white gold buchers
Butcher shop · Upper West Side ·
Artisan butcher shop offering prime cuts and specialty meats
Information
375 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024 Get directions
Artisan butcher shop offering prime cuts and specialty meats
375 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024 Get directions
"The space previously housed White Gold Butchers, a restaurant and butcher shop formerly owned by Ken Friedman that had room for 38 seats; it closed last year following allegations of sexual misconduct against Friedman, and in August a landlord said rent was $25,000 per month." - Carla Vianna
"I report that this Upper West Side restaurant-butcher shop, which opened in 2016 with the mantra of serving up local, nose-to-tail butchery, has been hit by mounting money troubles and legal claims. A farm alleges the restaurant carried a balance of more than $33,000 starting in early 2018 and still owed $37,513.39 by April 2018 for animals that ended up at the shop; payments had been made weekly but stopped when it became known WGB would close after the schism between April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman following allegations of sexual misconduct against Friedman. The butchers Erika Nakamura and Jocelyn Guest left in March, and when Bloomfield and Friedman split their empire this summer the business went to Friedman and then closed in August with a note saying a new restaurant would be going into the space. The landlord at 375 Amsterdam Ave. at 78th Street has also posted a notice saying the restaurant owes nearly $60,000 in rent. Bloomfield is not named as a defendant in the farm's suit, though she and hotelier Ed Scheetz are listed as owners of the restaurant’s LLC; Friedman and Scheetz did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Bloomfield declined to comment." - Serena Dai
"At 375 Amsterdam Ave. at 78th Street, I noticed the former White Gold Butchers space has a landlord notice taped to the property saying it owes $58,965.90 — nearly $60,000 — including unpaid rent for July and August, late fees, legal fees, and more than $25,000 per month in rent, and giving guarantors Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield three days to pay before eviction proceedings begin. I learned that Friedman and Bloomfield opened White Gold together in October 2016 but split in June after allegations of sexual misconduct left Friedman with the restaurant; it shuttered this month, though a note on the window promised a new restaurant with an “approach to healthy and sustainable eating.” Despite Bloomfield’s public disassociation, she is still named on the landlord’s notice; the listed tenant is 375 Amsterdam Avenue Restaurant LLC, and while Erika Nakamura and Jocelyn Guest were publicly partners who also split earlier this year, a spokesperson for them said they were not on the lease. Friedman, Bloomfield, and property manager Brusco Group declined to comment." - Serena Dai
"Located at 375 Amsterdam Ave. at 78th Street on the Upper West Side, White Gold Butchers—the restaurant-and-butcher-shop originally opened by Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield—has closed: it ended service on Sunday, and I saw a sign on the window noting that a restaurant with an “approach to healthy and sustainable eating” will eventually take over the space. The closure follows allegations of misconduct against Friedman late last year, including accusations of groping and unwanted kissing; in June Bloomfield and Friedman split their empire and ended their partnership, with Friedman keeping White Gold. Opened in October 2016, the spot ran a casual, counter-service menu during the day and a full-service operation in the evening and was largely well-received, earning two stars in The Times. Bloomfield had positioned White Gold as a way to control the farm-to-table process for it and other restaurants in their empire and recruited nose-to-tail butchers Erika Nakamura and Jocelyn Guest as partners here, though they left a few months after the misconduct allegations. Eater has reached out to Friedman for more information." - Serena Dai
"An ambitious Upper West Side project that opened in October 2016 to combine whole-animal butchery with a neighborhood deli and a full-service restaurant, it earned two stars from The Times for memorable meat dishes. Erika Nakamura and Jocelyn Guest—partners who garnered attention and accolades for their nose-to-tail artistry since the shop's debut—are leaving on March 27; they declined to say why but described building the whole-animal butchery program as “among the most rewarding projects of our respective careers,” expressing love for the “dope staff and wonderful customers and neighbors.” Insiders say that although accusations against co-owner Ken Friedman were not the only reason for their departure, the women became increasingly uncomfortable with the stories that unfolded and with how the company handled the maelstrom; Friedman has stepped down from day-to-day management but retains ownership, and meat from the shop supplies other Friedman–Bloomfield projects like The Spotted Pig." - Beth Landman
