|
|
|
Closings
Tough go of it for the Marathon Grill brand this week — fresh on the heels of the 10th and Walnut location falling into the hands of Cuba Libre's owners and chef Matt Levin in a legal settlement comes word that the Marathon at 1339 Chestnut is closing, as well. An official statement from the company:
Due to increasing rental expenses, Marathon has elected to close its Broad and Chestnut Street location. Marathon has been operating restaurants in this City since 1984 and will continue its commitment to focus on its primary passion of serving locally sourced, quality food at affordable prices to Philadelphians at its other Center City restaurants located at 16th and Sansom Streets, 19th and Spruce Streets, 1818 Market Street and 10th & Walnut.
This morning, Dan Gross’ gossip on the bitchiness between two famous Philly families, the Spains and the Borishes, culminated in the fact that the 10th-and-Walnut Street address that holds Marathon Grill now, as part of a settlement, belongs to the Spains. And Bernie Spain's wish was to let Barry Gutin and Larry Cohen of Cuba Libre (10 S. Second St.) and their company, Guest Counts, run the new restaurant. "We knew what was going on and have been involved in the new concept in recent months," says Gutin, who refused to get into the minutiae of what went down between the Borish and Spain camps. “It's not our fray to be in the middle of."
Chicken.Org (534 S. Fourth St.), which Burger.Org owners Eyal Aranya and Yoni Nadav opened over the summer, is shuttered. Aranya tells Meal Ticket it's been closed down for a few weeks, but adds that they've moved the poultry-centric menu over to their nearby glatt kosher burger joint (326 South St.).
This Saturday, Sept. 24 will be the last day of service at Bindi (105 S. 13th St.), the modern Indian BYO Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran opened in 2008. As we reported in August, the duo will shut down the restaurant and renovate it to turn it into Jamonera, a Spanish wine bar and restaurant expected to open in October. Check out Elisa Ludwig's 2008 review of Bindi for a look back.
Photo: Michael T. Regan
Meal Ticket's Nicole Rossi snagged this shot of the just-shut-down Potbelly Sandwich Shop at the corner of 12th and Walnut. A source on-site floated the possibility that a Chipotle location could be moving in — that'd put it just three blocks east of the flagship location the chain opened last October. A rep for the company could not confirm that the burrito kings are eyeballing this specific address, but did let on that Chipotle is definitely canvassing the neighborhood and speaking with landlords. Regardless of who lands the primo space, we're guessing they'll be corporate. (Don't even think about it, Le Pain Quotidien.)
Todd Rodgers and Bruno Pouget of Noble (2025 Sansom St.) have made the difficult decision to close their two-year-old Center City restaurant. Business was on an uptick, but a few weeks ago they began negotiations with Stephen Starr, who months back had personally toured the space, curious about its setup and rooftop garden operation. The two sides officially came to terms this past Friday. (Rodgers and Pouget still own the building and will continue to do so.) The transition from Noble to Starr's not-yet-public plan will happen fast — Noble will be closed by tomorrow, but all staffers will be offered preferential interviews within the Starr organization, for either the new concept or concepts elsewhere in the company. Stay tuned for official details on what Starr aims to do with the space.
UPDATE: Since it's out there — Noble will be converted into Il Pittore, soon-to-be-former SRO corporate chef Chris Painter's long-planned Italian concept that's so far had false starts at both 627 S. Third and 1221 Locust. It's slated for an October opening.
Bobby Bolders, the hot-pepper fiend who opened WMD Hot Sauce (1212 South St.) in late 2009, has announced that today will be the store's final day in business. We'll no longer be able to drop by for re-ups of his excellent bhut jolokia sauces, among other potent food-enhancing, lip-buzzing elixirs. There is a bit of upside to this bummer bit of news, though — customers will be still be able to acquire all of Bolders' sauces via wmdhotsauce.com (free shipping no matter what the order size), and he says he's looking to expand his presence in local bars and restaurants, too.
Photo: Drew Lazor
h/t @mollyeichel
On Monday we shared the bummer news that Far From Home Café food truck would be leaving Philly for a new opportunity. Then, they planned on breaking down shop this Thursday, July 21, but due to excessive heat expectations, Larry Comroe says today will be the truck's final hurrah at LOVE Park. They'll have plenty of empanadas for a revisit of their recent Empanada-Palooza, and if you say the phrase "Thank you for the love Philly" when ordering, you'll get a drink for 25 cents.
"Food trucks are fun, but they're brutal," says link lord Dan Semko, who's told Meal Ticket today he's ending the year-plus run of his Renaissance Sausage truck. The last day for the mobile sandwich op will be Sunday, July 31 at the Headhouse Farmers Market (Second and Lombard), but don't fear, Renaissance men and women; Semko is still selling his links at local markets and will be doubling up wholesale efforts in the coming months. "The business is still going, and in a positive direction."
Renaissance's wheels are for sale, by the by. Inquire at renaissancesausage@gmail.com and stay tuned to Meal Ticket for upcoming details about Semko's top-secret future plans.
Larry Comroe and Wade Smith's Far From Home Cafe, the food truck they founded in the Caribbean and launched in Philly in February, is entering its final week of business. Though Comroe can't elaborate very much, he says he and his partner have been offered both a book deal and a food truck-centric "consulting opportunity" that will involve them moving across the country. "Part is going to be a book about food trucks, from A to Z," says Comroe, who expresses his gratitude for Far From Home's positive reception here. "And then maybe a little travel and take that on the road." They're looking to sell both the Far From Home name/business and truck itself. We look forward to hearing more about their next project; in the meantime, know that the truck will be in its usual LOVE Park spot today through this Thursday, July 21. Comroe promises the empanadas will be well-stocked.
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
