{United Provisions raw bar chef Naomi Hamamura, Ben Poremba, executive chef Tudor Seserman, and head of development Shayn Prapaisilp on Aug. 7 just before opening}
Restaurateur Ben Poremba is no longer managing operations at United Provisions‘ Dining District, the prepared food and restaurant component inside the new grocery store at 6241 Delmar Blvd., in The Loop.
Store owner Suchin Prapaisilp contracted Concepts in Food (an arm of Poremba’s parent company Bengelina Hospitality Group) to manage and operate the prepared food and food service at the coffee shop, sushi, deli counter and Dining District’s dinner service when United Provisions opened in August. Poremba also placed five employees in managerial positions there.
Two months later, the businessmen came to a crossroads. “Although we have a lot of respect for one another, our styles of management, expectations, the way they we do things and run our businesses is very different,” Poremba said. “It just made sense for us to separate.”
The contract officially ends Nov. 1. “Sometimes things don’t pan out,” said Shayn Prapaisilp, head of development for United Provisions. “We have a great respect for one another. With this particular move, it wasn’t working out for both of us. For business reasons, we decided to go our separate ways.”
Poremba’s managerial team, including raw bar chef Naomi Hamamura and executive chef Tudor Seserman, will also leave the Dining District. “(Seserman) will for sure stay with me (at Elaia),” Poremba said. “Hama is sort of up in the air. There’s a lot to figure out.”
Prapaisilp is currently reconcepting the Dining District’s future. “Nothing is decided as of yet. We will be keeping the sushi, but the other elements I can’t comment on,” he said.
Prapaisilp said managers from sister restaurants King and I, Oishi Sushi and Steakhouse in Chesterfield Valley and Oishi Sushi in Creve Coeur will join the team at United Provisions to run Dining District in the immediate future. “We want to make sure there is no interruption on the Dining District side.”
This article appears in October 2014.