DON’T say adios to Ola or chef Douglas Rodriguez just yet.

According to one of the backers of the fiery nuevo Latino pioneer, a new Ola restaurant is likely to open in downtown Manhattan.

What was the problem with the original Ola, which recently closed at 304 E. 48th St.?

“It was a lab experiment for Ola in Miami,” said Brian Lieberman from the Miami branch, which didn’t open until last December. Lieberman added that he was in negotiations to open a second Ola in Florida – this time a steakhouse – in the Miami area.

“Now we have been looking in the SoHo and TriBeCa area.”

The original Ola, which Douglas Rodriguez helmed after bolting Chicama and Pipa in January 2003, has now been replaced with a new Atlantic Rim seafood restaurant named C, featuring the food and wines of Long Island.

* From Ola, we switch to Lola. The celebrity-friendly French Creole eatery, which closed last June after 19 years at its 22nd Street location, has found a new home.

With the help of brokers from Newmark New Spectrum, Lola’s owners recently settled on 15 Watts St.

The new eatery, comprising 3,500 square feet plus an 800-square-foot outdoor garden, is scheduled to open Dec. 15, which should be welcome news to regulars who include preggy woman Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Sarah Jessica Parker and Mariah Carey.

The executive chef will be Jeanne Courtenay-Price, formerly of the defunct Globe.

* Former Match proprietor Billy Gilroy is getting back into the restaurant biz. He and several partners are opening Employees Only (510 Hudson St.), a cozy speakeasy-type eatery and bar, where the owners are serving as employees.

Opening in mid-December, Employees Only will offer specialty cocktails and a wide-ranging European menu – from a Serbian charcuterie platter to a hearty stuffed pork loin.