CENTRAL HARLEM — Popular Brooklyn-based South African restaurant Madiba is opening a second outpost next month inside a massive event space on West 116th Street.
Madiba Harlem, as it will be known to distinguish it from its Fort Greene counterpart, will occupy the 150-seat dining room at events space MIST, as well as running a small cafe and a wine bar within the 20,000-square-foot space, officials from the venue said.
The menu will be the same, but the vibe and decor will be "relaxed luxe," said Theresa O'Neal, a branding strategist for MIST, the $21 million performance space that's been open for two years.
The Southern-influenced restaurant Harvist opened in the space in January 2013, but closed soon after.
"They needed a strong culinary partner to get back on track," explained O'Neal, of the fallout following the loss of MIST's founding CEO, Roland Laird Jr., who died unexpectedly of a heart attack in February 2013. That left the event space, which hosts comedy shows, films, dance performances and talks, without a leader, she noted.
"The place went into a bit of disorganization because of the lack of leadership," O'Neal said.
Madiba has a strong following in Brooklyn and is known for hosting various events, from parties for President Obama's inaugurations to World Cup viewings. The style of restaurant Madiba operates fits the bill for what MIST wanted to bring into the space, O'Neal said, marking a sort of "re-launch" for the venue.
Madiba owner Mark Henegan did not return a request for comment.
The partnership between MIST and the eatery made sense because the space sits next to a large African market in an area known as Little Senegal for its large Senegalese population, O'Neal said. African cuisine appealed to owners Carlton Brown and Walter Edwards, who also own the mixed-use Kalahari Condos above the space, she added.
In addition to the wine bar and cafe, which can host up to 600 people in all, there are three movie theaters behind the restaurant that seat 348 people.
Harlem diners are expecting something a little more upscale than Madiba Brooklyn's laid-back vibe, said O'Neal, so the furniture and decor are going to be "eclectic chic." Much of it is still being hand-selected by Henegan, she explained, and paintings by contemporary South African artists will hang on the wall.
South African food mixes Indian and East Asian flavors, with influences from French, English and Dutch cuisines, said the new Madiba Harlem head chef Matias Delsart, who was brought on to oversee the new kitchen.
"We try to find more weird food, like frog legs and venison, and fish from the South African ocean," he said.
The cafe, which will serve croissants and muffins straight from the kitchen, as well as coffee and juice, will open any day now, O'Neal said. The wine bar and restaurant will open next, with a Dec. 1 target date.
Ideally, a visitor could move through the various spaces and from day to night, O'Neal said.
"The dream of the space was to have an international cultural destination," she added.
