Primitivo’s Former Home Has a New Tenant — Cafe Roma

Central City is trading Primitivo’s caveman sensibilities and open hearth cooking for pizza and pasta hub, Cafe Roma. The longtime Italian restaurant’s Uptown location closed this past Saturday in anticipation of the move to Central City. While no opening date has been set, a representative from the restaurant said that take-out and delivery may open as early as tomorrow, but the dining room “won’t open for another week or so.” The restaurant representative also said that there will be some changes to the menu, but no details are available yet.

Adolpho Garcia, who also owns Ancora, La Boca, High Hat Cafe and Gusto at Canal Place, opened Primitivo in May of 2015 with Chef Nick Martin. Lauded as a top new New Orleans restaurant by several critics, the restaurant heralded in a new era for Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, opening less than a year after the Southern Food and Beverage Museum cut the ribbon on its new home on the same street. It was one of the first fine dining spots to take a chance on Central City.

The restaurant had a good first year, but lost its steady stream of diners once the city started upgrading the street. Adolpho Garcia still owns the property and leases it to Cafe Roma.

Cafe Roma will be open every day of the week from 10 a.m. to midnight.