Mayor Lawson Mapp will preside over the official opening of a new Hamilton business today which brings a New York street corner style restaurant to Bermuda.

L?Oriental Express ? the brainchild of The Little Venice Group which owns Little Venice restaurant and Little Venice Wine Bar as well as L?Oriental and a handful of other restaurants ? has opened the takeout restaurant in the new Maxwell Roberts building which sits at the junction of Par-La-Ville Road and Church Street.

Partner and general manager in The Little Venice Group Costanzo DiMeglio and the group?s executive chef Danny Lim said they had wanted to bring such a takeout restaurant to Bermuda for sometime. When space on the well-travelled corner came available, they knew it was perfect for the concept.

?This one was an unbelievable location for us to do something like a New York corner,? Mr. DiMeglio said adding that while the restaurant, which has some indoor and outdoor seating, is mostly about takeout he did not want it to be ?just like another ham and cheese sandwich place?.

The restaurant actually offers 21 styles of prepared gourmet sandwiches as well as prepared salads, a salad bar and a delectable array of pastries, Italian ice cream and coffee. The focus of the restaurant however is on oriental food with both hot and cold options available at lunchtime. There are also quick health food and gourmet items as well as a beverage fridge complete with bottles of wine and beer.

While it may sound like a lot of food and staff to pack into 1200 square foot space, the restaurateurs placed an emphasis on designing a layout that would allow many customers to easily move around and buy their lunches. Besides providing good food, it was also important to the restaurateurs to get customers in and out quickly.

?This is a place for everybody, but most of all for workers,? Mr. DiMeglio said. ?People go in one place and they don?t want to lose anytime. Unfortunately, there are so many places where you go, even if you grab yourself a sandwich, and you end up waiting 10-15 minutes in line before you can pay. We have three points of sale which means we have put an effort on having people in and out so that they can really use the time that they get for lunch to actually eat lunch.?

The restaurant is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every evening and also aims to catch the breakfast crowd ? they have hot selections for a complete English breakfast available each morning ? as well as workers who want to pick up takeout before they head home in the evening.