Benjy’s on Washington has announced it will present its final dinner service on New Year’s Eve.
Restaurateur Benjy Levit has decided to close it and replace it with The Classic — All Day, which will open in summer 2018. the Classic will be “a fresh take on the classic neighborhood diner,” according to a press release.
And as with so many restaurants bowing out lately, the phrase Hurricane Harvey was part of Levit’s explanation for the change:
“The decision to take benjy’s on Washington in a new direction was not an easy one, but I feel that it is the right one. Following damage caused by a kitchen fire in March and then flooding during Hurricane Harvey, I saw a unique opportunity to cultivate an entirely new concept in the space that will offer exciting new dishes while staying true to the existing level of excellence that benjy’s customers have come to appreciate.”
Levit said he has hired Michael Hsu and Micah Land of the Michael Hsu Office of Architecture and designer
Aaron Rambo of Found for the Home to redesign the restaurant.
The dishes offered at the new restaurant will be “a lighter take of iconic dishes both old and new.” The bar program with offer older and more modern versions of three ingredient cocktails.
This article appears in Nov 2-8, 2017.
