:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55900353/o_4.0.jpg)
Updated, 1:37 p.m., August 1: Blame it on the heat: Due to construction delays, Kurt Huffman tells Eater Opal will not open tonight, August 1, as planned. Huffman says the latest it will pour its first drink is August 8, but it’s hoping to welcome people into the bar before then, if possible. Stay tuned.
Additionally, Omerta is ready to declare a date for its debut: The Italian spot will throw open the doors to the public on August 8. Unlike Opal, it will accept reservations, and they are currently available through Opentable.com.
Update, 10:30 a.m., July 31: The team behind Omerta and Opal tell Eater by email only the latter establishment will open on August 1, 2017. The Omerta Italian restaurant will wait until later in August to heat the ovens.
Original coverage: As first reported by Eater, big-time restaurateur Kurt Huffman’s latest project will be Omerta, a swank, downtown Italian spot modeled after old-school New York Italian restaurants, and the adjoining Opal bar, an equally fashionable, 100-seat bar. Now the restaurant tells the O it’ll open August 1.
The O also reveals some of the formative staff who’ll run the show: At Opal, veteran bartender Justin Diaz (Jackknife) will set up the cocktail program, and at Omerta, New York City chef Mark Barrett will rule the burners. Barrett brings experience at New York’s Pagani (Lusardi Group), Tabla (Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group), and Mario Batali’s Babbo.
Speaking with Eater in June, Huffman described Omerta as having “lots of wine, olive oil, salt and pepper, and lemon, with a particular focus on seafood." For Opal, Huffman teamed up with Lightning Bar Collective’s John Janulis. Look for more details here on Eater as they develop.
