Plywood Removed from Caffe Vita and Via Tribunali on Ludlow

As we’ve been reporting since August 2010, restaurateurs behind the successful mini-empire in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle are expanding their brand to New York City.  Now the forthcoming Lower East Side enclave of Little Seattle is nearly ready to rock n roll with its coffee-pizza power play – Caffe Vita and Via Tribunali.

Late last week, the battered year-old plywood was peeled from the facade of 122-124 Ludlow Street.  Verdict – the final product is definitely a close match to the renderings we uncovered not long ago. There’s a healthy mix of wood and windows for a somewhat rustic sensibility. And for further effect, a well-preserved ghost sign in the doorway advertises a former grocery tenant.

The adjacent storefronts remain fairly blogger-proof with paper and other advertising materials covering every inch of glass, so shots of the interior are hard to come by.  Not to worry, though, as a teaser photo is presently published on the official Facebook page.

Caffe Vita occupies 124 Ludlow while Via Tribunali straddles the two addresses. Both are still scheduled to open on January 5, 2012.