Blue Smoke Rising In Battery Park City! Nyc's Pioneering Urban Barbecue Restaurant Opens In Lower Manhattan

Blue Smoke, the pioneering urban barbecue restaurant from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), opens its second location in Manhattan Monday, January 9th, in beautiful Battery Park City at 255 Vesey Street (between West Street and North End Avenue) for dinner service with lunch to follow later in the month. With this new opening, Blue Smoke brings its mouthwatering, authentic pit barbecue, served with its signature warm hospitality, to lower Manhattan's vibrant community of residents, businesses, and visitors. In addition to the regular menu, the bar at Blue Smoke Battery Park City will offer a selection of new bar snacks, as well as an extensive bourbon, beer and cocktail list. There will also be an outpost of Blue Smoke Bake Shop in the new location, offering its irresistible freshly-baked pies and cakes, breads, cupcakes, cookies and more to-go, for birthday parties and other off-site personal and corporate events.

Kenny Callaghan, the Executive Chef of the flagship restaurant, will serve as the Executive Chef of Blue Smoke Battery Park City (BPC), with Jeffrey Held on board as Chef de Cuisine and Joel Steiger as General Manager. Both Kenny and Mark Maynard-Parisi - each of whom began their USHG careers at Union Square Cafe - will continue to serve as managing partners of the new Blue Smoke restaurants as well. Jenn Giblin will continue to serve as Pastry Chef of both locations.

Architecture firm Bentel & Bentel, who designed the original Blue Smoke as well as several other USHG restaurants, has brought the same casual and homey, yet lively feel to Blue Smoke BPC. The restaurant features wide windows overlooking Vesey Street, warm, dark wood planked floors and wainscoting, and a series of large (4 ft. x 5 ft.) photographs that were commissioned by photographer Frank Stewart on a road trip across the US, including a pecan orchard, lumberyard, barbecue pit, cotton field, and a country road under a cloudy sky. In the warm weather months, the walls overlooking Vesey Street will open to accommodate outdoor seating. The bustling bar area will offer several bar seats, as well as banquettes and a drink rail for standing room.

Guests will be greeted by an outpost of Blue Smoke Bake Shop, destined to be a hit with neighborhood families and area businesses. Situated just inside the restaurant and open seven days a week, Blue Smoke Bake Shop's menu will feature all the favorites such as Chocolate Cupcakes and Pecan Pie, and will also offer seasonal items, including a cupcake "flavor-of-the-month" and special occasion cakes.

Blue Smoke BPC will also have a private dining room for up to twenty-two seated guests ideal for personal parties and corporate events, as well as a meeting space for area businesses. The room is flanked by frosted glass that permits light to come through but prevents people from seeing inside. A large panel projection screen along with a customizable sound system will be available for presentations. The restaurant will offer delivery to the immediate Battery Park City neighborhood starting in late February.

Ever since opening Union Square Cafe 26 years ago, Union Square Hospitality Group has been committed to extending its signature form of hospitality beyond the walls of its restaurants and into its community. In addition to hunger relief charities, the restaurants have been especially committed to pioneering and participating in the transformation of their neighborhoods - first in 1985 when Union Square Cafe opened in what was once neglected Union Square Park, and again in 1998 with the opening of Tabla, Eleven Madison Park and later Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. As the restaurants flourished, so too did their neighborhoods. Blue Smoke BPC is eager to play an active role in the renaissance of Battery Park City.
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