The Spotted Pig

The Spotted Pig was a gastropub located at 314 West 11th Street (at Greenwich Street) in the West Village in Manhattan in New York City.^[1][2] The 100-seat gastropub was owned by Ken Friedman. Mario Batali was a primary investor. The chef was April Bloomfield, a British expatriate celebrity chef who was hired after flying to New York and interviewing with Mario Batali and Friedman.^[2] The restaurant held a single Michelin Star from about 2006 to 2016.^[3] The restaurant closed on January 26, 2020.^[4]

The Spotted Pig
Restaurant information
Established	2004; 21 years ago (2004)
Closed	2020; 5 years ago (2020)
Owner(s)	Ken Friedman
Chef	April Bloomfield
Food type	European (modern), gastropub, hamburgers[1]
City	New York City
State	New York
Postal/ZIP Code	10014
Country	United States
Seating capacity	100

Restaurant sign

Sexual harassment and assault controversy

In December 2017, owner Ken Friedman was accused of multiple cases of sexual harassment in an article published in the New York Times. The authors interviewed many employees who said April Bloomfield was aware of his behavior, but did nothing to shield employees from it. The article included the statement that "several other employees say they also brought their complaints and concerns about Mr. Friedman to Ms. Bloomfield. Her response was always the same. 'That's who he is. Get used to it. Or go work for someone else'". April Bloomfield was also aware of her restaurant's third floor nickname, "the rape room". Mario Batali and Jay-Z, were investors, were frequent visitors and Batali was also accused of criminal behavior on the third floor.^[5][6] Friedman subsequently resigned from management duties of their restaurant group.^[7] Shortly after in December 2017, Bloomfield posted an apology on Twitter for not protecting her staff.^[8] On January 7, 2020, Ken Friedman agreed to pay $240,000 and 20% of his profits to former employees who accused him of sexual harassment and discrimination.^[9]

See also

• List of restaurants in New York City

References

1. "The Spotted Pig". Zagat. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
2. "The Spotted Pig". New York Magazine. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
3. Sutton, Ryan (November 11, 2016). "Bib Gourmand Shocker: The Spotted Pig Loses Its Michelin Star". Eater NY. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
4. Moskin, Julia; Severson, Kim (January 27, 2020). "The Spotted Pig, Where Employees Were Sexually Harassed, Closes". The New York Times.
5. Moskin, Julia (December 12, 2017). "Ken Friedman, Power Restaurateur, Is Accused of Sexual Harassment". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
6. Jaeger, Max (October 16, 2018). "Spotted Pig chef April Bloomfield knew 'rape room' had a dicey reputation". Retrieved December 9, 2024.
7. Dai, Serena (December 12, 2017). "The Spotted Pig's Ken Friedman Accused of Sexual Harassment". Eater. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
8. @AprilBloomfield (December 14, 2017). "Statement" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
9. Dai, Serena (January 7, 2020). "Ken Friedman Is Leaving the Spotted Pig After Misconduct Settlement With the State". Eater NY. Retrieved January 15, 2020.

40°44′8.23″N 74°0′24.2″W