BROOKLYN — CARROLL GARDENS restaurateur Sal Lamboglia has been selected to take over the historic Ferdinando’s Focacceria, a Sicilian restaurant that operated at Union and Hicks streets for 121 years before closing suddenly in February.
Lamboglia, who owns the nearby Cafe Spaghetti along with Swoony’s bistro and Sal Tang’s Cantonese, was recently hand-picked by former owner Francesco “Frank” Buffa to continue the restaurant’s legacy. While Ferdinando’s will not reopen in its previous form, Lamboglia plans to pay tribute to it through “both the space and name,” according to Eater NY.
Details of the new concept remain in development, as the takeover was only recently finalized.
Ferdinando’s Focacceria has been a fixture in Brooklyn, having served legendary figures like Frank Sinatra and appearing in Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed.” A photo of Leonardo DiCaprio hangs in the dining room, a nod to the film.
✰✰✰
