Today, The Feast New York posts exclusive footage of the tearing-down-and-building-back-up of one of the most famous restaurants in America, the 25-year-old French shrine to seafood, Le Bernardin. On the eve of its official re-opening after a summer hiatus during which they gutted the restaurant, we get three shorts: In "The Before," chef/owner Eric Ripert explains why the transformation was critical, despite coasting through the recession and having a record year. "We don't want to be static, because in New York if you are static, you are behind," he says.
In The Feast's second video, "Under Construction," Ripert takes us on a hard hat tour of the space getting ripped up before becoming a more "luxurious, convivial, sexy" spot—per the key words Ripert fed design firm Bentel & Bentel.
And finally, in "The After," a candidly nervous and emotional Ripert sits down with The Feast on the second night of friends and family previews to discuss the end result. The restaurant will re-open on Friday, September 9. [The Feast NY]