Iconic Roman Restaurant Roscioli To Take Over Niche Niche Space

One of Rome’s most famous dining destinations is about to open their first-ever outpost in New York.

Roscioli is well-known in Italy as one of the country’s premiere restaurant groups. The company began in 1972 when founder Marco Roscilio opened up a family-run restaurant named Antico Forno Roscioli. 20 years later, Marco’s son, Alessandro, took over the restaurant from his father and opened up Salumeria Roscioli, establishing one of the region’s most popular cold-cut counters. The restaurant continued to expand across the region over the years and eventually developed its own wine bar, grocery store, and world-class restaurant. Today, the brand is recognized worldwide as one of Rome’s must-visit spots and is still operated with love by the Roscioli family.

Now though, the Roscioli family is currently getting ready to open up a new location outside of Italy for the first time ever. According to Eater, the Roscioli team has partnered with famed restaurateur Ariel Arce to develop Roscioli’s first New York outpost in Arce’s Niche Niche space. Arce, who was behind recognizable concepts like Tokyo Record bar and Air’s Champagne Parlor (as well as an upcoming caviar and cocktail lounge as reported by your fearless journalists at What Now), established Niche Niche at 43 MacDougal Street in an endeavor to connect New Yorkers with new and unusual wines, inviting guests hosts and sommeliers every night to curate a unique culinary experience.

Sadly, Ariel has made the tough decision to close down Niche Niche by the end of January. While her loyal fans were devastated to hear the news, they can now rest easy knowing that Ariel will remain in the space as a managing partner for Roscioli. The kitchen will be taken over by Roscioli staff, but Niche Niche chef Aaron Lirette is expected to move over to Ariel’s aforementioned champagne parlor on West Broadway.

While Roscioli operates a few different concepts in Rome, their New York expansion will offer something from every concept. The ground level will feature a wine bar, restaurant, a Roscioli Salumeria deli, and an alimentari with Roscioli products for sale. The downstairs level meanwhile will function as a blended style of Niche Niche and Rimessa.

The new concept is currently expected to be operational sometime in Spring 2023. In the meantime, Niche Niche will continue to host dinner parties until the end of the month, and readers can follow both Niche Niche and Roscioli on Instagram for future updates.