Restaurant Opening Updates

[wilreynolds]

I am hearing that a Portuguese place is going in to where copper used to be on 2nd st. in Northern Liberties.

[Hospitalitygirl]

Restaurant openings update | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/08/2010

January

R2L, on the 37th floor of Two Liberty, Jan. 21.

MIXX: The sports bar beneath Azie on Main in Villanova.

943: Pascal Cancelliere says construction issues on his Argentine-American BYOB are finally resolved.

February

Thoreau: Mike Jackson (Blue Sage) comes (almost) downtown for a vegetarian eatery at 1033 Spring Garden St. Feb. 2.

Cichetteria 19: DiVino, the Italian off Rittenhouse Square at 267 S. 19th St., is changing to a small-plater under new owner Andrea Luca Rossi. Feb. 4.

Floret: The reconfiguration of Pond in Radnor.

Maru Global Takoyaki: The newfangled Japanese concept at 255 S. 10th St.

Garces Trading Co.: Jose Garces' cafe with wine shop at 1111 Locust.

Ulysses Voyage: The L.A. Greek is to debut in February at the former Deux Cheminees at 1221-23 Locust St.

Chops Too: The Bala Cynwyd chophouse takes over for the Oceanaire on Washington Square.

Dmitri's: Dmitri Chimes and crew head to 944 N. Second St.

Tap House: Brian Harrington (Public House, Mission Grill, Field House) says he's almost there with his pub at the Radian (39th and Walnut).

Fare: That's the name of the health-focused restaurant (wild, organic, sustainable) planned for 2028 Fairmount Ave. Was called Meze early on.

March

500°: Rouge makes its foray into burger world with a mostly takeout shop on Sansom Street just west of 15th.

A version of Sidecar (22d and Christian) on Girard Avenue in Fishtown.

April

Amuse: The brasserie inside the new Le Meridien at 1421 Arch St.

Spring

Opa: A Greek/Mediterranean with bar at 1311 Sansom St.

15/18 Bar & Grill: Just what it says -- a bar and grill at 1518 Sansom St.

Jose Garces' unnamed "farm-to-table" concept at the Cira Centre.

Bobby's Burger Palace: Bobby Flay at the Radian (3925 Walnut St).

Cafe Maurice: French in the former Les Bons Temps at 114 S. 12th St.

Timber: The bistro replacing the Inn Flight across from Abington Memorial Hospital.

White Dog Café: The Penn mainstay branches to the Main Line at 200 W. Lancaster Ave. across from the Anthropologie in Wayne.

Didn't realize the Inn Flight was making way for a new Bistro. Thank goodness, the area needs it.

[Hospitalitygirl]

Restaurant notes | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/26/2010

On a more intriguing note, I see that Ro-Zu seems to be close to putting out sushi and other Japanese dishes at Seventh and Bainbridge Streets, across from the Bean Exchange and down the street from Chick's Wine Bar and Horizons. This project has been in the works for some time.

Yards Brewing says it has opened its tasting room at its plant at 901 N. Delaware Ave.

More new stuff.

[Hospitalitygirl]

Restaurant opening updates | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/05/2010

A few updates on restaurant projects hither and yon.

Barbuzzo, the Mediterranean bar from Lolita/Bindi's Valerie Safran and Marcie Turney at 110 S. 13th St. (next door to the new Zavino), should be open in late March. Construction is due to wrap by the end of this month, Safran says. Menu will be a mix of apps and larger plates, and there will be a woodburning oven for four different pizzas. There is a long open kitchen where customers can sit and watch the kitchen in addition to a bar in the front. Turney will be chef with George Sabatino of Bindi. Manager will be Terence Lewis, a former manager/wine guy at Fork, who's been at Lolita.

Falafel Factory, 32 S. 18th St., is good to go on Tuesday (Feb. 9).

Chops in the former Oceanaire is doing test meals and plans to open next Friday (Feb. 12).

West Ave Grille's new spot in Dresher, the former Carambola, is shooting for March 2.

Tabu, the sports bar in the former Sal's at 200 S. 12th St., is targeting early March.

Ulysses Voyage, the luxe Greek restaurant coming to Deux Cheminees' former space at 1221-23 Locust St., is now on track for April. Assorted delays, including a need historic approvals. This place will be a knockout, complete with a piano to be tickled during dinner.

Capital Grille won't talk now, but there's a new one on the way for Mall Boulevard in King of Prussia.

Can I add yet another new project to the mix? Alex Capasso, who has Blackbird in Collingswood, yesterday signed a deal to take the old Woolworth's store at 712 Haddon Ave. in Collingswood. It was Painted Cottage Deli in its last life. He's calling his place West Side Gravy, and he promises contemporary comfort food in a refined atmosphere, in 60 to 90 days.

Stephen Starr now says that for sure, he's reviving Blue Angel at 706 Chestnut St., his French concept that ran from 1999 to 2003 in the same storefront. This time, he says, it will be warmer and cozier, with a smaller, more changeable menu. Starr made similar noises this time last year. He says he hopes to open: "In June. Or September."

Updates.

[Hospitalitygirl]

Garces Trading Company to open next week | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/08/2010

Next Tuesday (2/16) will mark the opening day of Garces Trading Company, Jose Garces' gourmet market/cafe created in an association with the Liquor Control Board, at the Western Union Building (1111 Locust St., 215-574-1099).

