Times Square Arrival Caps Six-Year Expansion Surge Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley will open its first New York location—and largest to date—on October 3 at 7 Times Square, one block south of the New Year's Eve ball drop. The 10,000-square-foot, two-story space will be the ninth location for the Southern comfort food concept, which has grown from a single Dallas restaurant opened in August 2020 to locations in Chicago, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Miami. Founded and solely owned by attorney Kevin Kelley without outside investors or franchising, the concept will follow the Times Square opening with locations in Boston and New Orleans later in 2026. The company operates from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until midnight Friday and Saturday.
Menu and Design Strategy The Times Square location features the concept's signature dishes: Shrimp & Grits; Chicken & Waffles with sautéed shrimp and peppers reduced with white wine and finished with cream sauce; Southern Fried Catfish, described as cornmeal-crusted Mississippi catfish; Lobster & Waffles with fried or grilled lobster tail served with homemade waffles; Crab Cakes made with jumbo lump crab, Cajun spices and remoulade; and Trinity Egg Rolls, deep-fried egg rolls stuffed with mac & cheese, candied yams and greens with turkey, served with sweet and spicy sauce. Signature cocktails include the 24K Gold Fashioned, described as "warm amber comfort with a glossy, modern edge that is smooth, rich and built for the evening"; Blackberry Margarita with "blackberry-forward, bright lime and a clean tequila finish"; the Peach D'USSÉ Frosé, a "national best-seller" described as "frozen rosé vibes with juicy peach and a smooth, luxe edge that is sweet, chilled and dangerously easy"; and True Flame, a fire-service cocktail presented as "a dramatic spectacle of fire and flavor that is warm, bold and unforgettable." The design features undulating wave-slatted wooden ceilings, vibrant cultural murals, and dense floral installations across multiple dining areas, an expansive bar, and a private dining room.
Origin and Philosophy Kelley, born in Arkansas and raised in Texas, began cooking at age seven alongside his grandmother. "She taught him that feeding people was about more than putting food on the table—it was a way of letting them know they mattered," according to the release. While working in Paris years later, Kelley said he craved the Southern cooking and sense of home he had grown up with, an experience that helped inspire the Kitchen + Kocktails concept. "Opening Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley in New York is an incredible milestone for us," Kelley said. "Times Square gives us the opportunity to introduce our brand on one of the world's biggest stages, but we're building this restaurant for New York. Whether you're coming from Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Manhattan or visiting from across the country or around the world, we want you to walk through our doors and feel like this is your restaurant. That's what 'Welcome Home' means to us." Reservations open October 3 at kitchenkocktailsusa.com/newyork.
Why It Matters
The Times Square opening signals confidence in elevated casual dining's viability in a high-traffic, tourism-dependent market. For operators, Kelley's growth trajectory—scaling from zero to nine units in six years without external capital or franchising—offers a model for owner-operator expansion in major metros. The concept's emphasis on immersive design and hospitality reflects shifting consumer expectations around experiential dining in competitive urban markets.
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Written by FBM Publications Editors
