Two Iconic NYC Restaurants Are on the Move
Two Iconic NYC Restaurants Are on the Move
Pastis will open in West Palm Beach, while H&H Bagels plans a nationwide takeover
Two quintessential New York restaurants are on the move, with plans to replicate themselves in Florida and beyond.
Pastis
West Village bistro Pastis is quickly replicating itself with the announcement that it will open a location in West Palm Beach, Florida. Don’t book your Palm Beach vacation just yet, however — Pastis isn’t set to open until 2026, according to a press release.
The restaurant will open in West Palm Beach’s Nora District, a pedestrian-friendly project that will target both visitors and locals. At its center, the Nora District will feature the Nora Hotel, a 201-room hotel, a partnership between BD Hotels and Sean MacPherson. BD Hotels is behind many New York City hotels such as the Greenwich, the Bowery, the Mercer, and Hotel Chelsea. Restaurateur Stephen Starr’s STARR Restaurants will also co-create the hotel’s rooftop restaurant and bar and will operate in-room dining for the property.
When it opens, this will be the fourth iteration of the beloved bistro. In addition to the flagship Meatpacking District Pastis, Pastis opened a location in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood to much fanfare in 2023. This past January, Pastis opened in Washington D.C.
Like Washington D.C. and Miami before it, the West Palm Beach location will take a page from the original with a curved zinc bar, white subway tiles, and red banquettes.
The menu will include classics such as French onion soup, escargots, steak frites, chicken paillard, and grilled branzino.
Of course, Le Petit Pickle, that most delightful of tiny martinis, will make its way to West Palm Beach.
The Nora District will also house several other interesting concepts, including H&H Bagels (more on that below), Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, and Loco Taqueria and Oyster Bar.
Is Pastis poised to become the next Houstons? Time will only tell.
H&H Bagels
Another New York City institution is about to move south.
H&H Bagels is planning a Florida expansion. The first H&H will open in Boca Raton within the next few months, followed by shops in Tampa, West Palm Beach, and Jacksonville. In 2025 the NYC bagel shop will open in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando.
H&H is certainly trying to become a national bagel chain with plans to open in Santa Monica, California, Washington D.C., and Chicago later this year in addition to its Florida locations. Shops are also planned for Stamford, Connecticut; Dallas, Texas; Knoxville, Tennessee; Boston, Massachusetts, and Detroit, Michigan.
The bagel shop also dominates nearly all points of entry to New York, with shops in Penn Station, Moynihan Train Hall, LaGuardia Airport, and JFK.
The first H&H opened in 1972 and has become one of New York’s favorite bagel shops. Filling an apparent need for good bagels in Florida (and believe me, Florida needs some decent bagels), H&H decided on Boca Raton for its first franchise location.
The bagels have been made the same way for more than half a century. The bagels are proofed, kettle-boiled, bathed in cold water, and then oven-baked. No word yet whether that magic elixir of the gods — New York City water — will be transported to the other cities in which it will bake its bagels.