New York chef James Kent passes away, Six Flags adds a luxury safari resort to its onsite offerings, and Hines Architecture + Design envisions a 14-acre African American memorial park in Texas. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
The restaurant world remembers James Kent
Photo by Kelt T
Chef Jamal “James” Kent passed away from a heart attack on Saturday at the age of 45. As news of Kent’s death spread, the restaurant industry took to social media to share fond memories and tributes to the beloved chef, whose New York concepts include Saga, Crown Shy, and Overstory. Kent trained at Le Cordon Bleu and Johnson & Wales University; worked in the kitchens of Jean-Georges and Eleven Madison Park, among others; and won the Bocuse d’Or USA in 2010. In remembrance, Grub Street pulled together anecdotes from colleagues and loved ones that provide a glimpse into the man behind Saga Hospitality Group. “Obviously working in restaurants is not the easiest thing, but I think that working with him for the last 10 years is the best years I’ll have,” says Jassimran Singh, Saga’s culinary director. “I’m going to miss him every day for the rest of my life.”
Six Flags launches a safari glamping experience
Photo courtesy of Six Flags Great Adventure Resort
Want to go on a safari vacation? Look no further than Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. This month, the 510-acre amusement park added the Savannah Sunset Resort & Spa to its existing Wild Safari Adventure attraction, reports Bloomberg. The upscale glamping retreat includes 20 tented suites, which start at $599 per night and can accommodate between two and six people. Reservations include multi-park admission, private transportation, and breakfast daily, and Savannah Sunset boasts an onsite restaurant and spa. “We needed to really deliver things that were special,” says Six Flags chief marketing officer Edithann Velez Ramey.
Construction begins on the third-largest African American memorial in the U.S.
Rendering courtesy of Hines Architecture + Design
Juneteenth celebrations took place throughout the U.S. on Wednesday, including in Kendleton, Texas, where construction broke ground on a $10 million African American memorial at Bates M. Allen Park. According to The Architect’s Newspaper, the 14-acre, two-phase project, envisioned by Houston-based Hines Architecture + Design, will connect two historic Black cemeteries (Newman Chapel Cemetery and Oak Hill Cemetery) and yield the Juneteenth Plaza as well as the African American Learning Center at Bates Park. “The primary driver for me was to acknowledge the contributions of African Americans to Fort Bend County,” says firm founder Daimian Hines. “The memorial is designed to reflect fragmentation in the African American diaspora. It leverages the site’s richness to tell a story about movement, migration, and the scattering of people away from their established ancestral homeland. It’s a testament to how our fragmented history is filled in by collective memory.” Phase one is expected to be completed by Juneteenth 2025.
How Kayne West ruined an architectural treasure
Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
Last week, The New Yorker released an in-depth piece about the rise—and fall—of a beach house in Malibu. The residence isn’t just any home—it’s the work of celebrated Japanese architect Tadao Ando (completed in 2013) and its demise came at the hand of current owner Kanye West, who now goes by Ye. The article goes into great detail about Ando’s background and philosophy, how the house came to be, and all that led to its current state of ruin, including accounts from the handyman hired to demolish the concrete architectural gem. Ye purchased the home for $57.3 million in 2021 and listed the shell of the property earlier this year for $53 million before discounting the price to $39 million in April. “The path from an idea to a built thing is long, expensive, collaborative, and difficult to reverse,” Ian Parker, staff writer at The New Yorker, writes.
What’s trending in nightlife, according to experts at HD Expo
I Love the Nightlife panelists Michael Waltman, Mike Snedegar, Philip Loomis, Christopher LaPorte, and Jennie Yip with moderator Alissa Ponchione at HD Expo 2024; photo by PWP Studio
At HD Expo + Conference in Las Vegas, five nightlife industry authorities came together to discuss the ever-evolving segment. The I Love the Nightlife: Shifts in Cocktailing and Afterhours session featured Philip Loomis of Drai’s Beachclub, Mike Snedegar of Mike Snedegar Consulting, Christopher LaPorte of RESET, Michael Waltman of Fontainebleau Development, and Jennie Yip of Jenjuice Hospitality + COHJO. Major conversation points included the growing draw of exclusivity and venues upholding no-camera policies, as well as how today’s partygoers prefer a one-stop shop for their evening. Read our full recap.
