TV Restaurants

What Happened to Ferdinando's Focacceria After Best Thing I Ever Ate?

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Ferdinando's Focacceria has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, July 11, 2026.

Primary source
Wikipedia ·

Last verified

What the source shows: Wikipedia's infobox (revised 2026-07-11) lists Ferdinando's Focacceria as closed in 2025, describing it as New York City's oldest Sicilian restaurant, founded in 1904 at 151 Union Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

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What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

A segment of the Halloween-themed 'Frightfully Good' episode featured Ferdinando's Focacceria, a Sicilian restaurant at 151 Union Street in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. According to Wikipedia, the restaurant was founded in 1904 and was described as New York City's oldest Sicilian restaurant and the city's third-oldest Italian restaurant behind Rao's and Bamonte's. Panelle, a chickpea-fritter dish, was its most popular item, according to Wikipedia. The restaurant began as a sandwich shop serving longshoremen near the Brooklyn waterfront. Wikipedia's entry, revised 2026-07-11, listed Ferdinando's Focacceria as closed in 2025, after 121 years in business. This batch's read-only research did not turn up a second, independently dated news source confirming the closure date or cause, so that fact rests on the single Wikipedia listing noted here.

"Sausage Paradise" (aired 2012) featured Ferdinando's Focacceria's Sicilian sausage and focaccia sandwiches at the century-old Carroll Gardens restaurant. Founded in 1904, Ferdinando's was among Brooklyn's oldest Italian restaurants, according to Wikipedia. According to Yahoo News, the restaurant closed in February 2025 after more than 120 years in business, with the owners citing "unforeseen circumstances" in their closing announcement. Patch reported that restaurateur Sal Lamboglia, known for Cafe Spaghetti and Swoony's, was chosen by former owner Francesco Buffa to open a new concept in the same space. Wikipedia describes Ferdinando's as having been the third-oldest Italian restaurant in New York City, behind Rao's and Bamonte's, at the time of its closing. The address at 151 Union Street now operates as Bar Ferdinando, according to the business's own website, offering a full bar and dinner menu under new ownership.

Featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate

Season / episode
Season 6, Episode 5
Original air date
Not confirmed
Episode title
Frightfully Good
What was featured
Ferdinando's Focacceria's panelle, its most popular Sicilian dish
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Ferdinando's Focacceria
Season / episode
Season 4, Episode 4
Original air date
Episode title
Sausage Paradise
What was featured
Sicilian focacceria specialties including house-made focaccia and traditional Italian dishes
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Ferdinando's Focacceria

Frequently asked questions

Is Ferdinando's Focacceria still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Ferdinando's Focacceria has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, July 11, 2026.

What happened to Ferdinando's Focacceria after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

A segment of the Halloween-themed 'Frightfully Good' episode featured Ferdinando's Focacceria, a Sicilian restaurant at 151 Union Street in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. As of September 2026, Ferdinando's Focacceria has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, July 11, 2026.

Is Ferdinando's Focacceria permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Ferdinando's Focacceria has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, July 11, 2026. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Ferdinando's Focacceria located?

151 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate featured Ferdinando's Focacceria?

Season 6, Episode 5 of Best Thing I Ever Ate. The episode is titled “Frightfully Good”.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
151 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando%27s_Focacceria
  • Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando's_Focacceria
  • yahoo.com — https://www.yahoo.com/news/brooklyn-restaurant-closes-more-120-193418923.html
  • patch.com — https://patch.com/new-york/brooklyn/century-old-brooklyn-restaurant-set-reopen-under-new-name-report
  • barferdinando.com — https://www.barferdinando.com/

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