Austin Johnson, the chef whose vision created One White Street, the eponymous (for the address) restaurant on West Broadway, has left. The reason, he said on Instagram, is personal — literally.

“For the first time in a long time I am going to work on my personal goals harder than my professional ones,” he wrote on IG. where the first image in the carousel is of his partner Amanda’s pregnant belly sandwiched by their two dogs, Dion and Bubblegum — regulars at the restaurant. “It’s an incredibly difficult decision to step away from the corner of White and West Broadway, which has been my home at One White Street and Rigor Hill Market for the last five years. But I am at a time in my life where a change is welcomed.”

He and his investment partners, along with local sommelier Dustin Wilson who owns Verve on Hubert among other spots, opened the restaurant as a townhouse concept, with three floors of dining, in summer 2021. They scored their first Michelin star in 2022, a Michelin Green Star in 2024, opened Rigor Hill Market as a farmstand and then as a brick-and-mortar next door in 2022 and generally owned the corner. Johnson and his team took their nightly meetings out in the middle of West Broadway, hosted a dog costume contest at Halloween, flipped omelets on the street — with Johnson at the griddle — on Easter. He and his cooking staff provided the dinner part of Dinner on Duane in 2023.

Of all the fabulous and personable chefs in the neighborhood, I think Johnson was the most present and omnipresent — I bumped into him all the time (hence the many pictures I have — one one is from when I ate there!).

He certainly loved Tribeca. “I want to thank the parents, the kids, the dogs, the dog walkers, my fellow golfers, my friends, my family, and my favorite community,” he wrote. “Thank you for providing such an incredible home to me and my family over these last many years.”

While Johnson is not yet 40, he’s been working in the restaurant industry for more than two decades, since he left home at 15 to start cooking. It was a calling. He and Wilson met in Paris, when Johnson was running the kitchen at Frenchie, the celebrated Paris bistro (he earned a Michelin star there) and Wilson would come by on wine trips to Europe. The two had some overlap here in the states: they both did time at Eleven Madison Park (lots of Michelin stars).

His vision for New York, once he and Wilson decided they wanted a joint venture here, was to recreate the vibe at Frenchie, a 20-seat restaurant with a tasting menu that had a walk-ins-only wine bar — high top tables, casual food, more rock and roll than fine dining — across the tiny little street it sits on in Paris.

“There was a real sense of community on that street with the neighbors,” Johnson said in 2021. “After living that for years and running back and forth, I didn’t want to create a one-dimensional restaurant. I love using my tweezers but I have more to offer. A change of scenery is something a lot of chefs don’t get to create for themselves.”

1 White St. was the first place he and Wilson looked at and right away the vision of a vertical Frenchie came into focus. The wine bar would be the ground floor and, as it turned out once covid hit, so would the curbside space. The tasting menu would be on 2 and 3. There’s a kitchen on all three floors. The ground floor would be no reservations and more casual.

“This place is a neighborhood restaurant,” Johnson said when they opened. “The first floor is for Tribeca. It’s for a neighbor who wants a burger at the bar with a home-grown salad from the Hudson Valley.”

Neighbors rose to the occasion. Johnson said he had folks coming in to Rigor Hill more than twice a day sometimes. He certainly had regulars at the restaurant, despite the price point. And I think that had a lot to do with the chef being there and present, all. the. time.

One White is a well-oiled machine, no doubt it will continue on and successfully so. But I know I will miss seeing Austin around. Wishing him all the best in his next venture: family.