Yann de Rochefort wants his Spanish tapas bar and restaurants to satisfy not only the palate but the heart and spirit of his patrons, too.
The New York-based restaurateur opened Boqueria in Colony Square on Tuesday. It’s the 11th location of the Barcelona-inspired eatery.
De Rochefort said Atlanta’s restaurant scene and the midtown location are the perfect fit for Boqueria, where “no table is complete” without paella.
Boquiera’s paella dishes include costilla, a short rib with Turkish figs, Piparra peppers and roasted bone marrow; mariscos, served with monkfish, sepia, squid, shrimp, clams, mussels, saffron and salsa verde; and verduras, served with eggplant, broccoli, peas, grape tomato, piquillo, peppers, saffron and salsa verde.
All are gluten-free and served with Bomba rice.
“What I love about restaurants is it really impacts people’s lives so intensely,” de Rochefort said. “I run what is really, in the great scheme of things, a very small business, and yet we’ve impacted millions of people over the course of years. People have celebrated engagements, anniversaries, first dates while dining at our restaurants. I think we make people’s lives better. I hope we’ve made employees’ lives better.”
De Rochefort opened his first Boquiera location in New York City’s Flatiron district in 2006. New York is home to 4 of his 11 locations.
Born in France, de Rochefort’s love of Spanish food and tapas came about during visits to Spain. He spent summers there as well as his senior year of high school, he said.
Tapas food sets the stage for a gathering space, which inspires the restaurateur, a former executive in the consumer goods industry.
“We came up with products, and they sat on shelves, and that was sort of satisfying, but it pales in comparison to the feeling I get when I walk into one of our restaurants,” he said.
Boqueria validates two hours of parking in the Colony Square garage.
