If the fate of iconic, nearly-a-century-old diner Kellogg’s has been keeping you up at night (why wouldn’t it?), have no fear — we now know the future of the restaurant, which has been for sale since January.
Under new ownership and culinary management, Kellogg’s is set to be a 24/7 fusion of Tex-Mex and classic diner food (and the name will stay as is). The buyer is Louis Skibar, seasoned diner owner of both Coppelia and Old John’s in Manhattan, with chef Jackie Carnesi at the helm. Greenpointers previously profiled Carnesi for our Behind the Toque series highlighting her time with Nura, where she celebrated her final day and service on November 21 with a Texas-style menu takeover.
Carnesi’s sous chef, Tajeh Porter, will be taking over at Nura and celebrating tonight, November 30, with a tasting menu highlighting her Southern influence in the kitchen.
Carnesi boasts both a creative approach to cooking (punctuated with an extensive background in Mexican food thanks to growing up in southern Texas) and level-headed approach to running a kitchen itself, which should serve Kellogg’s well as both its cuisine and business practices have been called into question in the past.
“It’s really important to me that we’re both taking the food seriously and not taking it seriously. As much as it’s important to me that we’re putting out exceptional product, at the end of the day — people say it all the time — it’s just food. Nobody should be stressing outside of work about it,” Carnesi expressed in our March 2022 interview.
According to a Skibar — who, on top of his diner expertise, also owns two Mexican eateries, Toloache and El Fish Shack Marisqueria — in an article by Eater, Kellogg’s will close for roughly two months of renovations with plans to reopen in February. Renovation plans for the classic dining room include a few aesthetic upgrades and new cocktail bar designed to suit the diner’s new cocktail program (which, selfishly, I hope includes a standout margarita).
Carnesi also revealed in an interview with the Soup & Salad podcast that Kellogg’s will share the same designer as Nura, Nico Arze, and feature a 90-item menu (pared down, if you can believe it). There’s also hopes of eventually offering rooftop dining.
Until closing time, Kellogg’s is open with a truncated menu of smash burgers, chicken pot pie, steak frites, shrimp and grits, penne alla vodka, and more, and it also features a note from new management acknowledging the longstanding history of the diner with a promise to respect it while still breathing new life into the aesthetics and menu. Let’s hope the Girls “good soup” legacy will live on.