The Spotted Pig was a

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves gourmet comfort food. The term was coined in the 1990s, though similar brewpubs existed during the 1980s. Etymology The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coined in 1991, when David E ...

located at 314 West 11th Street (at

Greenwich Street Greenwich Street is a north–south street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It extends from the intersection of Ninth Avenue (Manhattan), Ninth Avenue and Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District, Manhat ...

) in the

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, 14th Street (Manhattan ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The 100-seat gastropub was owned by

Ken Friedman Ken Friedman (born September 19, 1949 in New London, Connecticut) is a design researcher. He was a member of Fluxus, an international laboratory for experimental art, architecture, design, and music. Friedman joined Fluxus in 1966 as the youngest m ...

Mario Batali Mario Francesco Batali (born September 19, 1960) is an American chef, writer, and restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; and Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and Ne ...

was a primary investor. The chef was

April Bloomfield April Bloomfield (born 1974) is a British chef who has opened two New York restaurants: The Spotted Pig (closed January 26, 2020) and The Breslin Bar & Dining Room. Bloomfield had previously worked at several restaurants in the United Kingdom, ...

, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

expatriate celebrity chef who was hired after flying to New York and interviewing with

and Friedman. The restaurant held a single

Michelin Star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

from about 2006 to 2016. The restaurant closed on January 26, 2020.

Sexual harassment and assault controversy

In December 2017, owner

was accused of multiple cases of sexual harassment in an article published in the ''New York Times''. The authors interviewed many employees who said April Bloomfield was aware of his behavior, but did nothing to shield employees from it. The article included the statement that "several other employees say they also brought their complaints and concerns about Mr. Friedman to Ms. Bloomfield. Her response was always the same. 'That's who he is. Get used to it. Or go work for someone else'". April Bloomfield was also aware of her restaurant's third floor nickname, "the rape room".

, an investor, was a frequent visitor and also accused of criminal behavior on the third floor. Friedman subsequently resigned from management duties of their restaurant group. Shortly after in December 2017, Bloomfield posted an apology on Twitter for not protecting her staff. On January 7, 2020, Ken Friedman agreed to pay $240,000 and 20% of his profits to former employees who accused him of sexual harassment and discrimination.

References

Restaurants in Manhattan Defunct restaurants in New York City Gastropubs in the United States West Village 2004 establishments in New York City Restaurants established in 2004 Restaurants disestablished in 2020 2020 disestablishments in New York (state) {{Manhattan-struct-stub

Sexual harassment and assault controversy

See also

References