The shocking news last weekend of the untimely death of Michelin-starred chef James Kent at age 45 cast a pall over Downtown, particularly the Wall Street district.
While Kent has other projects in the works, his Saga Hospitality Group is the one most closely associated with FiDi.
It was announced last week that the group will oversee five restaurants at Paris department store Printemps, which is set to open in 2025 at One Wall Street, a former New York bank tower converted into luxury condominiums and designed by Harry Mucklow.
Kent has been spearheading a culinary revival in the FiDi District with his popular and highly acclaimed restaurant at 70 Pine Street, the former AIG tower converted into rental apartments by Rose Associates a decade ago, which includes Crown Shy on the ground floor and Saga and cocktail lounge Overstory at the top of the landmark.
Kent bravely opened Saga in the summer of 2021, as the city was emerging from the shadow of COVID-19, with price tags as steep as its 63-storey height.
Kent was a husband and father of two children.
His cause of death has not yet been revealed, and it was not immediately clear how his passing will affect the Printemps project.
