(Bloomberg) -- For a decade, New York has had two competing Italian power dining spots. Downtown is Carbone, the celebrity-stacked, red sauce restaurant in Greenwich Village. Uptown, on Central Park South is the polished, cream colored Marea, the setting for countless C-suite meals both in reality and in shows like Succession.

The two restaurants are now operating under the same ownership. Major Food Group, whose empire includes Carbone and the members-only ZZ’s Club in New York and Miami, are partnering with the Altamarea Group, owners of Marea. The restaurant will come under the MFG umbrella and be expanded globally, according to Jeff Zalaznick, co-founder of Major Food Group. 

The partnership with Altamarea Group and founder and chief executive officer, Ahmass Fakahany, covers only Marea  and not the group’s other restaurants like Ai Fiori in Manhattan or Morini, which has four locations including one in Washington.

“Marea is an incredible restaurant we have always admired and it’s one of the few places that shares customers with us in New York,” says Zalaznick. “To have it in our portfolio and to bring it to the rest of the country and the world  is huge for us.” 

This doesn’t mean that MFG co-founders and chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi will walk into the Marea kitchen and start changing things up. Carbone restaurants are known for a specific, homey style of Italian-American cooking: Meals start with baskets of tomato-topped bread and the most famous dish on the menu is spicy vodka rigatoni. Marea, which opened in 2009 across from Central Park, channels an inspired take on coastal Italy with dishes like sea urchin spaghetti and fusilli with octopus and bone marrow. That won’t change.

Marea’s design, which evokes a yacht interior, will likewise not be altered; don’t look for the famed neon-style Carbone sign to be put up on West 59th Street any time soon. “Everything stays the same,” says Zalaznick.

Fakahany said he was delighted with the outcome. “MFG’s formidable strengths and client base complement our own. They are a leader in creating today’s premier dining experiences and this is a huge win for both our clients,” he says. “I’m proud of this innovative partnership with Jeff and the entire MFG team to propel Marea globally into its next growth chapter.”

The deal took effect in early January, according to Zalaznick. Fakahany was paid an undisclosed amount of money in the deal and retains an ownership stake in the business. The partnership with Marea is the first of what Zalaznick says is the next chapter for MFG: “We are going into the business of acquiring incredible historic brands and bringing them into the Major Food ecosystem to expand,” he says. “There will be more signings like this to come.”

Conversations about the acquisition started over a year ago, according to Zalaznick. Among the cities under consideration for Marea’s expansion is Miami, which could happen by the end of this year. MFG already has a strong foothold there with restaurants that are staples for the relocated Wall Street South audience, including the newly-opened Mexican spot Chateau ZZ. 

As it happens, Marea — which, like Carbone was stripped of Michelin stars in 2022 — is scheduled to open its first outpost in Beverly Hills in the spring. The West Coast expansion pre-dates the partnership. 

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