Award-winning Harlem chef JJ “Joseph” Johnson and his partner Will Sears’ rice bowl shop FIELDTRIP into two locations with Tishman Speyer.
The restaurant will open at the Rockefeller Center retail concourse and in JACX&CO, the curated dining concept space of the new LIC based office complex The JACX.
The expansion will be the group’s third and fourth locations, with its first two being in Harlem and at the US Open.
The JACX&CO location opens November 11, 2020, with Rockefeller Center slated to open in late November.
Johnson opened the first FIELDTRIP in Harlem in July, of 2019, and quickly earned rave reviews for his rice bowls featuring salmon or spicy braised beef, over grandma and granddaddy rice grains, like Texas Brown, China Black, and Carolina Gold.
The new locations offer FIELDTRIP the opportunity to continue growing the brand’s vision of being a community-building engine wherever it lands. The Harlem location became entrenched in the community when it established itself as an essential business during the COVID shutdown by feeding essential workers, children and families.
FIELDTRIP’s feed program to date has delivered over 85,000 meals and its work early on in the pandemic provided a model for a pivot strategy that many restaurants locally and nationally emulated.
FIELDTRIP’s feed program to date has delivered over 85,000 meals and its work early on in the pandemic provided a model for a pivot strategy that many restaurants locally and nationally emulated.
With the new locations at Rockefeller Center and JACX&CO, the brand is looking to connect to the local communities by touching not only tenants in the buildings, but also the many other audiences it serves – from the essential worker community to the corporate executives – and creating new jobs.
“The reason I wanted to open in Harlem was to birth a fast-casual concept out of a community that most people don’t believe in or see as a launching pad for new concepts. But I felt that if it could work in Harlem, it could work anywhere in the world. Ultimately, Harlem’s support is why we can expand,”
“The reason I wanted to open in Harlem was to birth a fast-casual concept out of a community that most people don’t believe in or see as a launching pad for new concepts. But I felt that if it could work in Harlem, it could work anywhere in the world. Ultimately, Harlem’s support is why we can expand,” said Johnson.
“We learned early on the importance of entrenching ourselves in the community and experienced how essential that is to sustaining and growing businesses in our industry. We look forward to continuing on this trajectory,” he added.
“FIELDTRIP is a perfect fit for Rockefeller Center – it is a brand built by New Yorkers for New Yorkers, and it has an authentic approach to building community. Especially during the pandemic, JJ and Will have demonstrated the grit, creativity, and resilience that is New York City, and we couldn’t be happier that they’re coming to the Center and joining our growing list of curated dining experiences,” said EB Kelly, Tishman Speyer Managing Director overseeing Rockefeller Center reports Real Estate Weekly.
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