Mogan Anthony isn’t your typical modern-day chef. While he’s been invited to cook for the James Beard Foundation and has appeared on Food Network’s Chopped, you won’t find a robust Instagram page illustrating his daily activities and latest creations. But step into any of his restaurants—Village Social Kitchen & Bar (Mount Kisco and Rye), Locali Pizza Bar & Kitchen (Mount Kisco and New Caanan), Pubstreet, Fatt Root Asian Kitchen, and Lulu’s Kitchenette (all in Pleasantville)—for lunch or dinner, and you’ll encounter a robust crowd of regulars who are clear fans of his food.
Born and raised in Malaysia by a Southern Indian family, Anthony worked both in the kitchen and as a server at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore for ten years before meeting his wife, Celeste Tan and relocating to America to support a friend’s restaurant venture in New York City. From there, his resumé was quickly filled with restaurant notoriety, working with chefs like Nobu Matsuhisa, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Brian Lewis.
In 2010, he joined the Barcelona Restaurant Group as the chef de cuisine working under chef and Food Network personality Christian Petroni. It was Petroni who introduced Anthony to Joe Bueti, who had just opened the first Village Social in Mount Kisco.
“Joe went through a few chefs at Village Social,” Anthony said. “They weren’t the best fit for his vision. I came on as a sous chef, but it wasn’t too long [before] he asked me to run the show.”
Bueti didn’t need convincing. “Mogan has always had this intense passion and drive. When he started, we would be closing the restaurant and Mogan would head back to the kitchen. He’d be there until 1 a.m. creating new recipes. He was only there a few weeks when I fired the chef and asked him to lead the kitchen.”
Today, the two partners have the Ash & Ale pizza truck available for private events, a robust catering business, and seven restaurants under the Village Social Group umbrella, making them one of the biggest and most diverse restaurant groups in the county. While Village Social focuses on traditional American fare and Locali leans Italian with inventive pastas and pizzas, Anthony’s Asian roots sneak in with menu items like Umami Meatballs at Locali and Saigon Spare Ribs and Korean Chili Shrimp Noodles at Village Social.
“Joe has always been committed to the community,” Anthony said. “From the very start he’s been clear—he’s given me space to be creative, but at the core, we have to make the approachable happen. We have to cater to everyone.”
Curating the balance between Anthony’s creativity and Bueti’s commitment to approachability has been a huge part of the restaurant group’s success. “I’m the luckiest man in the restaurant industry,” Bueti said. “It has been the best partnership. Mogan has no attitude, no ego; he’s patient, focused, and has so much integrity.”
The success of Pubstreet, which the pair opened in 2017, paved the way for further expansion. In 2022, Bueti and Anthony opened Fatt Root Asian Kitchen across the street. This year, they further solidified their presence in Pleasantville with Lulu’s Kitchenette one block away from Fatt Root, demonstrating their continued growth and popularity.
While you may catch him walking through one of the restaurants, Anthony prefers to hop from kitchen to kitchen, working alongside his staff.
“Running a multi-concept restaurant group is a little bit harder to operate,” Anthony said. “But I’m learning a lot. The most rewarding part is the research process.”
The partners take the research seriously. Before opening Fatt Root, he and Bueti hosted pho and ramen pop ups to help educate and gain invaluable feedback from customers. In 2014, Bueti and Anthony traveled to Japan to work with a ramen master—who did not speak any English—for ten days.
“It was a lot of watching,” Anthony said. “But I learned so much—how they salt the noodles, the different salts they use, and how the customers eat the ramen. They don’t drink the broth; they only eat the noodles. The biggest challenge was taking everything I learned and adjusting it for the American palate, while also making it allergy sensitive.”
The result—Fatt Root—is not only a testament to the partners’ commitment to developing their concepts, but also a prime example of how they have pivoted to meet customer demands. The noodle bar first opened with a scoop and serve model three months before the pandemic. Two years later, they shifted to a sit-down format, redesigning the space and adding a U-shaped bar.
Adhering to a “we make, we try, we fail” mentality and with the addition of chef Michael Lucente (previously of BLT Steak, Fig + Olive, and Barcelona), they began the menu development process—including taste-testing over nine different beefs to create the perfect smash burger—for their latest venture, Lulu’s Kitchenette. The result is an American grab-and-go eatery with chef-made dishes focused on simple ingredients. “We’re committed to keeping the integrity in the food,” Anthony said. “But at the same time, we really want to be affordable. The thoughtful balance of operating costs comes from years of experience.”
From roast chicken to signature rice bowls, to the burgers and crispy chicken salads, Lulu’s has taken off. The team sees repeat business, with people diving into salads one day and craving a burger the next. “Pleasantville has been one of the best locations for us,” Anthony explains. “The sense of community there is so great. They’ve really embraced every concept.”
While you may catch him walking through one of the restaurants, Anthony prefers to hop from kitchen to kitchen, working alongside his staff, creating new recipes, and continuing to build. “After “Chopped” I had a ton of opportunities, but to be in this business you have to be in the business. I don’t see myself as a celebrity, and social media just consumes my energy. I’d rather be a thinker and focus on strategy.”
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