The Spotted Pig was a

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves food of high quality, with a nearly equal emphasis on eating and drinking. The term was coined in the 1990s in the United Kingdom. History The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coi ...

at 314 West 11th Street (at

Greenwich Street Greenwich Street is a north–south street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It extends from the intersection of Ninth Avenue (Manhattan), Ninth Avenue and Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District, Manha ...

) in the

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The West Village is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

in New York City. It was owned by

Ken Friedman Ken Friedman (born September 19, 1949 in New London, Connecticut) is a design researcher. He was a member of Fluxus, an international laboratory for experimental art, architecture, design, and music. Friedman joined Fluxus in 1966 as the youngest ...

Mario Batali Mario Francesco Batali (born September 19, 1960) is an American chef, writer, and former restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and ...

was a primary investor. The chef was

April Bloomfield April Bloomfield (born 1974) is a British-American chef who has opened two New York restaurants: The Spotted Pig (closed January 26, 2020) and The Breslin Bar & Dining Room. Bloomfield had previously worked at several restaurants in the United K ...

, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

expatriate celebrity chef who was hired after flying to New York and interviewing with

and Friedman. The restaurant held a single

Michelin Star The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...

from about 2006 to 2016. The restaurant closed on January 26, 2020.

Sexual harassment and assault controversy

In December 2017, owner

was accused of multiple cases of sexual harassment in an article published in the ''New York Times''. The authors interviewed many employees who said April Bloomfield was aware of his behavior, but did nothing to shield employees from it. The article included the statement that "several other employees say they also brought their complaints and concerns about Mr. Friedman to Ms. Bloomfield. Her response was always the same. 'That's who he is. Get used to it. Or go work for someone else'". April Bloomfield was also aware of her restaurant's third floor nickname, "the rape room".

and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

, were investors, were frequent visitors and Batali was also accused of criminal behavior on the third floor. Friedman subsequently resigned from management duties of their restaurant group. Shortly after in December 2017, Bloomfield posted an apology on Twitter for not protecting her staff. On January 7, 2020, Ken Friedman agreed to pay $240,000 and 20% of his profits to former employees who accused him of sexual harassment and discrimination.

References

2004 establishments in New York City 2020 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand restaurants in the United States Defunct restaurants in Manhattan Gastropubs in the United States Restaurants disestablished in 2020 Restaurants established in 2004 West Village {{Manhattan-struct-stub

Sexual harassment and assault controversy

See also

References