615560 Tue Apr 28 07:47:53 -0700 2009 8 9 New Orleans 0 4635338 A friend mentioned that John Besh will open a new restaurant and catering operation in the D-Day Museum. The new restaurant will be called the Stage Door Canteen. More details here; http://www.nationalww2museum.org/expansion/stagedoor.pdf The restaurant and catering operations are set to open in October just one month after the launch of his new Italian restaurant Domenica in the Roosevelt Hotel. Given the turnover and inconsistencies at La Provence and Luke this seems to be very risky. I have always thought of John as a very talented fine dining chef. The Stage Door Canteen seems to be a departure from the image and cuisine chef Besh has created for himself. This will be very interesting. Stay tuned... Tue Apr 28 07:47:53 -0700 2009 283879 luvsgudfodmm 1 4635391 Where did you see Besh was going to be behind the canteen? There are no "details" regarding your assertion in the link. Besh isn't even mentioned. A search of Besh and WWII museum turned up one hit. Apparently he catered an event in San Francisco. I'd like to see more info before I make judgments. Tue Apr 28 08:04:49 -0700 2009 4635338 164399 N.O.Food 2 4641829 A friend told me who went to apply with the Besh group. She had no idea either. It came up in conversation about upward mobility within the company in the future. I think the concept is far fetched and they are getting away from their core business. They should focus on what they have. Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered. Thu Apr 30 07:20:02 -0700 2009 4635391 283879 luvsgudfodmm 3 4641925 Why such loathing for a successful, homegrown business? He's following a business model like Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality group, which manages to operate ten restaurants/cafes ranging from Gramercy Tavern to the Modern to the ridiculously popular Shake Shack. http://www.ushgnyc.com/ The Modern, at MOMA, manages to hang onto a Michelin star. Yes, a Michelin star inside a museum. Meyer's restaurant group also operates Cafe 2 and Terrace 5 inside MOMA. Multi-restaurant groups with a diverse portfolio of high and low concepts aren't exactly far-fetched. On the contrary, this approach has been quite successful, both in NYC and elsewhere. Thu Apr 30 07:43:40 -0700 2009 4641829 12023 Hungry Celeste 4 4644743 Mr. Meyer is a great example that John Besh should follow; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Meyer. Maybe I should send chef Besh a copy of his book. Union Square opened in 1985. John should slow it down and make each one successful before moving on. New Orleans needs quality, not quantity by someone who reached overnight success on TV. Fri May 01 04:45:19 -0700 2009 4641925 283879 luvsgudfodmm 5 4644933 I agree with some of the above points. I do think Besh should slow it down a bit. It seems to me that while his restaurants generally get positive reviews, they aren't quite as glowing as they were. I strongly disagree that he "reached overnight success on TV." That's just a silly comment to make. Besh's success was the only reason he got on TV in the first place. That's like commenting that Michael Symon, who has had portions of books written on him, only became famous for beating Besh on TV. Fri May 01 06:50:08 -0700 2009 4644743 96219 mikemill 5 4645127 It is his money and reputation. Let him do with it as he wishes. So until it opens and you can eat there, I would say lets withhold judgment. Fri May 01 07:55:41 -0700 2009 4644743 165378 Lyonola 1 4746212 Recently spoke with the Director of Operations with Besh and he definitely will be in the WW11 museum. The other comment(s) about locals not wanting to see their chefs succeed have a bit of a reason for feeling uneasy. It's common knowledge that the original restaurant ,August ,has been far less than stellar lately and that Luke also suffers from the same lack of consistency/value. What he does need is more capable management as the hard-working chef obviously can't be in more than one place at a time. It happens with regularity that the growing pains of expansion may also lead to chronic illness. He's on the edge of being WAY overextended. Too bad, as he is a very talented chef. Fri Jun 05 13:23:32 -0700 2009 4635338 283228 oystershell 1 4753997 Here's the latest according to Brett Anderson. http://blog.nola.com/brettanderson/2009/06/john_besh_to_open_restaurant_i.html Mon Jun 08 14:34:50 -0700 2009 4635338 103610 tia jenn