For five years, Dumbo residents have been waited for the new L&B Spumoni Gardens on Old Fulton Street to open. For five years, the restaurant has remained dark.
That’s soon to change, though, the eatery’s general manager Charlie Cavallo told Brooklyn Paper on Tuesday. The restaurant is almost entirely done — with just one more structural issue to fix and final inspections to pass – and should be ready to open come September.
Cavallo joined the L&B Spumoni team in 2019, when the Dumbo location was first announced. The project faced issues almost right away, according to the New York Post, when the Department of Buildings issued a violation to the contractor just a month after the permits were first filed. Between 2019 and 2021, DOB and the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings issued a number of violations at the address, though Cavallo said they weren’t all related to L&B’s work.
That was just the beginning, though, Cavallo said. Major construction started in late 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic started just months later, totally derailing their plans.
“That was right in the middle of when we were about to pour concrete in the whole building,” he said. “We were working here, and then COVID hit that Monday, and we stopped. And that took us, god knows how long until we were able to do construction again.”
The delay meant they had to start some things all over again. The final hurdle, as was first reported by the Brooklyn Eagle, was a staircase that stuck out from the building onto the sidewalk.
“DOB said no, we don’t want it no more, it’s gotta come out,” Cavallo said. “They said if you get rid of the staircase, we will give you your TCO, which is the temporary certificate of occupancy.”
Crews were at work at the restaurant on July 9, breaking down the staircase. Inside, the restaurant almost looks like it’s already in business. Tables, chairs, and decor are all set up, with an old-school Italian vibe. It’s looked like that for nearly two years, Cavallo said.
On Tuesday, the restaurant was set to receive its final FDNY inspection — or, rather, the second final FDNY inspection, as it has already passed once before, long before it was ready to open. Once the staircase is taken care of, L&B Spumoni Gardens on Fulton Street will receive its final city inspection and be ready to open – likely in September, Cavallo said.
“Pretty much everything is in order — everything has been in order,” he said. “It’s just the staircase, that was it.”
The manager has been scouting out talent and kitchen staff for some time, and that’s all set up, he said. He’ll be joined by a chef he’s been working with for years and a number of other handpicked employees.
“Everybody’s happy to be here, we make a good team,” Cavallo said. “It’s nice, it’s a nice group of people we have working here.”
The original L&B Spumoni Gardens opened in 1939 and immediately became a borough-wide favorite for its hefty Sicilian pies and spumoni ice cream. All those traditions will continue in Dumbo, Cavallo said.
“Everything is going to be originally done exactly the way it’s done on 86th Street,” he said. “We are really excited about that. We’re excited to bring a different kind of pizza that’s in this area, also introducing the spumoni, which is something many people have never had.”
Though the classics will be the same, the Dumbo location will have some new things, Cavallo said, like wine and agave-based cocktails.
“There’s so many different delicious products out there that we’re excited to unleash, we had the time to cultivate, which was nice,” he said.
Despite the long wait, Cavallo said he and the team have had nothing but positive experiences in the neighborhood — meeting neighbors, getting to know the area, building excitement. Some former southern Brooklynites who have since moved up to Dumbo are looking forward to having an L&B Spumoni slice nearby, he said.
With everything so close to being finished, Cavallo still said he’ll “believe it when he sees it.”
“When it’s ready, I’ll be totally happy,” he said. “It’s been a long road, but a very educational road.”
