Palo Alto: Will renowned chef José Andrés bail on Stanford Shopping Center restaurant plan?

A Mediterranean restaurant from renowned chef José Andrés, founder of the nonprofit World Central Kitchen, has been in the works as the culinary anchor of Stanford Shopping Center’s newest redevelopment project.

But, just a month after the public was clued in, the plans are in flux. If his chefs can’t cook with gas, Andrés may not come to Palo Alto after all.

At issue is the city’s recent natural gas ban and how that affects a gas line already installed — and previously approved, the center’s owners contend — for use at the planned restaurant, Zaytinya.

Attorneys for the Simon Property Group (SPG), which owns the shopping center, have threatened to sue if the city refuses to allow the use of the gas line and insists on an all-electric building, Palo Alto Online first reported. Their April 28 letter was discussed at a May 8 closed session, but the city has not issued an update or statement.

Zaytinya relies on “traditional cooking methods that require gas appliances to achieve its signature, complex flavors,” said the letter from Anna C. Shimko of the San Francisco law firm of Burke, Williams and Sorensen. “Some of its more conventional cooking equipment can be made electric, but other unique pieces of gas-fired equipment critical for Zaytinya’s success do not have electrically powered equivalents.”

And if there’s no gas? “Zaytinya would be forced to alter its signature five-star menu, which it is unwilling to do,” the letter went on to say. “Zaytinya cannot compromise the caliber of its cuisine and reputation and if SPG cannot provide gas in Building EE, Zaytinya will likely choose not to locate within the City.”

The José Andrés Group operates 19 restaurant concepts, including Zaytinya locations in New York City and Washington, D.C.

According to a lengthy timeline in the letter, the Macy’s Men’s Store was demolished to make way for a huge development that will include a three-story Restoration Hardware (RH Building), a two-story Wilkes Bashford store and a one-story restaurant building (Building EE).

All approvals, the letter said, predate the city’s ban on gas connections in new buildings, which was approved in October 2022 and went into effect Jan. 1 of this year: “The City’s Architectural Review Board on February 20, 2020 approved plans clearly depicting Building EE with a gas line to serve the building (“Gas Line Approval”). Consonant with the Gas Line Approval, the City granted a site permit for utility work that included the gas line solely to serve Building EE. SPG installed the gas line, and SPG will imminently submit plans for building permit issuance for Building EE, which is intended to house the internationally renowned José Andrés restaurant Zaytinya, as well as Dumpling Time restaurant.”