Noma's Relaunch Delayed Because of an Ancient Stone Wall

Evan Sung

Noma—the acclaimed Copenhagen restaurant where chef Rene Redzepi made an entire generation's foraging dreams come true – was such a cultural phenomenon that when it closed at the end of 2016 while still in its prime, only one thing could top it: the relaunch of Noma. And that reboot was scheduled to happen this year, but unfortunately, after a slight hiccup, it's been moved to early 2018.

In some ways, the temporary closure of Noma has seemed like the best possible publicity for the multi-time winner of World's Best Restaurant. Not that the two-Michelin-starred spot was going stale, but after being open for well over a decade, even one of the top restaurants in the world can get lost in the shuffle. But since serving its last meal in its original space on the on December 31, 2016, following the exploits of Noma has turned into a bit of a fun "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" game for foodies. Redzepi spent some time running an incarnation of Noma in Mexico. Meanwhile, a group of 30 Noma employees opened a pop-up under a bridge in Copenhagen called, appropriately, Under the Bridge. But let's be honest, though the band inevitably goes on tour, the biggest event is always the release of the new album: The big event would be the opening of the new Noma, with its on-site farm slated for December 2017.

But this week, Noma announced a slight (very slight) setback on its official website. "A few months ago, while crews were performing construction on the space that will house the new noma, they stumbled upon an ancient stone wall buried in the ground," the Noma team wrote. "These things are fairly common in a city that is over 900 years old, but we dutifully brought archaeologists out to the site to inspect the wall and determine its origins," the posting continues. "After a couple months, they declared the finding to be insignificant, and work resumed, but for that reason, we are delayed until mid-January with the opening."

So there you have it: One of the biggest influencers in the food world this month isn't a chef or a critic… It's an ancient stone wall. Respect it. Meanwhile, if you must have your Noma fix, the message also announced that the Under the Bridge pop-up is being extended for six more weeks—assuming no stone walls choose to interfere.