You heard it right: Antoni Porowski from Netflix’s hit show “Queer Eye” is opening his own restaurant in NYC, and we are all freaking out. Antoni serves as the show’s Food & Wine expert, as he teaches each of the makeover subjects simple meals that are easy to whip up and pull together with the ingredients in the fridge.
Who is he?
Antoni prides himself on being a self-taught cuisine expert and a self-made relatable chef. As he told GQ Magazine, he takes each person’s individual needs into consideration when preparing the specific recipes that he creates for each episode. Having previously worked as a busboy, waiter, manager, and even sommelier, Antoni has a wide range of experiences that he offers to each contestant. Rumored to be opening in September of this year, Antoni’s new restaurant will allow us to experience this cuisine star’s creations for ourselves.
The Deets
Antoni’s endeavor as the newest restaurateur in the Big Apple will entail reviving Village Den, a classic West Village diner that closed in May after 36 years of business. With a “market driven menu,” Antoni is bringing his lifestyle-specific cooking concept from the small screen to to real-life by centering his menu around a fast-casual concept catering to a “wholesome yet fulfilling lifestyle.”
According to Eater New York, Antoni is partnering with the accomplished team of Eric Marx and Lisle Richards, the geniuses behind NYC hot-spots Gilded Lily and The Wayfarer.
The Village Den’s Instagram and website have already begun a complete overhaul, sporting a cryptically exciting slogan #BetterDenYouRemember.
According to Food and Wine, just last month at a panel discussion with his fellow “Queer Eye” castmates at the 92nd Street Y, Antoni revealed more than he was supposed to about his new digs: “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.” We’re hoping this means that his new spot will offer simply fancy, yet healthy options, and looking at his past recipes, that seems totally plausible.
Antoni also spilled that he his first entrance into the restaurant industry was as a waiter, so let’s all hope we’ll be lucky enough to meet him face-to-face, or food-to-face as the case may be.