Locally sourced ingredients will rule the day at Chef Deckman’s new restaurant (Courtesy photo)
Restaurant, North Park

Get Ready for 31ThirtyOne in North Park

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

Michelin-star chef Drew Deckman will be rolling into North Park with his new sustainable restaurant sooner than we expected.

Named after its numerical address on University Avenue, 31ThirtyOne has been teasingly in the works ever since we learned last year that Deckman took over the space previously occupied by the three-level Huxton Manor.

Deckman’s original moniker for the 4,200-square-foot venture was Watershed. But that was recently scratched when he discovered the name is trademarked by an existing restaurant in northern California.

This will be Deckman’s first project on U.S. soil after establishing an international fanbase that has come to cherish his acclaimed Deckman’s en el Mogor in Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe. The North Park venture is expected to open in May rather than later this year as we were originally told.

A stickler for sustainable cooking and farming practices, Deckman spent more than a decade working in kitchens throughout Europe alongside masters such as Paul Bocuse, Jacques Maximin, and Madeleine Kamman. Along the way he earned a coveted Michelin Star for his leadership at Germany’s Restaurant Vitus.

31ThirtyOne promises an “earth-to-table” menu featuring elegant dishes of locally sourced produce and proteins, including organic veggies hailing from Deckman’s farm 30 miles north of here. It will feature a first-floor dining room and cocktail bar; a 10-seat chef’s counter and oyster bar that look onto the kitchen; a private dining room; and a rooftop patio offering drinks and a la carte dishes.