Friday, April 29, 2016

News Elsewhere: NYC's Pearl Oyster Bar to Open in Kennebunk, ME

A popular "upscale lobster shack" in New York City is expanding to Southern Maine, and it is a homecoming of sorts for the restaurant's owner.

According to a job post within the Craigslist site, Rebecca Charles of Pearl Oyster Bar in the West Village of Manhattan is opening another location of the dining spot in Kennebunk, ME, which is where her family has summered for many decades and where she worked at the landmark White Barn Inn as executive chef in the 1980s, according to Pearl's website. It is not yet known where in Kennebunk the new location of Pearl will be, nor is it known when it might open; as soon as we find out more, we will post an update here.

Pearl Oyster Bar, which is known in part for its lobster rolls, has received much praise since opening in 1997, with the eatery being picked as a semifinalist for the 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards for outstanding restaurant. Another page within the restaurant's site shows that the eatery has also gotten recognition from Gourmet Magazine, Bon Appetit, and the Washington Post, and celebrity chef and restaurateur Mario Batali is quoted as calling it "...my favorite lunch spot on the planet..."

The address for the original Pearl Oyster Bar in the West Village is 18 Cornelia Street, New York, NY, 10014.

Follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston


[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]