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Read the press release here.

Virgola Oyster Bar Opening New Alphabet City Location

By Josh Keefe | January 27, 2016 2:08pm
  Virgola is opening its third location in Alphabet City, just a few months after expanding beyond its original home, a West Village alley.
Virgola is opening its third location in Alphabet City, just a few months after expanding beyond its original home, a West Village alley.
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Brent Herrig

EAST VILLAGE - Italian wine and oyster bar Virgola is opening a third location in Alphabet City, just a few months after opening its second location in the East Village, as part of an ambitious expansion.

A notice on the storefront gate at 221 Avenue B announced that owner Joseph Marazzo was seeking a liquor license for the new location. The notice was first spotted by local blog EV Grieve.

Marazzo told DNAinfo New York that the new 50 to 60-seat location will share a menu with the original Virgola, which opened in a 6-foot-wide alleyway in 2013, and the East Seventh St. site, which opened in November. 

"It's a dark and sexy concept," said Marazzo, who is designing and building the new venue. 

Virgola's growth isn't just limited to Manhattan. Marazzo, a Brooklyn native, said a Flushing rooftop location would open this summer, followed by sites in Ormond Beach, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma, and even Beijing, China. 

"We're going to be in every city," Marazzo said. "There's nobody like us."

"You can go to Virgola on a date and spend $30 if it's not going well and get out of there," Marazzo said. "Or if its going well you can spend $200."

Marazzo said that in conjunction with the expansion, all of the wines on the restaurant's wine list, including its signature prosecco and rosé, will soon be exclusive to Virgola. 

The previous tenant at the Avenue B location was Camp David, a lounge which closed last year.