Wegmans bets that the cult-like dedication of shoppers will be handed over from the supermarket aisle to Big Apple’s first restaurant.
The chain based in Rochester, New York (opened at Astor Place in 2023 and began to form at 4am, but on April 30th, a Japanese-themed restaurant adjacent to a store called the Door will be released.
The opening is currently slap Japan with 10% collection on all imports despite fears over the unpredictability of Trump’s tariffs.
“Like most new restaurants, we’re looking at how it settles down and looking at our sales mix. You can project everything you want, but how it works financially will be decided in the next few weeks.”
The restaurant has a sushi counter and a champagne bar (the latest trend that will hit Manhattan). It offers a menu offering delicacies from Tokyo’s Vegetation Fish Market, which Wegmans has partnered for 14 years.
“It has always been a dream to open a restaurant in New York City, but I knew I couldn’t open both with a bite of an elephant. [the grocery store and the restaurant] At the same time, Emerson said.
The privately owned chain, which opened its first Big Apple location in Brooklyn in 2019, operates 112 grocery stores across the East Coast.
The third restaurant next door, Wegman’s, will open, with the other two in Rochester, directed by Kazuya Matsuoka of Aburi Hana in former Toronto and Oliver Lange of Zuma.
“We are a modern Japanese concept and have a philosophy that embraces the quality of our ingredients and technology,” Lange said.
Signature dishes include ribeye raised in grass marinated by Koji. And it includes King Salmon Pate with Crudite and Rice Crackers, Lange said.
I can hear it… On Thursday, Venice imported Lapiazza will open at Rockefeller Center in the space that lived at 20 E. 49th St., previously occupied by Casarimonet.
Brothers Juljan and Ledjo Musabelliu Ten years ago, the flagship restaurant La Piazza was launched by Venice’s iconic square, San Marco. Currently there are three locations in Venice, the other opening in Mykonos this summer.
“New York has some of the best Italian dishes outside of Italy. We are excited to bring real Venetians to our customers and are not worried about customs duties as New Yorkers are willing to pay real Italian ingredients and the ‘Lamari Aprima’.”
The 5,000-square-foot eatery will be led by executive chef Fabrizi Obresciani, who has worked with a variety of Lapiazza Group restaurants, including the various Lapiazza Group restaurants, including AI Due Fratelli, Vesuvio, La Piazza and La Piazza Zone.
The menu features imported Italian seafood, premium cuts, wood fire oven pizza and a large international wine list. Signature dishes include purple shrimp tartare and brutta. Venetian-style spaghetti served with squid ink and pizza la piazza with mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, garlic, scallops, lobster, basil and oregano.
The bi-level space seating is 133 people, with floor-to-ceiling windows, a marble bar – additional seats and an olive green booth. There are two more tables outside and I am currently applying for an outdoor dining permit.
