A red sauce revival is coming to Brooklyn.
Ferdinando’s Focacceria in Carroll Gardens – which abruptly closed last year after 121 years of serving up classic Sicilian fare – will reopen next month with a new owner and a new twist.
The spot will reopen as Bar Ferdinando with its new owner, Sal Lamboglia, hand-selected by longtime Ferdinando’s owner Frank Buffa last March. Lamboglia, who owns the buzzy Cafe Spaghetti across the street, will reopen the space on April 15 as a neighborhood cafe and cocktail bar.
“My goal is to preserve what makes Ferdinando’s so special while giving it the care it needs to keep going for years to come,” Lamboglia, who also helms Brooklyn spots Swoony’s and Sal Tang’s, said in a statement shared with The Post.
“We don’t want it to be unrecognizable — but I do want to see myself reflected in the space.”
The revamped Union Street red sauce joint will still offer Sicilian rice balls, octopus salad and the “original” panelle sandwich – made using Buffa’s family recipe – plus coffee and espresso.
New additions include house-made eggplant caponata and insalata di mare, Lamboglia added, as well as a dessert menu from Radio Bakery alum Jackie De La Barrera.
The bar will feature a cocktail program led by Ricardo Echeverri — formerly of Swoony’s — offering “inventive twists on classics, amaro-forward pours, martinis, vermouth, and the bar’s own spin on the iconic Manhattan Special,” Bar Ferdinando reps said.
Lamboglia said he will be keeping roughly half of the institution’s original artwork, historic light fixtures, flooring and chairs — as well as a decades-old sign “that has defined the room for generations.”
Some of the restaurant’s famous clientele memorialized on the walls include Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese – the latter of whom used Ferdinando’s for a scene in 2006’s “The Departed.”
Local Michael Hafftka, a painter who owns a private art gallery on the block, considers the new opening a welcome addition from Cafe Spaghetti — which he described as an already-beloved eatery in Carroll Gardens.
“I eat there often, it’s a nice place,” he said of the four-year old restaurant, adding the block will be “enhanced” with the incoming bar and cafe.
“They are a great addition to the neighborhood,” Hafftka added, “so I think Bar Ferdinando will also be a fine addition.”
Buffa, who closed shop last February due to health issues, previously told The Post he considers Lamboglia a “nice fit” and chose him over other buyers because “he’s a famous guy, and I like how he did it with Cafe Spaghetti.
“He will continue [Ferdinando’s] in his way.”
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