‘The Bear’ star Jeremy Allen White’s favorite NYC restaurant vandalized with boycott graffiti
Somebody has beef with “The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White’s favorite local restaurant.
Rolo’s, a trendy cocktail and eats spot in Ridgewood, Queens, was targeted by haters, who spray-painted “Boycott Rolos” across the eatery’s outdoor dining shed and a nearby green traffic control box.
Employees at the wood-fired bar and grill told The Post that they first noticed the graffiti over the weekend and were unsure exactly when the hateful vandalism unfolded.
“We’ve never seen graffiti like that before,” Rafiq Salim, the chef and owner of Rolo’s, said in an email.
White, the native New York heartthrob who portrays chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto in the acclaimed FX show, once sang the praises of Rolo’s during a 2022 interview with late-night host Seth Meyers.
“I have this restaurant I love to go to in my neighborhood here in New York called Rolo’s,” the Golden Globe-winning actor told the comedian.
He then told how staff in the restaurant, located on the corner of Cornelia Street and Onderdonk Avenue, jokingly peppered him with what has become a beloved catchphrase from “The Bear” after the show aired.
“Three days after the show came out, everybody: ‘Chef. Yes, Chef,'” White, 33, told Meyers.
However, it is a mystery why boycott banditos now want the neighborhood to say “no, chef” to Rolo’s.
Some locals who spoke to The Post — as well as anonymous Redditors — speculated that the puzzling boycott could be linked to longstanding concerns about gentrification in the increasingly hip area of Ridgewood, near Bushwick.
The restaurant has been a symbol of gentrification to some in Ridgewood, including the Ridgewood Tenants Union, a local organization dedicated to “building power among community members to fight displacement,” according to a Grub Street report detailing the tensions.
Rolo’s landlord is real-estate developer Kermit Westergaard, according to Salim. Westergaard has bought up several properties in Ridgewood surrounding the restaurant location, earning the area the moniker of “Kermitville,” the report states.
Rent prices have increased by 4.79% overall in the area over the past year, according to an analysis by M.N.S. Real Estate NYC.
Westergaard and representatives for the tenants union didn’t return requests for comment.
The graffiti remained visible Tuesday.
Salim said the restaurant had not filed a police report or pursued any legal action.
“I’m bummed to see that our outdoor dining area was vandalized in that way, not only as a partner in Rolo’s, but as someone who’s lived in the neighborhood for years,” he said.
