Artist Lucien Smith Revives 1970s New York Restaurant FOOD in Chinatown

In October 2024, multidisciplinary artist Lucien Smith (Los Angeles, 1989) reopened FOOD, a restaurant originally run by artists that was a hub of New York's cultural scene in the 1970s. The original FOOD was founded in 1971 at 127 Prince Street in SoHo by Carol Goodden, Tina Girouard, and Gordon Matta-Clark as a hybrid entrepreneurial venture and artistic intervention. Regulars included Donald Judd, Robert Rauschenberg, and John Cage. The new location in Chinatown, opened in collaboration with the Gordon Matta-Clark estate, is not a historical replica but an attempt to reactualize the cultural model. Chef Mathieu Canet, trained at Le Saint-James and Le Dauphin in Paris, creates a simple, seasonal menu. The restaurant employs artists, offering economic support and practical skills. The original space, renovated by Matta-Clark, featured open kitchens and communal tables, anticipating his building cuts. FOOD was among the first New York restaurants to serve sushi and offer vegetarian options. The original operation lasted about three years; Smith aims to make FOOD a replicable model for cities like London, Milan, and Paris, with a potential second location in New York.