At Orlando’s 629 E. Central Blvd. sits a legacy corner in one of the city’s loveliest neighborhoods, and for Good Salt Restaurant Group‘s Jason Chin, one long been considered “aspirational.”
Back in the early aughts, Chin was working the sushi bars at Seito‘s Celebration and Winter Park locations, a time “when I was still deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up,” he laughs. HUE was the restaurant in residence back then.
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“It was bustling and felt so new, almost like it was ushering in a new era of dining for Orlando,” Chin remembers. “It felt very ‘big city,’ everyone there was so stylish, the energy of the dining room was electric.”
Years later, during Soco’s successful, decade-long run in the space, Chin says the space continued to serve up inspiration, as his journey into the restaurant business had already begun.
Now, he says, thinking about it gives him goosebumps, because he and Sue, his wife and partner, are about to usher a new dining era into the space.
Osteria Ester, with chef/partner Michael Cooper at its helm, will bring the red-sauce Italian-American vibes of Cooper’s New Jersey childhood, welcoming Orlando with all the gluten that its neighbor, gorgeous newcomer June, mostly eschews.
James Beard finalists Jason and Sue Chin of Orlando’s Good Salt Restaurant Group and chef/partner Michael Cooper scope out the paint progress at their newest venue, Osteria Ester, slated to open next month in Orlando’s Thornton Park neighborhood. (Courtesy Good Salt Restaurant Group)
The restaurant is expected to open in mid-November.
“There will be a heavy emphasis on housemade pasta and bread,” says Cooper, whose early childhood in Tom’s River, New Jersey, was a culinary parade of classic dishes from classic places, several of which are still operating today. “Lots of old-school pizzeria classics, but without the pizza,” he notes. “Bolognese, matriciana, a beautiful lasagna for two.”
Breads baked in the osteria’s stone hearth oven — “focaccia, gnocco frito, crostini, semolina bread” — will star alongside dishes alla vodka and Parmigiana. Familial and familiar are buzzwords.
“The food will be very homey all around,” says Chin, who believes the concept will strike a chord with a dining public that’s looking for comfort.
“I feel like there’s been this wave of exciting, avant-garde-style cuisine that’s been hitting Orlando. I think there’s a place, almost a need, for the familiar to have its moment.”
Orlando developer Craig Ustler, who holds a long-term lease on the property and whose long-standing partnership with Good Salt Restaurant Group helped bring the downtown bookend visions of Reyes Mezcaleria in the North Quarter and The Monroe in Creative Village to light, had a hand in Soco’s successful run, as well.
“It was a great one … but it was time for something new,” says Ustler. “The Chin-Ustler partnership shares the same goals: great restaurants, great spaces and great places all for the benefit of our team, our guests and our city.”
Concept rendering for Osteria Ester. Slated to open mid-November, the sixth concept from Good Salt Restaurant Group will feature Italian-American fare that restaurateur Jason Chin calls well-timed. “I think there’s a place, and almost a need, for the familiar to have a moment in Orlando.” (Courtesy Good Salt Restaurant Group)
Inside the 4,000-square-foot space, a facelift is underway, transforming Soco’s space for Southern contemporary into something that Good Salt creative director Sue Chin says will blend old-world charm with modern playfulness.
“Warm wood tones, rustic textures and amber lighting will set the stage for cozy, intimate dinners … while colorful, quirky artwork brings an unexpected sense of fun and youthfulness.”
Vintage-inspired prints, playful nods to Italian culture and bold graphic touches, she notes, will create something both sophisticated and lively.
“But never too serious,” she says.
Chef/partner Michael Cooper and owner Jason Chin strike a pose in what will soon be Osteria Ester’s bustling Thornton Park kitchen. (Courtesy Good Salt Restaurant Group)
Not unlike the fare Cooper, who will continue in his role as chef/partner of The Osprey in Baldwin Park, looks to bring to the neighborhood.
Named for his grandmother, the space will bring Ester’s love of food and family full circle, but leave her recipes out of the mix.
“This family story doesn’t go the way you’d expect,” he laughs. “No one in my family can cook.”
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“Especially my grandmother!” says the former chef de cuisine of Luma, where Cooper’s pasta dishes were among the Chins’ favorites when they’d come to dine.
“But she was the glue of the family. Relatives from across the country would come to New Jersey just to see and spend time with her. She was just a very special woman,” he says.
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Memories of Ester, combined with those of Seaside Heights, boardwalk pizza joints and comforting favorites like calzone and sausage with onions and peppers, will be the warm hearth around which guests can gather, say Osteria Ester’s architects, in a space that carries with it a history of happiness, including a patio that,” says Ustler, a partner in both HUE and Soco, says, “was the place to see and be seen.”
As such, brunch, say Chin and Cooper, should be rolling out within a month of Osteria Ester’s opening.
“It’s time for the next great restaurant in this space,” says Ustler. “We look at it as carrying on the legacy of this location and continuing to activate this iconic corner.”
Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
Dining and Cooking