A a new restaurant arrives at Alphabet City on the north side.

It’s called 40 North in Alphabet City and will be run by Bethany Zozula, who previously worked as executive chef at the now closed Whitfield at Ace Hotel. Sam Suter, formerly of Ace Hotel and Union Standard, is the property’s beverage manager. Zozula says that all of the kitchen staff as well as almost all of the front desk staff are alumni of Ace as well. The building’s old restaurant, Brugge on North, closed in June.

“It all happened quickly. They contacted me in March. I checked the [City of Asylum] space and was immediately intrigued, ”says Zozula.

Zozula drew inspiration from the various culinary stories and influences in her life to build her opening menu. She will serve a scraped falafel in a tortilla made from a recipe she has made with her mother since she was a child. There’s a chicken sandwich based on a staff meal served every Saturday at Eleven Contemporary Kitchen, where Zozula was a chef for six years before moving to Whitfield. Khachapuri – a dish she learned from a first mentor, David Kadagishvili, chef / owner of Chef Dato’s Table at Latrobe – is something she says she can’t wait to serve.

Zozula says there will be a lot more dishes than there was on the butcher-focused Whitfield menu.

“What I found at home for over a year was that I continued to cook nonstop. I continued to express my feelings through food, to find joy in food. I really love feeding people, that’s what it comes down to, ”says Zozula.

To that end, while the menu is likely written in a conventional format with entrees, salads, main courses, and desserts, she envisions that its execution will allow for a mix-and-match arrangement of dishes that will allow everyone. , from solo to diners for special occasions, to create an enriching experience.

“It’s not about showing someone how good I can make food; it’s about giving someone food that feels good. I don’t want to dictate the experience. I want to replicate the feeling of being taken care of by someone at their home, ”she says.

Community has long been at the center of Zozula’s culinary perspective. To that end, she plans to use her experience at the multi-faceted Ace Hotel to incorporate the dining experience of 40 North more cohesively with Asylum City events (when they pick up inside). than restaurants of the past did in space. Later, she plans to revive collaborative events with the Pittsburgh chef and producer community, much like she did with the Sharing Knives and Sharing Farms series in Ace.

Zozula says 40 North will likely open around the end of June, but no official opening date has been set.

40 W North Ave, north side; 40northpgh.com