New Nightspot On Its Way

Del Ray is getting a new nightspot this summer, and owner Courtney Scott promises it will be “sophisticated, but not in an uptight way.”

Scott, who also owns on Mt. Vernon Avenue, is currently preparing a small lounge next to her current restaurant. It will be called Osteria 1909.

The emphasis is on small, with just 32 total seats nestled into cozy spaces around a 26-foot bar. It’s a long, rectangular spot that recalls a neighborhood bar in New York.

Scott says she plans to serve lunch, dinner and small plates. She hopes to open the doors to Osteria 1909 in June.

“We’re looking for this to be very adult,” Scott said. “We oftentimes run out of highchairs at La Strada. This is going to be a place for people going out on dates, older couples and younger couples. … But with the lunch crowd, anything goes.”

Everything will be kept separate from La Strada. Osteria 1909 will have its own kitchen and wait staff. Scott said laws disallow the sharing of La Strada’s patio, which sits in between the two buildings, but Osteria will have a small outdoor seating area of its own.

Construction of the interior of the building is ongoing. Scott hired a local design team to give the place a unique look. Along with the long, angled bar, Osteria 1909 will have a minimalist décor styled in warm brown, black and tan colors.

Scott said she has yet to hire a bartender for Osteria 1909. Like La Strada, wine promises to be a specialty. She said she hasn’t gotten far enough to determine exactly what kind of bar the new place will have.

“The current trend is sort of a mixologist thing with a lot of fun drinks,” she said. “There really are not a lot of bars in Del Ray and hopefully this is where we can fit in.”

Scott joked that she wants to make it a “bug bar” because the building, located at 1909 Mt. Vernon Avenue (hence the name Osteria 1909), formerly housed an exterminator.

The building has been in Scott’s possession for about a year, but a slow winter at La Strada prevented her from putting the capital into renovating Osteria as quickly as she would have liked.  

“If it’s not [city regulations], then it becomes issues with money,” Scott said. “Winter was slow. And you can’t take money from La Strada to get this going. … But we’re moving forward now.”