In 2010, Joseph Ogrodnek turned a sleepy Greenpoint restaurant, Anella, into one of Brooklyn’s most talked-about spots — a destination for tightly focused, vegetable-driven cooking. A year later, he and his business partner, Walker Stern, opened Battersby in Carroll Gardens, followed by Dover in 2013; both restaurants helped foster the kale-laden, Provençal-esque cuisine that still suffuses the neighborhood.
But Dover suddenly closed at the start of 2017, and Mr. Ogrodnek all but disappeared from the restaurant scene (he remains an owner of Battersby).
Now, he will return to the kitchen as the chef and partner of Floret, an all-day cafe opening in January inside Sister City, a Lower East Side hotel from Atelier Ace that will take a simple approach to travel, with stripped-down amenities and minimalist décor (and because this is New York, a rooftop bar).
Hotel dining has become significantly more ambitious in recent years, and Ace has long made in-house restaurants a central focus: Its Chicago hotel is home to City Mouse, from the chefs Jason Vincent and Ben Lustbader; Best Girl, in Ace’s Los Angeles hotel, is run by the sustainable-seafood pioneer Michael Cimarusti.
“Food is an essential when you are traveling,” said Kelly Sawdon, Atelier Ace’s chief brand officer. “It was one of those needed components,” even within Sister City’s less-is-more format.
Mr. Ogrodnek, 36, says he took his year-and-a-half break from professional cooking in order to travel and work on his side business restoring vintage motorcycles. He had reluctantly closed Dover, he said, because business was “a little flat,” despite wide critical praise.
He was drawn back into the kitchen, he said, because of the Ace name. “I like their style,” he said. “They are very forward-thinking.” And unlike at Battersby and Dover, he can focus exclusively on the cooking, and let the hotel handle minutiae like reservations and credit card processing. “When you have support behind you, it becomes more of a conducive environment to do your job,” he said.
Mr. Ogrodnek described the restaurant, on a busy stretch of the Bowery, as a “sanctuary” and a “secret garden”: an airy bistro dotted with plants and accompanied by an outdoor courtyard that will double as the hotel’s main entrance. Floret will follow the all-day dining model that has become ubiquitous in New York, from breakfast fare and coffee in the morning, to cocktails and larger dishes at night.
Mr. Ogrodnek said he wants to serve straightforward dishes that are “healthful, but not health food,” like eggs, sandwiches, salads and pastas that are big on vegetables and accessibly priced. (He hasn’t decided on the menu yet.)
Michael Anthony, the executive chef of Gramercy Tavern, where Mr. Ogrodnek worked from 2007 to 2009, said that what will distinguish Mr. Ogrodnek’s cooking from that of all the other vegetable-friendly all-day cafes in the city is his ability to “approach food with a sheer sense of confidence.”
“He’s unflappable,” Mr. Anthony said. “The flavors stand up. He is organized in his thoughts, and the food is cooked well.”
Mr. Ogrodnek will also create a short menu of snacks for the rooftop bar, opening soon after the hotel and restaurant. Drinks for both the restaurant and bar will be overseen by Joshua Hanover, the former beverage director at ABC Kitchen and ABC Cocina, and will emphasize sparkling wines, low-alcohol cocktails and fresh juices.
While Mr. Ogrodnek said he is not trying to align the food with the hotel’s pared-down style, the way he describes his approach — “simple, careful, modern” — makes it sound like a good match.
Mr. Anthony agreed: “Joe has a way of distilling ideas, and cooking from a very tidy, practical perspective.”
Floret, in the Sister City hotel, 225 Bowery, 646-343-4500, sistercitynyc.com.
Follow NYT Food on Twitter and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. Get regular updates from NYT Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice.
