Last night, Andrew Chalk dined at The Cedars Social with Mark McWilliams of Arista Winery. Chalk asked the waitress if he could speak with executive chef Kyle McClelland. She told Chalk McClelland was not there. [He was doing a special event dinner at Campo.] She also said McClelland was leaving at the end of the month to open a restaurant in Brooklyn. According to several other people I spoke with, this “news” has been making its way around the cocktail circuit.
I just spoke with co-owner Michael Martensen. Yes, McClelland is working on a restaurant in Brooklyn but Martensen is also in on the project. “We are working out the details but it looks like Kyle and I will both go up there and help it open,” Martensen said. “It’s more or less a two-week venture. We are rocking and rolling over here. We just hired a new bartender, Aleeza Gordon, from NYC. She worked under David Chang.” So, there you have it. For now.
