Familiar Faces Opening New Restaurant at Mongoose Junction

Hello everyone and happy Wednesday! We have such great news to share with you today!!

So back in August we told you how Ocean Grill decided to close its doors for good. We’ve received a ton of questions about what’s happening with that space, and we’ve finally received the go ahead to share the great news with all of you today.

The new spot is going to be called 18°64°: The Restaurant, and it’s being brought to you by the talented folks over at Extra Virgin Bistro. But no need to worry, Extra Virgin isn’t going anywhere. 18°64° will be a sister restaurant of sorts, and from what we’ve been told, it’s going to be amazing.

Whereas Extra Virgin prides itself as having a farm to table concept, 18°64° is going to offer more of a sea to table concept. The owners of 18°64° – Ryan Costanzo, Tom Garfield and Creagh Spillano – have been speaking with local fishermen in an effort to incorporate an abundance of fresh seafood in its menu. And just like over at Extra Virgin, they’ll have a scratch kitchen where they will make everything in house from fresh bread to salad dressings to ice creams and more.

18°64° will be open for lunch and dinner, which is great considering its location over in Mongoose Junction. The men stressed that nothing will be repeated from one restaurant to another, although both will continue to focus on being fresh, homemade and using locally sourced ingredients including herbs, greens and other fresh vegetables from their rooftop garden. (They hope to incorporate a second garden at their new location, although that remains in the planning stages.)

In terms of price point, 18°64° will be less expensive when compared to Extra Virgin although the quality will not be sacrificed. 18°64° also plans to offer delicious craft cocktails and an extensive wine list focusing on lighter whites and reds, as well as sparkling wines and rosés.

The space is currently undergoing a renovation, and a new roof is being installed. The restaurant will have a brand new, large bar area complete with hightop tables, as well as a large dining room. The decor will include lots of clean whites and aquas that is traditional over at Mongoose Junction, but will also include lots of local artwork that’s bright and vibrant.

“We want to maintain some of that fresh Caribbean vibe while embracing the airiness and brightness of the space,” Creagh told me Tuesday. “It’s going to be clean, bright and vibrant which will also be representative of the food.”

Mongoose Junction owner and designer Glen Speer is helping the team to oversee the rebuild, so you know it’s going to be stunning. 18°64° hopes to open in late winter or early spring.

So now you may be wondering where the name came from. Well it happens to be the coordinates of St. John.

“The cool thing about it is that it’s our coordinates, it’s St. John, and that’s what they’re going for – fresh local food from local fisherman and from scratch,” Jennifer Gibbud said Tuesday. “The name itself nails our concept on the head.”

I’m not sure about all of you, but I’m pretty excited about this one. We will share more details as soon as we can. In the meantime, have a great Wednesday everyone!