cases, considerable expansion.
Changes in the needs and interests of
the public also inspire a thorough reconsideration
of the campus' original design in the
context of current and future programming
priorities. These factors became the framework
for a campus-wide planning initiative,
with the first two redevelopment plans;
the West 65th Street Project and the Lincoln
Center Promenade Project scheduled to
be complete for Lincoln Center's 50th
anniversary in 2009.
A related project will be the transformation
of the Harmony Atrium, a privately owned
public space between Broadway and Columbus
Avenues and West 62nd and 63rd Streets,
into a vibrant public community and cultural
space offering performances, information,
and ticket services.
Contacts:
For Lincoln Center, Inc.:
Betsy Vorce
212.875.5100
bvorce@lincolncenter.org
Matt Carlson
212.875.5049
mcarlson@lincolncenter.org
For Patina Restaurant Group:
Katy Saeger
310.566.7030
ksaeger@5wpr.com
