Is Celebrity Chef Tyler Florence Opening a Restaurant Here?

I recently read something very funny (but can’t recall where) about headlines that end with question marks: The answer is usually no. (UPDATE: It’s Betteridges’s Law of Headlines. Thanks, Ben!) I don’t know if my record is all that bad, but you should definitely read this as an unconfirmed rumor.

UPDATE 5/14: The folks at Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco categorically deny it, and suggest that it might be the Wayfarer on W. 57th St. I called, and the person I spoke with said they couldn’t comment in a way that made it very much sound like it is indeed them. Also: Score one for Betteridge’s Law of Headlines!

This morning, I wrote that Serafina, which says it’s opening a Tribeca outpost, was likely taking the old Dean’s space at 349 Greenwich. A reader wrote in to say that the word on the street is that Dean’s would in fact become “a higher end restaurant called Wayfare (sp?).” Assuming the name is indeed Wayfare, the odds would seem pretty good that it’s related to celebrity chef Tyler Florence’s San Francisco restaurant, Wayfare Tavern. (Can we agree that a $20 burger makes the place more fancy than casual?). Because why would anyone open a restaurant with a name so similar to that of a chef who is widely known from his Food Network shows? If nothing else, it’s courting a lawsuit.

On the other hand, I called Wayfare Tavern, and the woman who answered the phone said she had heard nothing about it and doubted it was true. I didn’t bother tracking down a PR contact because there was no way they’d confirm it. But I did tweet Florence; you never know.

So that leaves us with two questions: Do you know anything about Wayfare (Tavern?) opening at 349 Greenwich, and/or do you know where Serafina is opening down here? All tips are guaranteed anonymous: tribecacitizen@gmail.com, 917-209-6473 (call or text).

The Wayfare Tavern dinner menu:

Wayfare Tavern dinner menu

 

5 Comments

  1. Betteridge’s law of headlines…

  2. I think there is another restaurant called Wayfare on 57th street / Sixth Ave. Maybe it is an outpost of that one.

  3. Here are some options for Serafina: old Josephine space, old American Flatbread space or old 66/Matsugen space.

  4. There’s no place for a proper kitchen at Josephine and no real storage area. I doubt an operation the size of Serafina could make that space work.

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