Citi and Urbanspace Give Three New York Chefs the Chance to Pursue Their Culinary Dreams with the Citi Urbanspace Challenge

Business Wire 21-Aug-2018 8:00 AM

Three Finalists to be Featured in Urbanspace's Fall 2018 Pop-Up Markets September 8 through November 2 for a Chance to be Awarded a Booth at Urbanspace at 570 Lex

Citi and Urbanspace today announced the three finalists of the Citi Urbanspace Challenge, a competition designed to help discover culinary entrepreneurs of tomorrow and provide them a platform to develop their business and connect with the New York market scene by offering the chance to win a booth at Urbanspace's permanent food hall located at 570 Lexington Ave. A call for entries for culinary entrepreneurs to submit a creative, fast-casual restaurant concept for the Citi Urbanspace Challenge was held from July 12 through July 23. The three finalists, who won the opportunity to operate their own booth at the Urbanspace Fall pop-up markets, courtesy of Citi, are:

• Tristan Chin-Fatt of "Destination Dumplings", who will operate at Mad. Sq. Eats from September 8 to October 5
• Sonya Samuel of "Bacchanal Sauce", who will operate at Garment District from September 17 to October 26
• Jumoke Jackson of "Soul-full Sandwiches", who will operate at Broadway Bites from September 24 to November 2

Showcasing a diverse mix of cuisines from local chefs and makers, Urbanspace's Fall 2018 pop-up markets feature some of New York's best fast-casual restaurants. Following the conclusion of the Fall 2018 pop-up markets, the winner of the Citi Urbanspace Challenge will be awarded a fully customized, branded booth at Urbanspace at 570 Lex for three months beginning January 2019, courtesy of Citi.

"Supporting local businesses in New York is extremely important to us," said Tina Davis, Managing Director of Global Sponsorships and Marketing, Citi. "The three Citi Urbanspace finalists are highly deserving of the spotlight we hope this program will provide them and their small businesses. We look forward to seeing each chef introduce their unique culinary offerings to patrons in the Urbanspace pop-up markets this fall."

The Citi Urbanspace Challenge winner will be determined by a public vote hosted on Urbanspace's website throughout the duration of the Fall 2018 pop-up markets and a panel of expert judges, including restaurateurs, culinary influencers and industry experts, judging using established criteria from Urbanspace. The eleven-member jury of experts includes:

• Abby Reisner, Content Director, Tasting Table
• Adam Platt, Restaurant Critic, New York Magazine
• Barbara Sibley, Chef & Owner, La Palapa, Creative Director, Holiday Cocktail Lounge
• Ben Hon, Influencer, @StuffBenEats
• Chef Herve Malivert, Director of Culinary Arts & Technology, International Culinary Center
• Douglas Riccardi, Owner and Creative Director, Memo NY
• Eldon Scott, President, Urbanspace
• Erin Patinkin, Co-founder and CEO, Ovenly
• Katie Harman, Blogger and Influencer, @TastesofNY
• Kobla Asamoah, Program Director, Hot Bread Kitchen
• Michael Chernow, Founder and President of Seamore's and Co-founder of The Meatball Shop

"Through the Citi Urbanspace Challenge we are giving creative chefs the opportunity to bring dreams to reality and conduct business in the heart of NYC. We firmly believe unique concepts, individual enterprise, and performance art are essential ingredients to our markets, which grow organically from within the neighborhood," said Eldon Scott, President of Urbanspace.

Urbanspace's Fall 2018 pop-up market dates and locations are as follows:

• Madison Square Eats located at Worth Square will be open Saturday, September 8 through Friday, October 5; from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily
• Garment District located on Broadway from 40th & 41st Street will be open Monday, September 17 through Friday, October 26; from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday – Saturday
• Broadway Bites located at Greeley Square will be open Monday, September 24 through Friday, November 2; from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily

Public voting for the Citi Urbanspace Challenge winner will be held at www.urbanspacenyc.com/challenge beginning September 8.

About CitiCiti, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

About UrbanspaceUrbanspace curates and develops immersive public markets where creative entrepreneurship and community flourish. Urbanspace, founded in London in 1972, developed Camden Lock Market, Container City, Spitalfields and other vibrant environments. In 1993, Eldon Scott established the U.S. operations with the founding of the Grand Central and Union Square Holiday Markets. Since then, Urbanspace has developed many successful markets across NYC including Urbanspace at 570 Lex, Urbanspace Vanderbilt, Mad. Sq. Eats, Broadway Bites, the original Dekalb Market and more. Urbanspace continues to connect small business owners and chefs with curious creativity-seeking customers by reaching out to new communities and spaces.

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