Josh Capon

Josh Capon attended the University of Maryland, where he discovered his talent in cooking for his friends, which he funded by accepting small donations.^[1] Subsequently, this led to Capon transferring to Johnson and Wales University.

While at Johnson and Wales, Capon was selected as a culinary intern for Charlie Palmer to work at his acclaimed Manhattan restaurant Aureole. After graduating in 1994, Capon continued to work for Palmer and helped open The Lenox Room.^[2]

He went on to work for David Burke at the Park Avenue Café and then spent a year traveling in Europe, honing his cooking expertise.^[1]

Upon his return, Capon became a sous-chef at The St. Regis Hotel's Astor Court under Gray Kunz, where he then reunited with Charlie Palmer and became the executive chef at Alva, Palmer's American bistro.^[3] After a couple of years as executive chef at Matthew's on the Upper East Side, he took the reins as executive chef of Canteen in SoHo.^[1]

After a few years, he partnered with John McDonald and Josh Pickard to open Lure Fishbar in the former Canteen space, a sophisticated seafood and sushi restaurant. The trio went on to open Burger & Barrel Winepub,^[4] El Toro Blanco,^[5] Bowery Meat Company,^[6] and a Miami version of Lure Fishbar in the historic Loews hotel.^[7]

Capon is a seven-time winner of the People's Choice award at the NYC Wine & Food Festival's Burger Bash^[8] and has appeared on Rachael Ray,^[9] Good Morning America,^[10] TODAY,^[11] and the Food Network.^[12] He has also been featured in The New York Times^[13] and New York Magazine.^[14]

In 2021, he co-founded the hospitality company VCR Group with Gary Vaynerchuk, Conor Hanlon, and David Rodolitz. In early 2022, VCR Group partnered with Masa Ito and Kevin Kim to open ITO, a 16-seat omakase in Tribeca, New York.^[15] Later in 2022, VCR Group began selling NFT memberships for Flyfish Club, a planned private dining club, the location of which had not yet been determined.^[16] In April 2024 the club began accepting cash for memberships.^[17] Flyfish Club opened in September 2024 on the Lower East Side.^[18]

Capon has participated in the US Open for many years through his Flyfish pop-up, where he serves lobster rolls, oysters, and other signature dishes.^[19]

In 2023, VCR Group expanded its restaurant portfolio with the addition of Capon's Burgers, located in the Fontainebleau on the Las Vegas Strip,^[2] and the Modern American restaurant, Little Maven, in New York City's Flatiron neighborhood.^[20] In September 24, 2024, he became a chef at the restaurant Flyfish Club in New York, which was funded with NFT sales.^[21]