Cafe Spaghetti Owner Is Taking Over 120-Year-Old Ferdinando’s Focacceria
In February, Ferdinando’s Focacceria, a 121-year-old Sicilian restaurant in Brooklyn, closed without warning. Speculation immediately circulated about who would take over the historic storefront at 151 Union Street, at Hicks Street, in Carroll Gardens.
It will probably come as no surprise for the neighborhood that local restaurateur Sal Lamboglia is now its caretaker. Lamboglia owns three nearby restaurants: Pasta favorite Cafe Spaghetti down the street, as well as Swoony’s, his Americana bistro, and Sal Tang’s, a Cantonese American spot with Nom Wah’s Wilson Tang, both nearby.
Francesco “Frank” Buffa’s health was a factor in the decision to close but he insisted on finding someone who would keep its spirit alive. And now, he has “hand-picked” Lamboglia to take it over. A spokesperson confirms that under Lamboglia’s watch, it won’t be the same focacceria restaurant, but something different that will pay homage to Ferdinando’s in both the space and name. Specific details on what that means are still in the works since the deal is still freshly inked.
Ferdinando’s Focacceria has been used as a set in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, despite it taking place in Boston (a photo with Leonardo DiCaprio hung in the dining room) and has hosted characters like Frank Sinatra and other legendary figures in its century-year-old run.
