Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani is bringing his cuisine to Naftali Group’s Williamsburg Wharf. Shani’s restaurant group, Good People Group, inked a 4,000-square-foot lease on the ground floor of Naftali’s sprawling Williamsburg development. This is the first retail lease at the five-tower, 1 million-square-foot project going up on the Brooklyn waterfront. A spokesperson for Naftali did not immediately respond to a request for the asking rent.
The $600 million development will have 950 units across five 22-story towers. Williamsburg’s condo market is smaller than other areas of the city, and prices still lag behind prime Manhattan neighborhoods, but Naftil is aiming to create an “urban resort” that will keep residents away from their vacation homes on weekends and holidays.
Shani and his partner Shahar Segal plan to bring “a one-of-a-kind new restaurant concept” to the 3 3/4-acre development. They operate more than 40 restaurants across the world, including Malka, a Kosher restaurant with locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The chef has not released details on the Williamsburg restaurant.
Sales launched in September at the project’s first residential tower, One Williamsburg Wharf. Naftali is also gearing up to start leasing at Two Williamsburg Wharf and Three Williamsburg Wharf, with move-ins estimated for this spring. Retail tenants are expected to move in starting in late 2025.
Shani is a self-taught chef who started his career in Jerusalem in 1989 with the high-end seafood restaurant Ocean and he became known for his bouillabaisse according to the New York Times.