Red Rooster lands on Lenox Avenue, Marcus Samuelsson to be cooking in Harlem Fall 2010

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xMFl1KLDe0]

By HarlemGal for HarlemCondoLife
Can I just say from the start, I adore and appreciate our HarlemCondoLife.com readers very much! They’re like a Tonnie’s cupcake! Awesome! Seconds from when the Crain’s New York story broke about Red Rooster landing at 310 Lenox Avenue, a HCL reader notified us right away with the news! A big thank you to Tero!
As soon as I received that heads up, what did I do next? Aside from responding to our reader, I picked up the phone and called Marcus Samuelsson’s flack. Here’s the chisme!
The lease was just signed this week so the ink is barely dry. Samuelsson and his team are aiming to have Red Rooster open for customers this Fall. I probed a bit further. The PR rep did not want to comment on why 310 Lenox Avenue versus other locals throughout Harlem nor say anything about length or amount of the lease? The rep said “those type of details are for Marcus to answer and that’s not possible right now since he’s out of the country.” Hmm, I wonder if our celebrity chef and local Harlem resident gave those folks quoted in Crain’s the green light to say something about the location of Red Rooster? Given that Marcus is not available to confirm this wonderful news himself, I seriously doubt it. It seems like someone or somebody stole a little bit of Samuelsson’s thunder! If so, that’s not cool!
As for my thoughts on the Red Rooster location in Harlem, to be honest I was keeping my figures crossed that it would land on Frederick Douglass Blvd., however, after walking over to Lenox Ave to check out the space tonight (Friday), I can see why Samuelsson choose that location. It’s right next to Chez Lucienne, Sylvia’s and the planned Hyatt Hotel backed by Emmitt Smith and partners. Also, 310 Lenox Avenue is right by the 2/3 subway line. Uptowners and downtowners can easily get to Red Rooster. In addition, all those Bravo TV viewers, who watch Samuelsson on Top Chef Masters-Season 2, and plan to or regularly visit the Big Apple will trek up to Harlem. Double hmm. Can you say the words “tourist invasion is upon us…soon…again!

Author: Harlem Condo Life

11 thoughts on “Red Rooster lands on Lenox Avenue, Marcus Samuelsson to be cooking in Harlem Fall 2010

  1. @martin. Thank you for letting us know that. I didn’t know. Most of us who blog here, were perplexed by the harsh comment and truly wondered, “how do we respond to readers who leave comments like this.” We do not expect everyone to agree with us on our blog posts. We expect a healthy and constructive dialogue about all our posts. Our aim has been to share all things positive about the Harlem we see and experience. Its been our objective from day one and its not changing anytime soon. I have grown to love FDB since I moved to the area five years ago. With that, it is something I like to blog about and will not compromise. If FDB, is not your thing. Check out HarlemHouse or HarlemOnaBudget or the others who blog here. They offer a different take on their Harlem experiences.

    As for the first Anon comment, I agree 100 percent. The tourists have always been up here. I was attempting to say that might double, triple, etc due to Red Rooster opening up in the area!

  2. The poster who makes the negative comments here about FDB also goes to Harlem Bespoke and posts the exact same comments over and over. This person either has some personal dislike of FDB or lives elsewhere in Harlem and is afraid his or her property value might suffer from not getting as much exposure. Other posters have tried to respond by saying that ALL parts of Harlem are great but still we get the negativity. Please stop.

  3. You’ll benefit more from the 125th street rezoning which will eventually transform Harlem.

    P.S. …the area of Mt Morris is beautiful so nurture it and protect it.

  4. i think manhattan ave is one of the most beautiful streets in all of the city, and it being one block away from FBD to me makes this micro nabe very attractive. you can live on manhattan, be one block from all of the restaurants and shops on FDB and one block from morningside park. i dont live over there (im in the mt morris area) but i dont think it’s so horrible as the previous poster. not sure why all the FDB hate. im glad it’s there – because the rezoning means there can be lots of commercial development that i can access from my historic district!

  5. I appreciate this blog’s coverage of things in the neighborhood, but your infatuation with FDB is quite annoying. I am glad this didn’t land on FDB. Like it or not, 125th and Lenox is the heart of Harlem, and is a central location that people from all parts of Harlem (East, West, Hamilton Heights, etc.) and from lower Manhattan can easily reach. The fact is that FDB is a narrow, unspectacular boulevard whose new condos and restaurants do nothing for the area’s lack of carm and cultural authenticity. I had been telling people that Samuelson would not locate on FDB for these reasons. Going forward you will see development in East Harlem (and, to a lesser extent, Central Harlem) outpace FDB (“South Harlem”, or whatever you want to call it now), and ultimately those will be more attractive areas to reside given more accessible transporation and better preservation of historical elements.

  6. FYI – The tourists invaded this part of Harlem long ago. There are always bus loads of tourists along Lenox Ave between 119th and 130th streets.

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