In Fort Lauderdale, the mystery of Timpano restaurant solved (almost)

Something is stirring at Timpano Italian Chophouse, a downtown Fort Lauderdale favorite for more than two decades that has been a shuttered enigma as Las Olas Boulevard has regained its signature bustle.

Is Timpano, with its revered steaks and roasted mussels, returning? Maybe, maybe not.

A restaurant is coming, for sure, but the menu and when exactly you’ll be able to get a table remains murky.

The restaurant is part of Orlando-based Tavistock Restaurant Collection, which recently went into hiring mode for the space, seeking a general manager and an executive chef. While the ads reference “Timpano,” a Tavistock insider said the identity of the restaurant is still being discussed.

“It’s in the conceptual stage right now. We’re trying to decide about keeping it Timpano, or changing it to another concept. But it will reopen,” the representative said, predicting the doors would be open “in the next year.”

Tavistock’s other Timpano restaurant, in Tampa, also remains closed.

The company, which operates Boca Raton’s well-regarded Glades Road steakhouse Abe & Louie’s, is known for restaurants of distinctive urban chic in Boston, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Its Orlando eateries include Chroma Modern Bar + Kitchen, Boxi Park and Park Pizza & Brewing Co.

In Fort Lauderdale, Timpano has been the last COVID-closed holdout on busy, restaurant-lined Las Olas Boulevard, sitting in somber contrast to the boisterous crowds across the street at YOLO and the instantly packed terrace at the new Eddie V’s Prime Seafood a half-block away.

Timpano was popular from the moment it opened in 1999, a room of warm sophistication, Sinatra-lined walls and live music. The menu and its execution impressed critics.