There’s been a lot of action in the Cesare Casella camp lately. The chef gives us an update. To wit:
• Maremma is for sale. “It’s on the market,” Casella says. “I’m waiting for a better offer than the one I have, though. If I don’t get it, I’ll renovate it and make it a little different.”
• Casella’s new restaurant will be called Salumeria Rosi, but it isn’t really a restaurant, per se: “It’s a grocery, that has a very small restaurant area of about 35 seats. It’s very casual — some antipasti, panini, a few pastas.”
• The Tuscan Tocque also tells us that he’s in negotiations to do a big, upscale restaurant in a luxe hotel being built in midtown. “We haven’t signed the contract yet, but it will be a very nice restaurant, and a kind of cooking I haven’t done before in New York.”
• Bean bar, Casella’s planned fast-food operation in Grand Central Station, is likewise on hold. Casella probably has ten other things going on that he’s not talking about; but we’ll settle for these. They’re more than enough.
Related: Cesare Casella the Latest Chef Onboard the UWS Bandwagon