In April 2003, he opened his 70-seat restaurant, wd~50 (named for the chef's initials and the street address, as well as a pun on WD-40) on Clinton Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
ɪn ˈeɪpɹəl tˈuː θˈaʊzənd θɹˈiː, hiː ˈoʊpənd hɪz sˈɛvəntisˈiːt ɹˈɛstɹɑːnt, dˌʌbəljˌuːdˈiː tˈɪldə fˈɪfti nˈeɪmd fɚðə ʃˈɛfs ɪnˈɪʃəlz ænd ðə stɹˈiːt ɐdɹˈɛs, æz wˈɛl æz ɐ pˈʌn ˌɔn dˌʌbəljˌuːdˈiː fˈoːɹɾi ˌɔn klˈɪntən stɹˈiːt ˌɔn mænhˈæʔn̩z lˈoʊɚɹ ˈiːst sˈaɪd.