Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Mark Bittman’s Community Kitchen wraps up Lower East Side pilot

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Community Kitchen, the sliding-scale restaurant project from food writer and activist Mark Bittman, closed this past Saturday. 

The restaurant, located inside the Lower Eastside Girls Club at 281 E. Seventh St. and Avenue D, announced the closure via Instagram, thanking neighborhood residents for their support during their three-month run. 

"To our neighbors in the Lower East Side, thank you for welcoming us, dining with us, and sharing your feedback with us," the post reads. "You have made this pilot an incredible experience. While our pilot restaurant will be closing on December 13, we hope to stay in touch with you, continue to hear your thoughts, and build with you for the future of Community Kitchen." 

We stopped by for dinner on the restaurant's final night.
When asked about the decision, Bittman (below) told us that the concept may return. 

"We may come back," he said, adding that the project ultimately needs more space.
Community Kitchen opened to much press in September as a limited pilot designed to explore what a nonprofit, values-driven restaurant could look like — one focused on sustainability, fair wages and accessibility, while removing profit from the equation. 

The restaurant operated on Wednesday through Saturday evenings. Menus were created by James Beard Award–winning culinary director Mavis-Jay Sanders and emphasized seasonal, local, plant-forward dishes.

Pricing followed a sliding-scale model, with diners selecting a fee — $15, $45 or $125 — based on their income.
From the outset, the pilot was intended to inform a future permanent location, with plans previously pointing to an opening in early 2027. 

Did anyone from the neighborhood eat here? If so, what was your experience?
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