New Orleans, LA – The Domain Companies is excited to announce that award-winning chef Akhtar Nawab will open his first New Orleans restaurant within The Standard at South Market in early 2019. The location (name TBA) will build on the success of Nawab’s growing restaurant collection across Brooklyn, Birmingham, and Washington, D.C., all specializing in unique concepts that celebrate local food and flavors.
“We’re thrilled to join New Orleans’ incredible culinary scene,” says Nawab. “I’m inspired by the city – the culture, the people, the care and focus on food and the community that comes with it. We’ve seen how a great neighborhood restaurant can help build that community, and that’s what we’re going for with this location. We can’t wait to have a home Downtown.”
Nawab is a well-known figure in the culinary world, having begun his career under chefs like Tom Colicchio and Loretta Keller. With Nawab as its sous chef, Colicchio’s Craft restaurant in New York City was named “Best New Restaurant” by the James Beard Foundation. Nawab went on to helm the kitchens at several acclaimed restaurants across New York before opening one of his own, receiving recognition and accolades from The New York Times, New York, Food & Wine, StarChefs.com, Eater, and more. He went on to mentor the likes of David Chang and appeared on Iron Chef America. He is a partner at Choza Taqueria in New York and has opened Alta Calidad in Brooklyn, Fero in Birmingham, and Prather’s on The Alley in Washington, D.C.
“Domain is proud to welcome Chef Nawab and his team to South Market,” says Matt Schwartz, Domain principal. “For The Standard, we looked for a restaurant partner that could deliver the level of quality, hospitality, design, and creativity that are consistent with the high bar of excellence the building and neighborhood have set. This restaurant will continue our tradition of introducing inventive, exciting concepts to the city. First and foremost, it will be a true neighborhood restaurant that people can visit multiple times a week, whether it’s for lunch, dinner, or an after-work cocktail.”
The restaurant will feature seasonal, Mexican-inspired dishes highlighting fresh, local ingredients, authentic flavors, and creative execution. A focus on hospitality and a robust cocktail program will round out the restaurant’s offerings. Nawab will enlist renowned designers Farouki Farouki, part of the team behind The Standard at South Market’s interiors, to create a stylish space that fosters a welcoming, energetic atmosphere.
“It was important to us to get a local design team of Farouki Farouki’s caliber on-board,” says Michael
Wetherbee, partner. “They’ve done an incredible job with The Standard, so it will be great to have that
cohesion between the building and the restaurant.”
Nawab’s restaurant will join a well-rounded selection of neighborhood food and retail experiences in
South Market. The building is already home to The Standard, a new 15-story luxury condominium
featuring 89 one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences designed by architect Morris Adjmi. The building
opened in May 2018.
The restaurant will open in early 2019.
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About the South Market District
South Market encompasses a burgeoning five-block area in the heart of Downtown New Orleans. The
first mixed-use, transit-oriented development Downtown, South Market combines luxury apartments
with some of the city’s best retailers, restaurants, and entertainment venues including the nearby Ace
Hotel and Maison de la Luz. Once complete, the $500M South Market will include 1,000 luxury
apartments and condominiums, 200,000 square feet of retail space including a 40,000sf full-service
gourmet grocer (Rouses Market), and 1,300 garage parking spaces. www.southmarketdistrict.com
About The Domain Companies
Founded in 2004, The Domain Companies is based in New Orleans and New York and specializes in the
development and management of unique, mixed-use properties in core urban locations. Domain creates
high-quality properties that stand apart through innovative design and exceptional management,
enhancing the communities in which they build. Domain’s projects include the new construction and
preservation of affordable, mixed-income, and luxury housing; the acquisition and repositioning of
distressed housing; historic restoration; brownfield redevelopment; seniors and special needs housing;
and hospitality, retail, and commercial development. www.thedomaincos.com
About Akhtar Nawab
Akhtar Nawab is chef/owner of Alta Calidad in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The restaurant offers a smart,
creative take on Mexican cuisine in a vibrant neighborhood atmosphere. This project builds upon the
myriad of experience Nawab has with the cuisine, including Mexican street food concept Choza Taqueria,
in which he is a partner, as well as his time spent as executive chef of New York City hotspot La Esquina.
Nawab has earned critical praise over the years, beginning with his time with Tom Colicchio in the
kitchens of Gramercy Tavern, Craftbar, and Craft – the latter of which received three stars from The New
York Times and won the James Beard Foundation’s “Best New Restaurant” award during Nawab’s
tenure. His loyal following picked up steam while Nawab served as executive chef of East Village
gastropub, The E.U., during which time he received StarChefs.com’s “Rising Star Chef” award. The
opening of his first proprietary restaurant Elettaria landed him a spot on Food Network’s Iron Chef
America and inclusion in Coco: 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs (Phaidon,
2009). Nawab also owns Indie Fresh, a fast-casual concept featuring wholesome, nutritious, flavorful
bites and beverages. In 2017, Nawab opened Fero, a modern Italian restaurant in downtown
Birmingham, AL. Most recently Nawab opened Prather’s on the Alley, in Washington, D.C. Focusing on
local ingredients, it is a modern take on a classic American-inspired restaurant. www.akhtarnawab.com
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