Piccolo Morini reopens in SoHo with $9 martinis

Eater New York reported on May 20 that Altamarea Group is bringing back the Morini name in Lower Manhattan as Piccolo Morini, a new pasta-focused restaurant scheduled to open in mid-June. The project links back to Osteria Morini, the long-running SoHo Italian restaurant that closed in June 2024 after more than 15 years on Lafayette Street. Eater said the new restaurant will open at 40 Kenmare Street, in the former Kimika space, with a smaller footprint and a more neighborhood-oriented pitch. Altamarea Group’s website identifies Ahmass Fakahany as the company’s founder and chief executive. ### Where is Piccolo Morini opening, exactly? 40 Kenmare Street is the address Eater New York gave for Piccolo Morini’s new home. The site is at Elizabeth Street in Nolita, a short distance from the former Osteria Morini location in SoHo, and Eater said the restaurant is taking over the space previously occupied by Kimika. (ny.eater.com) Osteria Morini’s own website says the restaurant had spent more than 15 years on Lafayette Street and was relocating to a new home. Eater reported last year that the original SoHo restaurant would close after service on June 1, 2024. ### Is this the same Osteria Morini coming back, or a new concept? Piccolo Morini is a relaunch of the Morini line, not a straight reopening of the original Osteria Morini, according to Eater’s May 20 report. (ny.eater.com) The outlet described it as a smaller iteration and a neighborhood pasta spot, rather than a full return of the earlier SoHo restaurant in its previous form. (osteriamorini.com) Altamarea Group’s website places the Morini brands within a broader restaurant portfolio that also includes Marea and Ai Fiori. That matches Eater’s description of Piccolo Morini as a sibling to Marea and a continuation of a brand that remains part of Fakahany’s group. ### Why are the $9 martinis getting so much attention? The $9 martini is the most specific price point attached to the opening so far. (ny.eater.com) Eater put that detail in the headline and said the drinks program would be part of the restaurant’s neighborhood positioning. That price matters because it gives the new restaurant a clearer identity than a standard reopening announcement. (altamareagroup.com) Eater framed Piccolo Morini as a pasta restaurant aimed at repeat local traffic, and the martini price is one of the few concrete signals yet about how Altamarea plans to pitch the room. (ny.eater.com) ### Who is behind the restaurant? Ahmass Fakahany is the executive tied most directly to the project. Altamarea Group says on its website that Fakahany is the company’s founder and CEO, and Eater identified him as the founder behind Osteria Morini’s return under the Piccolo Morini name. Altamarea says it has operated more than 25 restaurants worldwide since launching Marea in 2009. (ny.eater.com) The company lists Morini among its core brands, which helps explain why the relaunch keeps the Morini name even as the restaurant shifts address and format. ### What do we know about timing and next steps? May 20 is the date Eater New York published the reopening report, and the outlet said Piccolo Morini is expected to debut in mid-June. (altamareagroup.com) The restaurant’s former sibling, Osteria Morini, has already told customers to watch its social channels for updates on the new home. Mid-June is now the key date to watch, with 40 Kenmare Street set to become the next Morini address and Ahmass Fakahany’s Altamarea Group overseeing the launch. (ny.eater.com)