Chef Alon Shaya Steps Out on His Own With New Company

Superstar chef Alon Shaya, who began using the hashtag #shayarestaurantgroup on social media months before he split from the John Besh Restaurant Group, has officially launched the company widely speculated to be in the works — but it’s not called Shaya Restaurant Group.

The award-winning chef announced his new company, Pomegranate Hospitality, on the website and social media yesterday. In a note on the website, he wrote:

I could not be more excited to announce the launch of our new company, Pomegranate Hospitality. Together, we will work to create an organization of meaningful and lasting relationships, that will include dining, community engagement and opportunities for all involved to prosper and achieve their personal and professional goals.

Currently, there are no restaurants listed under the new company’s umbrella, leading to some speculation about whether or not the chef will succeed in buying Shaya Restaurant from the John Besh Restaurant Group. No longer calling the company Shaya Restaurant Group leads questions whether he will have the rights to his name any time soon.

Since splitting from the Besh Restaurant Group, both sides reported that negotiations were underway for Alon Shaya to purchase his namesake restaurant. “Though I remain fully committed to the possibility of acquiring Shaya restaurant in the near future, I look forward to turning the page in my next chapter here in New Orleans and beyond,” Shaya said in his note on the Pomegranate Hospitality site.

The Shaya/Besh split came to light in mid-September. A couple days after Brett Anderson reported the stunning news, Alon Shaya was out as the executive chef at all three of the restaurants he previously helmed, including his namesake restaurant.

“Though I am sadly no longer involved in the operations of the restaurants that I have labored in and loved so dearly for so long, my heart is still there, especially with the amazing people who work so hard to make them great. They have made my life better,” Shaya wrote in his note yesterday.

Along with the new company, he is launching the Shaya Barnett Foundation, a foundation with the mission to provide culinary education and resources to high school students.

MORE READING

• A Note From Alon Shaya [website]
• Will Alon Shaya Leave the NOLA Restaurants That Made Him Famous? [EATER]
• Chefs John Besh and Alon Shaya Are Parting Ways [NOLA.COM]
• Alon Shaya Replaced as Executive Chef at Shaya and Domenica [NOLA.COM]
• Chef Alon Shaya’s New Book Is as Much a Memoir as It Is a Cookbook [EATER]