Despite construction obstructions, Bittersweet hopes to open by the end of the year

Lori Midson

Considering the woes of the past week, Olav Peterson is in a much better mood than you might expect. The chef/owner of Bittersweet, which, after a series of soft openings, was originally slated to open Saturday night (it didn't), and again tomorrow night (it won't), is frustrated by the delays, but taking the punches in stride. "We want to shine like a new penny, not a two-year-old penny," says Peterson, who's encountered numerous construction logjams that have derailed his opening plans -- not once, but twice.

"The bar still needs some work, there are some finishing areas that we still need to work on, and we had gale-force winds coming through a light socket, so the heat has to be rebalanced," admits Peterson. "The last thing we want is for people to be eating dinner with their coats on in a freezing dining room."

Or critical Yelpers writing negative reviews based on the fact that the molding hasn't been perfected. "We don't want Yelpers coming in and then writing reviews saying that this, or that, isn't done yet. We want to make sure that everyone has a great experience, and that the space is 100 percent finished," explains Peterson.

Which, he says, will be by the end of the year -- barring any further unforeseen barriers. "I have all the confidence in the world to say that I can deliver in the kitchen, but I'm not the contractor, so I'm not making any promises, but I'm 75 to 80 percent sure that we'll be open by the end of the year, and while the delays don't make me happy, we all have to prevail with cool heads, so we can put put our best foot forward and offer the best experience possible when we do open."

In the meantime, you can get a taste of the sweet things to come by checking out our food porn post from last week's media dinner.