Celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian is no stranger to Tampa Bay, but he’ll soon establish his first local restaurant in St. Petersburg.
The Central, described in a press release as a “2.1-acre, transformative mixed-use destination,” will be the home of Chef Zakarian’s newest restaurant at 1301 Central Ave.
Fans of the celebrity chef still have to wait a few years for this new concept, since the Central Hotel and its unnamed flagship restaurant are still in early stages of development.
While Zakarian is known for cooking several different styles of food, many of his previous restaurants have focused on modern American cuisine with Mediterranean, French and of course, regional influences.
The press release adds that Zakarian’s food and beverage program will be inspired by St. Petersburg’s unique story, “blending local flavor with the sophisticated approach that has made him a household name.”
Construction on the Central Hotel—which is slated to become St. Petersburg’s second Autograph Collection hotel—is expected to begin sometime next year. According to its website, Central Hotel is projected to open by 2027, with design and construction coming care of Ellison Development.
In addition to the hotel restaurant itself, Zakarian Hospitality will also operate the food, beverage and hospitality programs at the adjacent Halcyon tower—which will include banquets, catering services, events, a rooftop pool bar, jazz lounge and more.
Food Network fans may recognize Zakarian as a regular judge on the competition series “Chopped,” the co-host of talk show “The Kitchen,” or as the winner of “The Next Iron Chef.” And before he populated our television screens, the chef with over 35 years of experience was running critically-acclaimed restaurants in New York and beyond.
While Zakarian’s rise to culinary fame is mainly attributed to his time as an executive chef in New York City, he’s no stranger to The Sunshine State and has operated several concepts in South Florida. But his upcoming hotel concept at The Central will be his first restaurateur venture in the greater Tampa Bay area.
Earlier this year, Zakarian also paired up with Tampa General Hospital to bolster its food program for patients and now serves as its Culinary Director.
Despite owning and operating many successful restaurants and gracing television screens over the years, the celebrity chef is not without his own controversies. 14 years ago, almost 200 of his former employees filed a class action lawsuit against the chef, according to a New York Times article from 2011.
The lawsuit claimed that the former employees were “underpaid in a variety of ways,” from withholding overtime pay to allegedly falsifying pay records. Zakarian subsequently filed for personal bankruptcy, and then settled the lawsuit by paying the plaintiffs $200,000, according to legal documents from the New York County Supreme Court.
Soon after that, Zakarian found himself in a courtroom, this time after backing out of a deal to open a restaurant in Donald Trump’s hotel in an old Washington D.C. hotel. Zakarian said he pulle dout because of Trump’s statements about immigrants, saying “those remarks made it impossible for him to run a successful dining establishment in the Trump property,” according to The Washington Post. Trump sued, the chef countersued, and the Trump Organization soon settled with Zakarian, according to Eater.
Head to thecentralstpete.com for more updates on the growth of The Burg’s latest mixed-use development, set to be a culinary destination lead by Zakarian Hospitality.
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