Press Release: Gourmega: A Supper Club Where Fine Dining Funds Community Meals
New York, NY - April 2026 - 116 W. Houston Street has anchored Black life in lower Manhattan since the 1600s, from the Land of the Blacks, one of North America's first free African settlements, to Stephenson's The Black and Tan, a members' club where the community gathered for business and social life.
The latest chapter is Gourmega, a new supper club from Bronx-born creative collective Ghetto Gastro that carries that legacy forward - where a five-course tasting menu and a commitment to feeding neighbors in need share the same kitchen. Once known as the Land of the Blacks, this block has anchored Black life in Manhattan since the 1700’s: home to freed people, cultural institutions, and gathering spots like Stephenson's The Black and Tan. Gourmega takes root in that same soil.
The collective, composed of Jon Gray, Lester Walkter and Pierre Serrao, built a restaurant on a radical premise: every dollar spent on dinner funds a dignified meal for a neighbor in need.
Designed by AD 100’s Mariam Issoufou Architects, the interior trades hierarchical long tables for interlocking circles of three to six — designed to level every voice. A circular glass swivel door keeps the kitchen central to the experience. Alabaster tabletops, custom walnut chairs, and bronze inserts by Nigerian designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello (evoking traditional facial scarification) make the space a gallery for African American artists as much as a dining room.
Walker trained under some of the most exacting kitchens in New York, Jean George’s Spice Market, Tabla, and Fatty Crab, before bringing that discipline back to the Bronx with Ghetto Gastro. At Gourmega, he channels that foundation into a seven-course Afrocentric Asiactic Americana tasting menu rooted in shared traditions, layered flavors, and collective ritual. For those looking for something looser, Nappy Hour offers a speakeasy-spirited drinks-and-bites experience, a cultural riff and a neighborhood welcome in one.
Gourmega operates out of the Sustainable Community Kitchen of chef-led nonprofit Rethink Food, and has committed 100% of net proceeds to the organization. The Gourmega culinary team also prepares 3,200+ meals a week for community-based organizations across New York — restaurant-quality by design.
Founded in 2017 by chef Matt Jozwiak, Rethink Food is a chef-led nonprofit working to build a more equitable and sustainable food system — built on the belief that restaurants are essential infrastructure for ensuring everyone has access to good food. Since 2017, the organization has helped provide more than 35 million meals, directed over $157 million to local restaurants and small businesses, and repurposed more than 3 million pounds of food.
The Gourmega partnership deepens that model: pairing experiential dining with community care under a single roof, funded by the same guests sitting down for a seven-course meal. "Gourmega is where a great meal and real community impact happens in the same breath," said Matt Jozwiak, Founder and CEO of Rethink Food.
Reservations are taken via DM, keeping the experience intentional and intimate from the first point of contact. Gourmega marks the future of food: a restaurant built to show that community care, beautiful design and culinary excellence are one and the same.
Gourmega
116 W. Houston St.
NY, NY 10012
Hours of Operation: Wednesday - Saturday from 5pm
Reservations: @gourmega
Press Contact: jesse@thesmileycollective.co
About Ghetto Gastro
About Ghetto Gastro: Jon Gray, Pierre Serrao, and Lester Walker are the Bronx-born collective transcending food, art, music, fashion, and design—sparking conversations around inclusion, race, and economic empowerment. ghettogastro.com
About Rethink Food
About Rethink Food: Rethink Food is a chef-led nonprofit working to build a more sustainable and equitable food system. We partner with restaurants, community organizations, and food donors to prepare and distribute meals to communities that need them most. Since 2017, we've helped provide more than 35 million meals, directed over $157 million to local restaurants, and repurposed more than 3 million pounds of food. Learn more at rethinkfood.org and follow @rethinkfood on Instagram.