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Sal Lamboglia, the owner of Cafe Spaghetti and Swoony’s, is opening another spot at 521 Hicks Street, at Degraw Street, in Cobble Hill. A spokesperson confirms, “a new concept, that’s exciting and unexpected,” is on the way, but so far no further details or a business name has been shared. It’s targeting late summer or early fall, and a collaboration with Swoony’s and Cafe Spaghetti managing partner Giovanna Cuccolo. Lamboglia, an alum of Andrew Carmellini’s restaurants, struck gold in South Brooklyn in 2022, when he opened Cafe Spaghetti, a Carroll Gardens Italian restaurant that Pete Wells at the New York Times called the “anti-Carbone.” A year later, Lamboglia expanded in the neighborhood with Swoony’s, a departure from Italian with retro Americana dishes like crab Louie. The forthcoming venture will continue, “the same brand of hospitality you know from Sal’s other spots.” 521 Hicks Street was previously home to Vekslers, a bar with food, that closed last summer.
Veselka will return to 24/7
During the pandemic, Veselka, once known for being open at all hours of the night, was forced to cut back hours. Even four years later, the restaurant closes most days by midnight. That will all change on Memorial Day this year, when the Ukrainian diner, open since 1954, will resume its round-the-clock hours. See you there for 4 a.m. pierogies. In the meantime, the restaurant gears up to open shortly in Williamsburg, and celebrates its David Duchovny-narrated documentary at Angelika.
A worker-owned butcher shop is expanding
Prospect Butcher Co. is opening next month at 113a Nassau Avenue, near Eckford Street, in Greenpoint. The butcher shop first opened in Prospect Heights, known for its ethically sourced meats and worker-ownership model. The new space skews a similar size to the original Vanderbilt Avenue location, and will continue to have sandwiches, sausages, and cuts of meat. In Greenpoint, co-owner Gregory Brockman says they’ll also start hosting classes.
A cookbook shop eyes a permanent home
BEM, a Black-owned, pop-up culinary bookshop is looking to sign a lease on a permanent storefront in Bed-Stuy. Today is the last day to donate to the fundraiser via Kickstarter, which has already raised more than $70,000.
