{"id":257514,"date":"2026-06-06T14:25:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T14:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/257514\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T14:25:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T14:25:17","slug":"tom-colicchio-will-close-craft-his-flagship-restaurant-after-25-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/257514\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Colicchio Will Close Craft, His Flagship Restaurant, After 25 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday, Tom Colicchio announced on Instagram<\/a> that he would close his 25-year-old flagship restaurant, Craft<\/a>, on June 27. <\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-five years is a long time in New York,\u201d he said in a phone interview on Thursday. \u201cI\u2019m grappling with the situation,\u201d he said. \u201cThings have changed, rents and expenses for everything keep going up. You can\u2019t function.\u201d <\/p>\n

He has not relinquished the space but isn\u2019t sure what the next step will be for it and for him. He also plans to close his Italian restaurant, Vallata<\/a>, next door to Craft. It shares some of Craft\u2019s facilities, including the dishwasher.<\/p>\n

Mr. Colicchio, a familiar face to many as a judge on Bravo\u2019s \u201cTop Chef,\u201d where he is also an executive producer, said that Craft survived the pandemic reasonably well. But he said that the nature of running a restaurant in New York had changed, as had the clientele. \u201cDiners were more adventurous when we opened,\u201d he said. \u201cBack then, I could sell 26 squab a night. Now, I\u2019m lucky to get two orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, he switched the menu at Craft to the more typical \u00e0 la carte format because he felt the prices he had to charge for family-style portions were too high in the current economy. But it wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

From its inception, Craft was different. Mr. Colicchio sought to create a restaurant that celebrated simplicity, giving diners the opportunity to select a main as one would in a steak house, with an assortment of high-quality side dishes, sauces and the like to accompany it. He showcased the great ingredients chefs could count on and treated them simply. \u201cMy approach was food that was craft, not art,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Not long after it opened, Craft received three stars from William Grimes in The New York Times.<\/a> Sam Sifton confirmed that rating<\/a> 10 years later.<\/p>\n

The restaurant also won awards for its design, with Bentel & Bentel\u2019s simple display of honeyed burnished wood, leather and steel surrounding oversize tables set with place mats, not linen cloths.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe room feels as relevant to me today as it did in the beginning,\u201d said Marco Canora, the owner of Hearth<\/a> in the East Village, who was the executive chef at Craft when it opened. He\u2019s one of several prominent chefs, including Jonathan Benno, Akhtar Nawab and Karen DeMasco, who worked at Craft.<\/p>\n

If Craft was different, so was its opening in 2001. <\/p>\n

Mr. Colicchio was still working with Danny Meyer at Gramercy Tavern, and \u201cwanted to challenge the notion that only steak houses could offer a naked protein with sides,\u201d Mr. Meyer said. \u201cHe knew what he wanted to do.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mr. Colicchio found a location directly behind Gramercy Tavern, an easy commute, and continued to work in both kitchens. \u201cHe had that entrepreneurial itch, there was no stopping him,\u201d said Mr. Meyer, who declined the opportunity to be Mr. Colicchio\u2019s partner in Craft. \u201cIt was certainly unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Colicchio, 63, has several other restaurants in his portfolio, including Temple Court<\/a> and the Bar Room<\/a> in the Beekman Hotel near City Hall; Small Batch<\/a> in Garden City, N.Y.; and Craftsteak<\/a> in Las Vegas. <\/p>\n