Chad Colby Steps Out of Curtis Stone's Upcoming Hollywood Restaurant

Chad Colby, who announced that he'd be opening a restaurant named Gwen in Hollywood with Curtis Stone later this year, is no longer involved with the project. The amicable split comes as the Hollywood restaurant goes deep into construction mode ahead of a proposed summer opening.

Prior to Gwen, Colby was the popular chef at Chi Spacca on Melrose. When Eater talked to Stone about the situation, the Australian chef simply remarked that the two had differences in how they thought the restaurant would be run and operated. Rather than go forward with competing approaches, they both decided to part ways.

Stone did give some additional details for Gwen, which will also follow a tasting menu format, though pricing will be under the $100 mark per person. Stone hopes to build a world-class butcher shop up front, sourcing the best local meat products available, including beef, pork, and even game. The 80-seat restaurant behind the shop will use much of those products as the basis of its menu offerings.

Stone will be the opening executive chef of Gwen, though he'll be stepping away from daily operations at Maude as a result — which means new executive chef Justin Hilbert will be taking over the reigns at the Beverly Hills tasting menu-focused restaurant. Hilbert hails from New York City, where he cooked at WD-50 and Gwynett St. in Brooklyn. Hilbert originally came to Maude as the pastry chef but later rose to the title of chef de cuisine in August 2015.