Cooked their goose
Hedgie’s arrival spelled doom for Barneys: chef
Mark Strausman, the chef behind celebrity hot spot Freds, says he became worried about the future of luxury retailer Barneys — where Freds is housed — long before the company filed for bankruptcy in August.
In an exclusive interview with Side Dish, Strausman said the problems began with the change of management that came in under hedge fund manager Richard Perry, whose Perry Capital assumed control of the high-end department store in 2012.
“When fashion people like Richard Perry think they can run a restaurant, I knew it was time to start looking,” said Strausman, whose eatery is known for drawing celebrities like Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, as well as titans of industry like Corcoran Chief Executive Pam Liebman and billionaire Jon Tisch.
“I was running the show, but they were doing things like changing the coffee brand for no reason,” Strausman said of the new management. “They even took the chicken livers off the menu — that is the type of thing that made Freds, Freds,” he lamented. “Too many chefs spoil the broth.”
Strausman eventually got the chicken livers back on the menu (they cost $19 and come with shallots and port wine sauce on crostini). But Barneys’ problems only worsened when the rent on the flagship Madison Avenue store doubled to $30 million a year, not including taxes.
By August, the chain had filed for bankruptcy after failing to find a buyer — prompting Strausman to take the plunge and sign a lease on a new restaurant, which he’s planning to launch in March. “I was watching what was going on and it was clear that I needed to look out for my family and find another gig, another deal,” said Strausman.
The new 3,600-square-foot restaurant will be located at 41 Madison Ave. — off Madison Square Park — and named Mark’s Off Madison, he told Side Dish. The eatery will have 100 seats inside and an 85-seat outdoor cafe and will include a bakery, where Strausman will sell his famed bagels.
“The new restaurant will have the greatest hits from my 30-year career, of everything I’ve done, and kind of pick up from there,” said Strausman, who made his name first at restaurateur Pino Luongo’s Coco Pazzo and then at his own restaurant, Campagna.
“I’m really excited to start a new restaurant. I felt that I was being marginalized, and that’s why I did this,” he said.
Of course, Strausman still hopes to keep running Freds, which he continues to pack with customers on the ninth floor of the Madison Avenue department store, which was founded in 1923.
“Freds is very successful, but unfortunately we can’t pay all the rent and the store had a lot of problems. It’s like when one part of your body is fine even though the other part isn’t well,” Strausman said.
“It’s my child,” he said of the restaurant he opened in 1996 at the behest of Gene Pressman, the grandson of Barneys’ founder. The eatery was named for Pressman’s dad, Fred Pressman, the son of the founder, Barney Pressman.
When Barneys goes to bankruptcy auction on Tuesday, it’s expected to be bought for $271 million by branding company Authentic Brands Group.
Barneys declined to comment. Perry Capital, which shuttered in 2016 but still owns its Barneys stake, also did not return a request for comment.