Award-Winning Chef Jonathan Waxman To Open First L.A. Restaurant At Westfield Century City

Mr. Waxman first gained fame by pioneering and then popularizing California cuisine together with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley—and then subsequently made his mark at such prestigious kitchens as Michael's in Santa Monica and Jams in New York City. Today, he is the chef and owner of Manhattan's illustrious Barbuto restaurant, where his ability to make "sophistication seem simple" earned him the 2016 James Beard Award as Best Chef – New York City.

Waxman and NYCA Restaurant Group have now made the decision to open their very first restaurant in Los Angeles at Westfield Century City. The self-described "neighborhood restaurant" will be located alongside the property's front façade on Santa Monica Boulevard.

"I have been looking for the right venue for my return to LA," said Jonathan Waxman. "The location at Westfield Century City is the perfect spot and has everything – great street access, instantaneous valet parking and some of the best shopping in the world coupled with AMC Theatres and exciting new offerings like Nordstrom, Eataly, Shake Shack and Equinox. Our location is steps from Santa Monica Blvd and in close proximity to Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Culver City, Westwood and Santa Monica. All in all, this makes for a stellar location where I'm greatly looking forward to feeding folks in LA again."

"This is going to change the very nature of the food landscape on the westside of Los Angeles," said William Hecht, Westfield's Chief Operating Officer.  "Jonathan Waxman is widely credited with bringing California cuisine to the world and—in the process—reinventing the way America eats, cooks, and seeks out farm-fresh ingredients. He is a native of California—he first made his mark here—and we're excited to welcome him back home."

The announcement of Westfield's partnership with NYCA Restaurant Group comes as the center prepares for its Grand Opening in Fall 2017. The redeveloped center will include over 200 stores and restaurants including a new Nordstrom, new Macy's, completely remodeled Bloomingdale's, and a luxurious Equinox fitness club.  

In addition to the new restaurant (which has yet to be named), other new dining options at Century City will include the West Coast's first Eataly, Din Tai Fung, Javier's Finest Foods of Mexico, Petros Benekos (Petros fine Hellenic cuisine, The Kafe and Kafe Bugatsa), as well as Tender Greens, MidiCi Neapolitan pizza, Wexler's Deli, Asian Box, Big Fish Little Fish, La Colombe Coffee Roaster, Minamoto Kitchoan, Randy's Donuts, and Compartes Chocolatier. These new offerings will complement Century City's already outstanding food and dining options, including Shake Shack, Meizhou Dongpo, RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen, the elegant Italian trattoria Toscanova, authentic Italian mozzarella bar Obicà and Gelson's gourmet supermarket.  Among the property's many new nutritious food and probiotic juice bar options will be Pressed Juicery, Lifehouse Tonics + Elixirs, and Beaming Organic Superfood Café.

ABOUT NYCA RESTAURANT GROUP

NYCA Restaurant Group, is a division of Jason Giagrande and Jonathan Waxman's new Hospitality company. Waxman and Giagrande have deep roots in New York and California. Jonathan's legendary career has seen him pioneering California cuisine at some of the best-known restaurants in California and New York. Jason's amazing experience in overseeing large-scale national food service operations with Compass Group and NBCUniversal, make him an ideal partner with Jonathan. Knowing it is hard to bottle the magic of Jonathan's restaurants—Barbuto, Jams, Brezza Cucina (Atlanta), and Waxman's (San Francisco)—the two seasoned restaurateurs have pulled together some of the most talented people they have worked with over their careers. This team, ably headed by Jason and Jonathan, will span across the country with focus in the New York and California market. 

ABOUT WESTFIELD CENTURY CITY

The $1 billion modernization and beautification of Westfield Century City will create an open-air Southern California escape like no other. Opening in stages throughout 2017, this will be a more than 1.3 million sf destination encompassing over 200 shops and restaurants, including a new three-level Nordstrom featuring its latest design concepts, completely remodeled three-level Bloomingdale's, modern new two-level Macy's, luxurious Equinox fitness club and spa, as well as the West Coast's first Eataly.

For more information: www.westfield.com/centurycity

SOURCE Westfield Century City

Related Links

http://www.westfield.com/centurycity