Empire Building

Zenkichi Is Opening a Sake and Oyster Bar, Just Not in Manhattan

Photo: Gavin Thomas

The planned Manhattan branch of Zenkichi at 150 Bowery is officially not happening, Zagat Buzz reports. As we noted earlier this year, Community Board 2 wasn’t a fan of the project, criticizing the planned megarestaurant as part of a perceived “Asian explosion” on the Bowery, which owner Shaul Margulies found deeply offensive. (Don’t be confused by the ongoing construction at the site: Margulies tells Zagat that it’s “work the landlord was obligated to do for us, and I guess they are continuing with it.”) He’s already moved on, thanks to a new project: a sake and oyster restaurant with a “small, more casual menu” that he’ll open soon right next door to his original Williamsburg izakaya. [Zagat Buzz]

Zenkichi Is Opening a Sake and Oyster Bar, Just Not in Manhattan