Patina Restaurant Group is getting back to the stand-alone restaurant game

After 35 years of building restaurants within high-profile cultural and entertainment venues, Patina Restaurant Group is getting back into the free-standing restaurant game.

Owned by contract-management company Delaware North, Patina Restaurant Group is known for its collection of roughly 30 bi-coastal restaurants, from the elegant Lincoln Ristorante in New York’s Lincoln Center, to the high-volume, totally immersive Space 220 at Epcot in Walt Disney World.

Earlier this year, the group brought Michelin-starred Mexican chef Carlos Gaytán to Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California, with the opening of three concepts: Paseo, Céntrico and Tiendita, and that side of the business continues to grow.

The interior of Paseo in Downtown Disney. | Photo courtesy of Patina Restaurant Group

Patina in January named a new president: John Kolaski, the former CEO of Los Angeles-based K2 Restaurants, who now oversees the restaurant division, as well as Patina Catering.

(The group also has a broad sports portfolio (led by Jamie Obletz) with foodservice operations for events like the Ryder Cup, the PGA and stadiums across the country.)

Meanwhile, Patina is developing an American brasserie concept that will debut in New York next year. The name and details have not been finalized, but it will be the first free-standing concept launch for the company in some time.

Kolaski said it will likely be in a high-volume location, and will position as a frequent-use kind of restaurant, where guests might enjoy a weeknight dinner, a group event or brunch on a weekend.

“This brasserie is really going to be the launch for Patina Restaurant Group of a brand that we look to expand worldwide,” he said. “We are incredible curators of unique experiences. You can see across our portfolio, from the cultural institutions to Disney to the incredible environments in which we operate, we tend to have a more one-off approach to what we’ve done. And the American brasserie is really going to take the value and the learnings of our 35-year history and apply it to growing a brand that we can scale.”

Of course, Patina has long operated free-standing restaurant concepts, like Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse in downtown Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1989 by acclaimed chef Joachim Splichal, who founded the acclaimed restaurant Patina in Westside Los Angeles, later moving it into the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003.

Splichal then built Patina Catering, which was known as the official caterer for some of the city’s most-glamorous events, from the Emmy Awards to the Oscars. In 1999, Patina Group merged with the long-established Restaurant Associates, based in New York, which was known for creating unique  restaurants in venues like Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera House, the Empire State Building and more. Delaware North acquired a majority stake in Patina Restaurant Group in 2014.

Now the vast majority of Patina’s concepts are in highly trafficked locations, like several outlets at the Italy pavilion at Epcot, and Banners Kitchen & Tap next to TD Garden in Boston.

Kolaski estimates the company’s space-themed restaurant at Epcot in Orlando—serving upscale, contemporary fare aboard the fictional Centauri Space Station—is one of the busiest restaurants on the planet, averaging about 1,400 people per day with about 360 seats, for example.

Space 220 in Orlando's Epcot Center imagines what dining in a space station would be like. | Photo courtesy of Patina Restaurant Group.

Similarly, the new Centrico on the West Coast, which opened literally in the center of Downtown Disney in April, is already serving about 1,200 margaritas a day in an all-outdoor setting.

Paseo is a more elevated experience, with a menu that evokes Gaytan’s childhood in Mexico. Dishes include the pork dish cochinita pibil; roasted octopus with creamy tuna aioli, or mussels with saffron, chorizo and pickled jalapenos.

Tiendita, meanwhile, is a more quick-service option with self-service kiosks and counter service.

There’s more in the works. Patina also handles foodservice for the LA County Museum of Art, known as LACMA, which is undergoing a $700 million renovation, including new dining outlets, that is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

Fundamentally, consumers are looking for more elevated experiences at captive-audience venues, whether it’s a performing arts hall or sports stadium, from the quality of the food and drink to details like the fabric on chairs, how liquor bottles are displayed on the bar, or greenery around the space, said Kolaski.

“They’re comparing a Saturday night at an event with a Saturday night that they could go to an incredible Michelin-starred restaurant,” he said. “You’re spending that type of money.”

But Kolaski said there’s also the need to meet consumers at all price points at these kinds of venues.

“You can’t be everything to everyone,” he added, “But we want guests to feel they get value out of the experience.”

UPDATE: This article has been updated to clarify John Kolaski's role.