Gary Vaynerchuk’s VCR Group to Open New Restaurants in New York, Las Vegas
The closed Scampi restaurant, at 30 W. 18th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, is now in the hands of VCR Group, backed by Resy co-founder Gary Vaynerchuk; celebrity chef Josh Capon; former Andrew Carmellini chef Conor Hanlon; and David Rodolitz. In 2022, the group raised around $14 million in NFT sales to potentially open the members-only Flyfish Club. This fall, they’re expanding with Little Maven, a modern American restaurant “focusing on meticulous ingredient selection,” according to its website and hiring pages. The group is also involved in Tribeca sushi restaurant Ito from sushi chef Masashi Ito (formerly of Sushi Zo in New York and Los Angeles). After Little Maven, VCR is opening burger spot Capons in Las Vegas, inspired by New Jersey’s White Manna. It’s also behind a licensing deal to bring Ito and Bar Ito to Vegas later this year. The Flyfish Club, with its 1,327 members, is allegedly on track to open in early 2024, its website states. Eater has reached out for more information. — Melissa McCart, editor
A media power player is opening a cafe
Graydon Carter, the longtime editor of Vanity Fair and owner of the Waverly Inn, is opening a cafe. Women’s Wear Daily first reported news of the storefront, opening on the corner of Hudson and Perry streets in the West Village next spring. The cafe is a physical location for Air Mail, the newsletter Carter launched after leaving Vanity Fair in 2017. The online publication has “newsstands” in London and Milan, but the Manhattan location will also serve coffee and pastries.
New hope for a Chinese Cuban restaurant
West Side Rag has more information on the new location of La Caridad 78: At a recent community board meeting, new owners shared plans to bring back the decades-old Manhattan restaurant at a new address, 130 West 72nd Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues. The menu would stay the same in the new space, which has 36 seats. La Caridad closed in 2020 after more than 50 years on the Upper West Side; the restaurant’s name appeared on the new location in July.
A reopening date for Per Se
Per Se, Thomas Keller’s three-Michelin-starred French restaurant, will reopen on October 6, according to an announcement on its website. The restaurant closed at the end of July for renovations. The cost of dinner, $390 per person, has stayed the same. Reservations are open for the month of October.
