The new Sicilian restaurant slated for the former La Boulanger at 543 Columbus Ave. in North Beach has an official name—Caffe Spuntino—and a revised opening date of the second half of January.
In early November, we reached Salvatore Cortara, who also owns nearby Michelangelo, and wrote about the new venture, which he'd hoped would open in December. Cortara is a co-owner with Maurizio Iantorno, who recently sold Volare Trattoria Caffe (which is now Bar Nua) and Salvatore Di Stefano, who had opened Il Casaro Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar.
"Spuntino" means "snack" in Italian, so it won't be a full-on restaurant, but a cafe with reasonable prices, Iantorno said. And in a boon to early risers and anyone who misses La Boulange, it'll be open at 7am for pastries, light breakfasts and cappuccino. It'll seat 33 inside and 14 outside.
"The focus is going to be on savory and sweets," Iantorno said. "We're going to do Sicilian pastries and American pastries. We're going to have some salads and sandwiches, with a good Italian twist." Also look for soup at lunch, and for dinner, they'll roll out pasta, lasagna, pizza and more. Though the space doesn't have a full kitchen, we're told they'll work with convection ovens and induction burners and cook some items at Michelangelo.
