As if the folks at Nook and Tavola weren’t busy enough, they’ve now got two new restaurants on the way. The third location of Nook is opening this October in a new development under construction in Olympic Village (and there was much rejoicing), and they’ve just completed a deal for the 2,000 sqft restaurant space at 1889 West 1st Avenue in Kitsilano. That’s the old Smoking Dog location (most recently a non-starter called Baccano), which is to say it’s a bright 50 seater with a 20 seat patio on the same block as AnnaLena and directly opposite Cacao. “It’s been a bit of a process but we finally got the keys to The Smoking Dog,” managing partner Brad Roark told me excitedly by phone this afternoon. While they don’t have a name for the eatery set in stone just yet [update: it’s Oddfish] , they know it’s going to be something new and different from both Nook and Tavola. But it’s for sure going to be Italian, and pasta-focused. Brad mentioned that they were thinking about getting “vegetarian and seafood-forward with pasta”, adding the caveat that it was still too early to be concrete about the concept. In any event, I’m sure those in the neighbourhood who are familiar with the crew will be stoked to know this is on the horizon (there is a crazy busy Nook located only a few blocks away on Yew St.). They’re gunning for a mid-March launch. Stay tuned.

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