GTC, which is set up like a market, will sell house-made and imported foods under the Garces Trading Company label, plus Garces-branded cuisine (including private-label coffee, olive oils, and vinegars) for eat-in or take-out.

Flowers, too.

GTC will include the state's first wine boutique, as the state will lease a percentage of the restaurant’s space to sell a selection of more than 200 red, white and sparkling wines, especially from Spain, France and Italy, and spirits.

You can order to-go at the counter, or sit in the center seating section and order from a waiter.

Euro-style lunch and dinner dining choices -- for eat-in and to-go, most $18 and under -- will include variety of pastas such as pappardelle with lamb ragu, sun choke puree and piavecchio and Tuscan fusilli alla carbonara with guanciale, eggs, black pepper and pecorino; thin crust and deep-dish, Chicago-style pizzas; and daily changing plats du jour such as coq au vin with pearl onions, mushrooms and potatoes on Mondays, and bouillabaisse with gambas, halibut, mussels, cockles and saffron ruille on Thursdays. ... more...

[wilreynolds]

HG - Thanks for posting this, good to see the state trying something new with the format.

[BenDee]

Falafel Factory, 32 S. 18th St., is good to go on Tuesday (Feb. 9).

Went there today, obviously had some first day kinks that needed to be worked out.

Tried out a baked falafel, as I've only had fried ones. The baked one wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. The falafel balls themselves had a very cakey-bready feel to them, tasting as if there were quite a bit of breadcrumbs mixed in.

Had it as a 'california' on a whole wheat pita, which looked to be 100% whole grain, but they looked too busy to ask. The sandwich overall was fairly bland, and maybe it was the avocado and cream cheese mixed with the 'bready' falafel balls, but it tasted like a bagel with cream cheese, which was not what I was going for. No cilantro in the avocado that I could see, and very few herbs in the falafel balls. Hope it improves a bit as they iron out the wrinkles.

[cricket3]

Restaurant opening updates | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/05/2010



Updates.

Any new information on when Franco's Osteria is scheduled to open on City Line? Originally had been aiming for Feb 2nd, but that hasn't happened - why not?

[Hospitalitygirl]

Any new information on when Franco's Osteria is scheduled to open on City Line? Originally had been aiming for Feb 2nd, but that hasn't happened - why not?

Yep! It's in here.

Catching up on a few restaurant plans.

Included here are some projects that are new on the radar projects and -- for the heck of it -- a look at a slew of the eateries that fall into the "will they ever open?" department:

Floret, the successor to Pond/Passerelle at 175 King of Prussia Rd. in Radnor, soft-opens tonight. The Euro-style restaurant was supposed to open in December but ran into some management issues. The two men who had been running the project -- Scott Morrison (Nectar) and chef Dan Kremin (ex-Barclay Prime, Buddakan) -- bowed out. Running it now is Bill Shapiro (BLT's Cobblefish) and chef is Dave Walti (ex-Spence Cafe). Entrees are $15 to $19, and for now, it'll be open every night except Sundays.

Katie Cavuto Boyle, alumna of The Next Food Network Star, says she will open Healthy Bites To-Go Market Cafe at 2521 Christian St. on Friday (2/19). Details here. (City Paper's "Mealticket" got inside for photos.)

City Tap House, the more stylish sibling of Public House, Mission Grill, and Field House, is looking at "late February/early March" for its primo spot in the Radian at 39th and Walnut.

Franco's Osteria -- Franco Faggi's relocation from his spot in East Falls across the Schuylkill to the ground floor of the Presidential on City Avenue -- is targeting the "middle of next week," as in Feb. 24.

The Dmitri's in Northern Liberties is targeting Feb. 24-ish.

HeadHouse, the successor to Zot, is looking at late February/early March.

Savvas, an upscale pizza-bar-restaurant at 3501 Lancaster Ave., is targeting early March. Owner Savvas Navrosidis is an investor in Fare, the good-for-you project coming to 2028 Fairmount Ave. in April.

Wishing Well, positioned as a neighborhood joint, is looking at early March at Ninth and Catharine Streets in South Philly, formerly Pat Bombino's. Owners plan to source ingredients from shops in the Italian Market and -- in a novel twist -- donate proceeds from sales of well shots to community groups. Signature dish will be a S.H.A.M.E. burger, based on at least one hamburger patty, fried egg, cheese, and housemade scrapple served on a toasted bun.

Landmark Americana, the sports bar at Drexel's new rec center (3333 Market St.), is saying March.

How about 943, the Argentine-Italian restaurant at 943 S. Ninth St. Owner Pat Cancelliere, who started work here last June, says it's 95 percent complete but he had to hire a new general contractor to fix work that previous contractors had botched. Two more months, maybe? Meanwhile, he runs M, at the Morris House on Eighth Street.

Fare, the good-for-you restaurant/bar at 2028 Fairmount Ave. (fka Meze), is targeting early April.

Nothing really new on Sticks & Stones, a restau-bar at 1909 E. Passyunk Ave. -- which has been in the works for so long, my first mention of it is not available on the Web anymore. Owner Nick Miglino, formerly of Felicia's, said he also is undoing problems with contractors' work and said he was proceeding with construction at his own pace.

Nothing new on a planned revival of Hu-Nan in Ardmore, which was damaged in a fire last fall.