Marlon Abela, chairman and chief executive of the Marlon Abela Restaurant Corporation, is to launch a second A Voce restaurant in New York, Caterer has learnt.

Abela, who owns London restaurants the Greenhouse and Umu as well as private members’ club Morton’s, opened his first Italian A Voce restaurant in downtown Manhattan in 2006.

For the second outlet he will take over the site of Café Gray in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circus in June.

He plans to close the restaurant for a six-month refurbishment and reopen it in under the A Voce guise January next year.

Overlooking Central Park, the restaurant is spread over 10,000sq m and currently includes a 120-seat main dining room alongside a 35-cover bar and a 65-seat private dining room.

Abela told Caterersearch A Voce has been an instant hit in New York. “This is a phenomenal opportunity to bring the success of downtown New York to uptown Manhattan,” he said.

“The site at the Time Warner Center was just too irresistible to walk away from, and I am very excited to bring a second A Voce here.”

Openings: A Voce, New York >>

Michelin-starred Greenhouse restaurant to close for refurbishment >>

Marlon Abela - Caterersearch profile >>

Metro’s Marina O’Loughlin finds a trip to the Greenhouse fantastically expensive and fantastically good >>

By Kerstin Kühn

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