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New signage went up this week for Caffe Buon Gusto, and it quickly set off a round of questions on Instagram: was the longtime Upper East Side Italian spot relocating? Closing its original location? The owner has since stepped in to set the record straight.
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The sign is at 1589 Second Avenue (between 82nd and 83rd streets), the space that until the end of August was home to Osteria Nando. Both restaurants belong to the same owner, Nando Ghorchian, who’s converting the former osteria into a new outpost of Caffe Buon Gusto rather than opening an unrelated concept.After @newopeningsnyc posted a photo of the new signage, the restaurant responded in the comments to clear things up. “Yes, it’s the same owner! Our 77th Street location and our Brooklyn location remain open and are not going anywhere,” the comment read. “We’re not replacing anything — we’re simply growing and adding something new!”
The something new is a sports bar. Because the Second Avenue space has a much larger bar than the 77th Street original, the restaurant says it’s leaning into it with a “Bar & Grill/Sports Bar experience” where customers can order cocktails and catch games alongside the menu regulars already know.
Ghorchian, who told What Now he’s been in the business for 38 years, described the vision as more relaxed than the neighborhood’s existing sports bars, and a way to combine his two favorite things: food and sports. The kitchen will keep Caffe Buon Gusto staples like homemade pasta with truffle sauce while adding a heavier grilling focus, with steaks, burgers, short rib, sea bass and salmon, plus vegetarian and vegan options. “I love to make delicious, yummy burgers with sauces,” he said.
The restaurant says it’ll open “very soon.” You can follow along on Caffe Buon Gusto’s Instagram for updates.
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