Just about midway through his profile of New York chef Michael White in today’s New York Times, Frank Bruni gives readers a little taste of Wall Street “Where are they now?” Today’s subject: former Merrill Lynch chief operating officer Ahmass Fakahany. Turns out that since Bank of America (BAC) took over Merrill in the fall of 2008, he’s become a partner in Marea, an Italian seafood restaurant on Central Park South.
Fakahany fronted White and restaurateur Chris Cannon around $6 million to help open Marea. He also helped the pair secure a $2.5 million loan to import terra-cotta floor tiles, farmhouse beams on the ceiling, a cast-iron front door and a gelato case from Italy for Osteria Morini, another Italian venture set to open in SoHo this fall.
Fakahany’s apparently planning on duplicating the Osteria Morini model—a task he doesn’t see as too difficult: “We know now where to get the beams, the bricks, how to go to the antique markets.” He aims to help White fulfill his potential as a chef, and seems prepared to shell out additional money to do so.
