Rumor Mill

Jeremy Fox Scouting Spaces in L.A., Not Returning to the Bay Area?

The fantastic Mr. Fox, and we're not just saying that.
The fantastic Mr. Fox, and we’re not just saying that.

Well, it looks like S.F. actually may have lost him. After word broke a couple weeks ago that Bay Area chefs Jeremy Fox and Charlie Parker were teaming on a project called Freddy Smalls in West L.A.(11520 Pico Blvd.), we were led to believe (or perhaps just had wishful thoughts) that Fox was only doing a quick consulting gig and had intentions to continue looking for a restaurant space of his own back up north. Not so, says Eater L.A. today, who has him currently scouting spaces in East L.A. for a “farm-to-table vegetable restaurant similar to Ubuntu,” which they think may be the aforementioned Smith. Of course, Eater L.A. doesn’t realize that “farm-to-table,” with all the early-aughts clichés it implies, doesn’t really do Fox’s intricate and Manresa-trained cooking justice. But how could they?

The fantastic Mr. Fox, and we’re not just saying that.

Also, Smith is not, from what we’ve understood from Fox himself, a vegetarian concept like Ubuntu, and there would likely be some meat on the menu — just never in a starring role. It also remains fully possible that that working title, Smith, won’t end up being the name once investors get involved.

We’ll be sad to see him go if this latest rumor proves true, but for his part Fox isn’t talking. Grub Street reached him today and apart from admitting he’s still in the southern part of our state, he’ll divulge nothing else, and neither confirm nor deny the restaurant hunt.

It must be at least a little flattering when you’re a free agent and every food blog leaps on every little whisper about your movements. But sure, it must get a little annoying too.

File, as per uje, under Developing.

Jeremy Fox Scouting East Side for Veggie Resto Space
[Eater LA]
Earlier: L.A. Is Getting a Major Injection of S.F. Talent [Grub Street SF]
San Francisco’s Jeremy Fox and Charlie Parker Helping to Open Freddy Smalls in West L.A. [Grub Street LA]
Jeremy Fox’s Smith Dinners at Saison, In Pictures [Grub Street SF]

Jeremy Fox Scouting Spaces in L.A., Not Returning to the Bay Area?