The North End Grill
Kosher restaurant · New Rochelle ·
Kosher meat, friendly staff, delicious BBQ wings and subs
Kosher meat, friendly staff, delicious BBQ wings and subs
"An American-French restaurant from Union Square Hospitality Group that will close by year’s end after more than six years; the shutter followed misconduct accusations against former executive chef Eric Korsh—staffers reported unwelcome massages and other complaints to HR over several years, Korsh left at the end of 2017, and although USHG did not state a reason, the allegations and subsequent investigation preceded the closure." - Stefanie Tuder
"A Lower Manhattan restaurant that is being intentionally shuttered, serving as the focal point for reflections on how to close a business with dignity. Meyer argues that choosing transparency and integrity when reality dictates closing strengthens teams, builds trust with guests, suppliers and investors, and creates valuable learning through painful introspection. Staff are reportedly “innovating up until the very last service,” with that final service likely to occur on December 15." - Greg Morabito
"After Eric Korsh became executive chef in spring 2014, the restaurant became a hostile workplace: he gave unwelcome shoulder massages to female staffers, made inappropriate comments about female customers he found attractive, regularly lost his temper—often screaming in the open kitchen in view of diners—and repeatedly engaged in unwanted touching, including allegedly photographing a staffer from behind and sending the image. Multiple employees reported Korsh to HR throughout 2014–2016; HR required check-ins and assigned sensitivity training, but staffers say his behavior did not materially improve and several people quit. Many former and current employees described HR, led by Angie Buonpane, as protective of certain employees or the company—questioning complainants in ways that felt like cross-examination, asking for extensive evidence, and leaving victims feeling dismissed rather than supported. Korsh left USHG at the end of 2017 amid these ongoing complaints, and the company later promoted a woman to executive chef in the unit as part of broader changes." - Serena Dai
"The duck-fat fries are a premium, highly lauded side: potatoes are blanched in vegetable oil and given a final, higher-temperature fry for an initial crisp, then finished with flaky salt for a secondary crunch. They are greaseless with a molten interior, and the duck fat is added more as a finishing sheen than as the frying medium. Fries are served with a rich house mayonnaise made with Arbequina olive oil alongside ketchup." - Hugh Merwin
"I found that North End Grill was the center of multiple staff complaints about former chef Eric Korsh: eight staffers told reporters he gave unsolicited shoulder massages to female staffers, made inappropriate comments about female customers he found attractive, regularly lost his temper with kitchen and front-of-house staff, and targeted at least one back waiter, Catherine Woodard, by texting her constantly, trying to feed her, asking her to come to his apartment, and sending a photo of her from behind. Korsh denies the accusations, but employees say he was complained about repeatedly (twice in his first year, again in 2015, and twice more in 2016) and that many women left because his behavior didn’t improve. Staffers also described meetings with longtime HR head Angie Buonpane as demoralizing—one employee said she was asked for “additional evidence” and felt cross-examined—and reported that even when Korsh reportedly met with HR and was said to have “changed,” women still left. One former employee called Danny Meyer’s “employees first” mantra misleading and a “false trap,” arguing the company did not act as it claimed." - Chris Crowley