The Operator

Recently, we heard murmurs of a partnership between Kent Hospitality Group and Grant Reynolds’ Parcelle, two major Manhattan groups that are both less than a decade-old. The restaurateur had been spotted at Kent’s headquarters at 70 Pine Street, where he confirms that yes, his group has been advising on the wine list and some “operational stuff” at Kent’s Crown Shy, Overstory, and Saga. (Parcelle was not bought by Kent, as one false rumor went.) Last Tuesday, I learned about this and more at Raoul’s, where Reynolds and I talked business—as well as whether the iconic restaurant’s fishtank had gotten smaller—while waiting for our chance to order steak au poivre.

Founded in 2018 with Josh Abramson (who started CollegeHumor and Vimeo), Parcelle has evolved from a wine retailer into a collection of restaurants. There’s the two Parcelles; Mitsuru, an omakase place helmed by Mitsuru Tamura (a Sushi Yasuda apprentice); Tolo, a Chinese wine bar from chef Ron Yan; and Sunn’s, a banchan spot (and wine bar) from Sunny Lee. Sunn’s, a project eight years in the making and that first existed as a pop-up (last at Andrew Tarlow’s now-closed Achilles Heel), was one of 2025’s most talked about openings.