Here’s a little bit of good holiday news: After about eight weeks or so of renovations, Italian restaurant Scarpetta opened its doors a couple of days ago.

What has changed? Well, the most noticeable difference will be seating capacity; they’ve finally built out that empty second floor. In addition to that, the staff has new uniforms. Consultant sommelier Jean-Marc Nolant has written the wine list; he’s got his name on some other big name venues here—the Park Hyatt and Pistacchio come immediately to mind at the moment. Something perhaps less noticeable—unless you’re an industry type—is a new P.O.S. system. Those touch screen computers that let service staff send orders back to the kitchen.

Other than all that, it’s the same ol’ Scarpetta. In proprietor John Liu’s words, “Same prices but better hardware.”

As for that French-Indochine restaurant we wrote about here, he's still working on that. No confirmation on an opening date just yet.