What We Know About Marcus Samuelsson's New NYC Restaurant

Marcus Samuelsson has worked his way into becoming a superstar chef and currently owns several restaurants, including perhaps the most well-known, Red Rooster Harlem. Additionally, he owns and operates Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House in the Bahamas, Marcus Montreal in Canada, and over a dozen restaurants in Scandinavia (via Samelsson's website). The Ethiopian-Swedish chef has established himself as a main fixture in the New York City restaurant scene having received a three-star review from The New York Times, in addition to winning the James Beard Foundation Award for "Best Chef: New York City" (via Samuelsson's website).

Now, Samuelsson is launching a new restaurant endeavor, opening an eatery to be called Hav + Mar — a name combining the Swedish translation of  the word "ocean" with the Amharic translation for the word "honey" — in Chelsea. The food at Hav + Mar is a nod to the chef's Swedish and Ethiopian heritage and honors his commitment to sustainability. The restaurant will reportedly be open for both lunch and dinner (via Vogue).

Marcus Samuelsson has made a commitment to diversity, not only when it comes to the foods prepared at his restaurants, but also with the vendors the restaurant works with and his staff. Vogue notes that the head chefs and management are all women of color at his new restaurant, Hav + Mar, and the staff come from backgrounds of "Ethiopian, Haitian, Pakistani, and Swedish" descent. His new restaurant will also be working with BIPOC farmers and purveyors. 

And this isn't the first time Samuelsson has shown his dedication to promoting diversity. On his TV show "No Passport Required," the chef visited restaurants across America in an effort to highlight the cuisines of immigrants. "I want to tell the diverse story. Being able to present the diversity that makes up America is important, especially right now," Samuelsson said back in 2018 (via Albuquerque Journal). He's also the author of the cookbook "The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food," which details the contributions of traditional African food on American cuisine (via The Harvard Crimson).

Ahead of the impending opening of his inclusive and diverse new restaurant, Hav + Mar, Samuelsson took to Twitter to share the news, though he didn't include a specific date — he only noted the restaurant would open "soon."  He wrote, "We can't wait to welcome you," alongside a picture of him and the Hav + Mar management team. One fan commented succinctly, but with excitement, writing, "Woo hoo!"