Charlap Hyman & Herrero renovated the original E.A.T. on Madison Avenue for Eli Zabar and Devon Fredericks. The update retains or enhances many of the elements that form the way E.A.T. exists in the minds and memories of New Yorkers, as CHH developed a slightly surreal approach to making the changes - interpreting the iconic deli as a state of mind, more than simply a restaurant one goes to.

The checkerboard floor, steel nosing, and mirrors were kept or repurposed, and a warm wood was introduced in a few key spaces. With a staircase removed, the appetizing counter relocated and clad in marble, the bar altered and shifted to wrap around two columns, the bathrooms reconfigured and redone, and a private dining area added, the challenge for CHH was to ensure the iconic establishment would remain familiar to its regulars - while emerging from a renovation refreshed.