A local restaurant and lounge owner is looking to breathe new life into a former Buckhead restaurant. Marco Betti, owner of Antica Posta and partner in Sauce, has submitted plans to the Development Review Committee (DRC) to renovate and reopen the former Portofino as "Espresso Bar Restaurant Lounge." Portofino, located at 3199 Paces Ferry Place, closed this past October after 22 years in business.
According to the submitted plans, the new establishment would be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and be open for "late night healthy & guilty Italian pleasures in a lounge elegant casual settings." Espresso would open at 9AM each day and be open until midnight Sunday through Wednesday and until 2 AM Thursday through Saturday. Breakfast and lunch offerings would be provided via counter service, but dinner would morph into a full-service setting.
"With our décor, interior design, menu choices and unique ambiance we will appeal to everyone looking to have a delicious healthy breakfast or lunch or a more indulging one spending quality time with friends & family in our elegant lounge restaurant."
In an effort to be as "on trend" and "instagrammable" as possible, Betti also supplied a couple of photos to give a sense of the look they are going for. One of the photos - an interior shot heavy on plants and color - is pinned from a Pinterest account labeled "15 Of The Most Instagrammable Spots in London."
"Dinner time comes and the place will become a happening spot where our patrons will enjoy succulent healthy Italian recipes in a trendy atmosphere, while sipping on our specialty Italian cocktails and wines, as well as all top shelf with lounge music playing and occasional young talented DJs spinning at weekends."
Mention of DJs playing in an upscale Buckhead area "lounge" makes us think of one thing: Scenario. (If you do not remember it, it's worth a read.)
Betti famously opened Sauce originally as "Silvano," a pizzeria, before converting the business to Sauce and adopting a "lounge" aesthetic complete with late night hours and hookah offerings.
Espresso would open just a few doors down from where Le Bon Nosh, a European cafe and restaurant, opened in the street level of The Irby apartment building in late 2021. Like Espresso, Le Bon Nosh offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, but is closed Mondays.
A listing from John Robinson of Terminus Commercial Real Estate Partners, listed as a co-applicant on the submission, indicates the restaurant is 4,512 square feet with a 1,216 covered patio. The property also provides 44 surface parking spaces for what will undoubtedly be a valet only operation.
What are your thoughts on Espresso? Have you been to Sauce? What upcoming Atlanta area restaurant are you most looking forward to?
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