Both D. and N. spotted the new gold lettering on the façade of the former Ecco! — thanks to N. for the shot — and I am assuming for now that these are the same folks who were approved in spring 2021 (!) for a liquor license. More when I can hunt them down and get an update, but in the meantime, their plan when they presented at the CB1 meeting was for a seafood restaurant (oysters and other local catch) for the space, at 124 Chambers. Assuming this is still them, here’s what we knew two years ago:

Brendan Spiro, one of the owners, has been a restaurant consultant for 16 years, operated a restaurant in 2009 in the East Village, and now has a seafood place on the North Fork. The other owner, Paul Italia, has The Stand NYC comedy club in Union Square.

They plan to keep much of the classic parts of the interior, but it could use some sprucing up as I recall from the tour I took with the folks from the Grey Dog, who took the lease just before covid began, then gave it up. (Somehow I think that wood freezer can’t be up to code.) “It’s quite a job — the place was neglected for years,” Spiro said.

Ecco! closed in December 2019, well before covid, though the owners are still running a restaurant in Greenwich, CT.