Consider it a Christmas present for fans of Carmine's. The New Bedford restaurant is set to reopen this week, the day after Christmas, after being closed for much of 2019.

The popular restaurant abruptly closed its doors at the end of May, but we gave you the heads up that owners had plans for a reopening back in early October.

What will Carmine's serve? Ownership is still seemingly holding those cards close to the vest. You may remember that when Carmine's first opened, it specialized in Italian food; however, it introduced more Portuguese food onto the menu in the months before it closed. Some diners weren't fans of the move towards Portuguese, only because that cuisine is so readily available on the SouthCoast. Clearly, it is more difficult to find Italian restaurants in New Bedford and Fall River.

We know that there will be a brick oven. It was not easy to do because of the historical status of the Candleworks building, but the owners were able to push it through. You will see brick oven pizza on the menu at the new Carmine's.

Some eager Facebook fans were reaching out to Carmine's over the weekend, hoping to snag some last-minute gift cards to the restaurant. However, they will not be available before it opens on Thursday. Your old Carmine's gift certificates WILL be honored. Carmine's had allowed you to turn in the gift cards to the Black Whale, but now you will once again be able to use them at Carmine's.

For those of you who are hoping to revisit Carmine's over school vacation, here is the schedule for its first week back:

Thursday, December 26: Dinner

Friday, December 27: Lunch and Dinner

Saturday, December 28: Lunch and Dinner

Sunday, December 29: Sunday Brunch

Monday-Wednesday: Dinner

Reservations can be booked beginning Thursday.

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