Who

Bradley is a chef and the restaurateur responsible for the Red Cat and the Harrison.

Backstory

Jimmy Bradley says that as a kid he dreamed of opening his own restaurant by the time he was 30. In 1999, his dream came true—he was just a year behind schedule. Following stints as a chef at Bryant Park Grill and Flowers, Bradley borrowed money from 20 friends to go out on his own, teaming up with partner Danny Abrams to open the Red Cat on a then-desolate stretch of Tenth Avenue in 1999. The Red Cat quickly became a Chelsea fixture—paving the way for a slew of eateries that later opened in the neighborhood—and the duo followed up with the Harrison in Tribeca, the first downtown restaurant to launch after Sept. 11th. In 2003, Bradley and Abrams opened the Mermaid Inn, a seafood joint in the East Village, to critical praise.

Of note

By 2003, with three bustling restaurants under their belts, Bradley and Abrams had created a downtown mini-empire and were on track to gross $10 million annually. Their 2004 Tribeca venture, Pace, didn't fare as well, though. Earning mediocre reviews, it never managed to achieve the popularity, buzz, or neighborhood followings of the duo's previous creations, and closed in 2005. The failure seems to have soured the Bradley-Abrams partnership. In May 2006, the duo went their separate ways and divvied up the eateries: Bradley kept the Red Cat and the Harrison, while Abrams got the Mermaid Inn.

For the record

A handful of buzzy young chefs in town are alums of Bradley's kitchens. Harold Dieterle, chef of Perilla and victor of Top Chef (Season 1), used to be the sous chef at the Harrison. Joey Campanaro of the Little Owl cut his teeth at the Red Cat and Pace.

Personal

Bradley lives in Chelsea, a few blocks from the Red Cat.

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