The restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and cocktails with prices described as being in the medium range.
Located in the heart of the iconic 1962 Eero Saarinen-designed TWA terminal, the Paris Café by Jean-Georges will encompass the entire footprint of the terminal’s original Paris Café and Lisbon Lounge, which have been dark since 2001.
The spaces were originally outfitted by famed Parisian industrial designer Raymond Loewy — the mind behind the 1955 Coca-Cola contour bottle, the 1959 TWA twin globes logo, the 1963 Studebaker Avanti, the 1962 Air Force One livery and the 1971 Shell logo.
Vongerichten’s take on the restaurant will help reignite the magic of the Jet Age throughout the TWA Hotel.
The restaurant’s name holds special significance for Vongerichten. Raised on the outskirts of Strasbourg in Alsace, France, the chef trained in classical French cuisine at Auberge de I’lll in Alsace and L’Oasis in southern France before developing a passion for flavours of the East at luxury hotels in Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong.
He now operates 36 restaurants, including ABC Kitchen in Manhattan, Mercato in Shanghai and Simply Chicken in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
“Around the world, Jean-Georges is known for his delicious dishes and impeccable service,” says Tyler Morse, CEO and managing partner of MCR and MORSE Development.
“He is the perfect chef to reinvigorate the legendary Paris Café for our guests and JFK travellers.”