{"id":116103,"date":"2025-08-03T17:13:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T17:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/116103\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T17:13:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T17:13:24","slug":"olmsted-is-closing-in-prospect-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/116103\/","title":{"rendered":"Olmsted Is Closing in Prospect Heights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chef Greg Baxtrom\u2019s standout Prospect Heights restaurant Olmsted <\/a>will close August 17 after nearly a decade, he announced on Instagram<\/a>. Olmsted, named for the famous landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmsted, who shaped the design of public spaces such as Prospect Park and Central Park in New York, opened to much fanfare in 2016. It was in the process of being saved, he said in his post, but efforts fell through.<\/p>\n

The announcement comes weeks after Baxtrom shuttered nearby Patti Ann\u2019s<\/a>, the midwestern-leaning restaurant and bakery named after his mother. He is still running 5 Acres<\/a> in Rockefeller Center.<\/p>\n

When it debuted, Olmsted \u201cwas originally focused on steak-and-potatoes accessibility. But that isn\u2019t quite how it played out,\u201d Eater wrote in sizing up how it became \u201cthe hottest restaurant<\/a> in Brooklyn\u201d by 2017.<\/p>\n

A native of Chicago, Baxtrom opened his first restaurant in New York after working at acclaimed restaurants like Mugaritz in Spain, Atera and Per Se in New York, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown. He once described himself as the \u201c18-year-old with braces\u201d working in the kitchen at Chicago\u2019s Alinea \u2014 and, fittingly, his Prospect Heights restaurant recently hosted the Alinea pop-up in honor of its 20th anniversary.<\/a><\/p>\n

Olmsted reflects Baxtrom\u2019s experiences, incorporating a working garden where diners could enjoy cocktails a stone\u2019s throw from live quail<\/a>. His menus displayed playful, seasonal dishes like watermelon sushi, the famous carrot crepe with clams, guinea hen two ways, and desserts like the frozen yogurt with whipped lavender honey. And while prices were more expensive than what had been in the neighborhood, they were \u201clow\u201d compared to similar caliber restaurants, Pete Wells said in a two-star New York Times review<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Baxtrom outlines some of his reasons to close in his Instagram post. \u201cDeciding to close a restaurant is never based on a single decision, but rather on many factors.\u201d First, he cites his decision to get sober<\/a> five years ago, when \u201cit became clear that I needed to prioritize my mental health over the restaurants if I was going to continue living. However, I find it challenging to practice this in real life.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, the funding that would have kept the restaurant afloat fell through. \u201cIf you are someone who appreciated what we created and would be interested in partnering with me to save Olmsted,\u201d Baxtrom says on Instagram, \u201cplease reach out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baxtrom told Eater that their pre-COVID expansion had become \u201ca bit of dead weight,\u201d he says. The plan was to revert the restaurant to its original size. \u201cIt just required investment. Beyond my means.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also spoke of his hopes that Vanderbilt Avenue would have become more of a destination street, with Akhtar Nawab opening Alta Calidad<\/a> in 2017, along with Joe Campanale and Erin Shambura opening nearby Fausto in the old Franny\u2019s space that same year. \u201cI hoped more big restaurateurs were going to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, \u201cVanderbilt is surprisingly a very difficult neighborhood to navigate,\u201d he says. Before announcing the closing of Olmsted and Patti Ann\u2019s, Baxtrom shuttered Petit Patate after eight months<\/a> in 2023; moving that restaurant to Illinois has not yet come to fruition.<\/p>\n

On his Instagram post, he says he has \u201cno desire to leave the industry I love; it brings me so much joy.\u201d And over DM with Eater, Baxtrom says that perhaps he\u2019d like to eventually open something in Chicago. \u201cMy folks are getting older and I\u2019d like to be there more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Family ties have always shaped Baxtrom\u2019s work. Patti Ann\u2019s<\/a> that shuttered in July wasn\u2019t just an homage in name: It referenced the food he grew up on in his family\u2019s suburban Illinois household like French onion dip, port wine cheese balls, and meatloaf. It featured an interior that nodded to his mother\u2019s career as a fourth-grade teacher, with a map on the wall as decor, cubbies that his father helped him build, and a report card on the table\u2019s performance that came with the check.<\/p>\n