Nook & Tavola owners Mike Jeffs and Nicole Welsh have just signed a lease on the old Rossini’s spot at 1525 Yew Street, just a short putt from Cornwall and Kits Beach. I took a look at the building this morning and it’s in the midst of a ground-up redux, completely boarded up and gutted.

Rossini’s, you may remember, was a Vancouver institution for 18 years until it shuttered a couple of years ago. Owned by well-liked drummer, Arni May, it was one of Vancouver’s last remaining restaurants featuring live music, namely Jazz (May, who passed away last December, backed up Elvis Presley when he was a teenager). Proximity to the ocean aside, it’s a killer address, one with lots of history. Linton Garner, Denny Clark, Eve Smith, Michael Buble – all made it their home at one point or another.

Details as to what Jeffs and Welsh are going to do with the revamped space remain sketchy, but from what I’ve gathered it looks that it will see a delicatessen/take-out shop by day and a new version of Nook by night. ETA is estimated for Spring/Summer 2013.