The Chef at Roister, Alinea’s More Casual Fulton Market Restaurant, Is Leaving

There’s a shake up at Roister, the more casual restaurant from Alinea Group, the company known for its fine dining options like Next and the group’s three-Michelin-starred namesake. Executive chef Andrew Brochu, who opened the restaurant in 2016, is leaving the trendy Fulton Market spot. Brochu, whose menu included a popular fancy fried chicken dinner, will depart to open his own restaurant, according to Alinea co-founder Nick Kokonas.

That’s not the only news for the Alinea Group. They’ve hired Nick Dostal, the former chef at the restaurant formerly known as Sixteen. That’s the two-Michelin-starred eatery inside the Trump Tower that rebranded as Terrace on 16 and went more casual. No word on what Dostal will be doing.

Kokonas said Brochu approached the group a few months ago with the plan to leave. Brochu didn’t respond for requests to comment, so there are no public details on his future restaurant. He told the Tribune that the project is only in its beginning stages.

“Brochu follows a lineage of great chefs — Stupak, Duffy, Shields, Baxtrom, Posey, Kahn, and others — who have spent formative years working at the Alinea Group,” Kokonas emailed. “We wish him well in all his future endeavors.”

Roister [Official Photo]

Dan Perretta, the executive chef at the Aviary — Alinea’s upscale cocktail den that neighbors Roister — has been working with chef Grant Achatz on a new menu. He’s been with the company for six years and will take over when Brochu leaves after the holidays. The group has also hired Ryan Epp to accompany Perretta. He spent about four years at Per Se in New York and previously worked at Alinea for a year. He rejoined the company to open the New York location of the Aviary in 2017.

Roister’s new menu will keep the casual vibe Brochu established and use more “elemental techniques” like fire, pickling, and fermentation, Kokonas wrote.

“2019 will be pretty damn exciting,” he added.