The longstanding Christopher Street space will soon be making some big changes.
I Sodi is a well-loved Italian restaurant currently housed at 105 Christopher Street. The restaurant was established in 2008 by owner Rita Sodi, a Florentine native who is rigidly dedicated to the customs of traditional custom dining. Rita’s mother, Elena, taught Rita many of the most important rules about Tuscan Dining, such as “never eat prosciutto without bread”, and Rita grew up with a profound appreciation for the beautiful simplicity of her mother’s cooking. Today, I Sodi is widely celebrated among locals as one of the neighborhood’s premier Italian spot, and was recently rewarded with two stars from the New York Times, which translates to a rating of “Very Good” according to their system.
In 2014, Sodi launched Via Carota with fellow chef (and now wife) Jody Williams. Williams was the founder of Buvette, a “gastrotheque” which she describes as a “Gallic-ish bistro bar” on Grove Street. Buvette currently operates two additional locations in Paris and Tokyo, bringing William’s passion for Gallic cuisine worldwide. Williams has been nominated for a James Beard Award three years in a row, and she has authored numerous cookbooks to share her expertise with the public. When they launched Via Carota together, Williams and Sodi generated instant excitement and critical praise, and were even dubbed by the New York Times as “one of the great partnerships in the New York restaurant scene.”
Now, after many years of success in the West Village, it appears that Sodi and Williams will be making some significant changes to I Sodi. According to a recent liquor license application heard by the local community board, Sodi will be removing the license for the restaurant’s current location at 105 Christopher Street in order to move the restaurant to a bigger space. She and Williams are currently applying to move I Sodi’s license to a new space at 314 Bleecker Street, which previously housed L’Aile ou la Cuisse, otherwise known as A.O.C. A.O.C. was a popular French restaurant that sadly closed last winter, and the space has remained vacant since.
The location features a total 2,300 square feet of space between the ground floor and cellar, and is expected to be able to seat a total of 86 guests at one time. Perhaps the most exciting feature of the space is the outdoor garden in the back, which will provide 23 seats for guests while creating an unforgettable romantic atmosphere when the weather returns to its warm and sunny state. For the time being, the Christopher Street location remains open until further notice, so be sure to go over and enjoy a meal in the space before its too late. For more updates as the story continues to break, you can follow I Sodi on Instagram.
