“Nobu has come a long way in the nearly 23 years since it opened in TriBeCa: The chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa’s innovative Japanese restaurant has become a global empire with more than 30 branches.

Like a number of other downtown projects, Nobu is being installed in a majestic commercial building, the former headquarters of AT&T.

Nobu Downtown, scheduled to open next week, is on two levels. A spacious lounge is set in the soaring neoclassical forest of Botticino marble columns in part of the lobby of the building, a landmark that was erected from 1912 to 1922. In the center is a large, circular bar, faced in backlit onyx, serving drinks, bar food and sushi, under black ribbons of wood meant to represent Japanese calligraphy.

The architect David Rockwell, who designed the original Nobu as well as this newest one and many of the others, said he was excited to work with the same brand over so many years. “You can build continuity,” he said.”

–The New York Times