As Philadelphia prepares to welcome visitors for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations, one of its most notable historic sites will stir back to life — at least outdoors.
Historic Philadelphia Inc., through an agreement with Independence National Historical Park and in partnership with event company Cescaphe, plans to open the Garden at City Tavern on June 25, transforming the shaded plot behind City Tavern into a seasonal destination featuring food, drinks, historical interpreters, lawn games, and special events.
The garden behind City Tavern, Second and Walnut Streets, on June 18, 2026.Michael Klein / Staff
The garden will operate from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday to Sunday through Labor Day on the grounds behind the shuttered restaurant at Second and Walnut Streets, offering visitors a chance to gather at a site that played a prominent role in Revolutionary-era Philadelphia.
What visitors will not find, though, is a reopened City Tavern.
The restaurant inside the three-story brick building has been dark since October 2020. Though the closure became associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, former chef-proprietor Walter Staib said the building’s mounting physical problems were the larger issue.
City Tavern chef/proprietor Walter Staib serving Ralph Archbold, portraying Benjamin Franklin, on Dec. 21, 2005.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“COVID was the perfect excuse to close, but it wasn’t the real reason,” Staib said Thursday. “The tavern would have closed anyway. The liabilities had become too great.”
The National Park Service sought a long-term operator in 2023, but no successor has been announced. “Lease negotiations are in process, which we hope to conclude by the end of summer,” park superintendent Steven Sims said in a statement to The Inquirer.
For now, Historic Philadelphia is concentrating on the garden.
“We really wanted to activate City Tavern itself,” said Amy Needle, president and chief executive officer of Historic Philadelphia. “The garden has always been a gorgeous space. For now, we’re focusing on that.” She said the seasonal run could be extended if demand remains strong and hopes to bring the pop-up back each summer.
City Tavern, on Second Street near Walnut, on Jan. 26, 2023.Michael Klein / Staff
Founded in 1773, City Tavern served as a gathering place for merchants, politicians, and many of the nation’s founders. Delegates to the First Continental Congress dined there, while George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin were among its patrons.
The original structure was damaged by fire in 1834 and demolished two decades later. The current building is a reconstruction commissioned by the park service and opened in 1976 as part of the nation’s Bicentennial celebration.
For decades, City Tavern operated as both a restaurant and a living-history attraction, eventually becoming closely identified with Staib, the German-born chef, historian, and television personality who took over the operation in 1994. Under his stewardship, the restaurant gained national recognition for menus inspired by colonial recipes and traditions, helping launch cookbooks and the PBS series A Taste of History.
Chef Walter Staib is shown at City Tavern in 2013.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Staib said many people still contact him, especially around patriotic holidays, asking when the tavern will reopen. “I tell them, ‘I’ve got nothing to do with the tavern,’” he said.
He said he declined an invitation to appear at the garden’s opening, but he would be delighted to advise a new operator. At 80 years old, he said, his days of restaurant ownership are history.
Among the building’s challenges, Staib cited the lack of a sprinkler system in dining rooms, aging infrastructure, and the absence of an elevator. Even before the closure, he estimated that bringing the property into compliance would require millions of dollars. “Add another six years of deterioration,” he said, “and it’s even more expensive now.”
The garden behind City Tavern, Second and Walnut Streets, on June 18, 2026.Michael Klein / Staff
Historic Philadelphia, meanwhile, saw an opportunity to bring activity back to the property. Backed by a grant from the Connelly Foundation, the organization upgraded the garden with new landscaping, seating, and other amenities. It also enlisted Cescaphe — Historic Philadelphia’s partner in other ventures, including Franklin Square — to operate the seasonal pop-up; financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.
Despite the historic setting, the food and beverage offerings are decidedly contemporary. The menu includes turkey sandwiches, wraps, charcuterie boards, pretzels, beer, wine, and canned cocktails with names such as Patriots Punch, Birthday Brew, and Liberty Lemonade. Cescaphe will use an off-site commissary rather than City Tavern’s dormant kitchens. Unlike the former restaurant, staff will not wear colonial-era clothing.
City Tavern, Second and Walnut Streets, opened in 1976 on the site of a former colonial tavern.Michael Klein / Staff
Historic Philadelphia’s “History Makers” interpreters will appear regularly at the site, and the organization’s Independence After Hours tours will conclude at the garden on Saturday evenings. During the Historic District’s Red, White & Blue To-Do celebration on July 2, the garden also will host live music.
Needle said the project reflects Historic Philadelphia’s broader mission of bringing activity to public spaces and historic sites.
“The garden is already used by neighborhood residents,” she said. “People walk their dogs there, and visitors come through as well. Part of our mission is bringing these places to life, so we’re excited to do that here.”
Angelo’s Pizzeria owner Danny DiGiampietro has been pursuing two ambitious goals: reviving a landmark Montgomery County bakery and opening a branch of his Michelin-recommended pizza-and-sandwich operation in South Jersey, where it all began.
Both projects now appear to be gaining momentum. While Angelo’s vaunted rolls are being baked at the former Conshohocken Italian Bakery property, which DiGiampietro purchased last year, the long-held plans to reopen the bakery’s counter to retail customers remain on hold. DiGiampietro said the building requires additional work, which he declined to specify. “Every time we fix one thing, something else comes up,” he said.
Danny DiGiampietro (left), owner of Angelo’s Pizzeria, with partner Jared Braunstein at the bakery in Conshohocken in December 2024.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
But Angelo’s is moving into wholesale bread production, the backbone of Conshohocken Italian Bakery’s business under the Gambone family for more than a half-century before its 2024 closing.
A key piece of the puzzle is on the way: a massive Polin oven imported from Italy to give his bakers more flexibility, DiGiampietro said.
The future location of Angelo’s Pizzeria in West Collingswood Heights, previously Di’Nics, on June 18, 2026.Michael Klein / Staff
At “Conshy,” as the Jones Street bakery was known, the Gambone family supplied rolls and bread to hundreds of restaurants and sandwich shops throughout the region. Its closing created a frenzy among customers and competitors.
DiGiampietro said the new oven will allow bakers to create a line of kaiser rolls, potato rolls, steak rolls, and hoagie rolls. Although he will in effect be selling to his sandwich shop competitors, he likens it to giving shops “the canvas to make their art,” DiGiampietro said. “Everyone’s different.”
A return to wholesaling was not in the initial plans for DiGiampietro, who owned a bread bakery in South Philadelphia about 20 years ago. “I went bankrupt the first time. So hopefully I don’t go bankrupt again.”
Meanwhile, demolition and rebuilding are underway at the future Angelo’s Pizzeria location at 310 Black Horse Pike in the West Collingswood Heights neighborhood of Haddon Township, Camden County. The stand-alone building was formerly Di’Nics.
Crews recently gutted the building, which DiGiampietro hopes to transform into a full-service Angelo’s within the next several months.
The project will mark his return to New Jersey. DiGiampietro opened his first Angelo’s in Haddonfield in 2013 before closing it in 2018 to focus on the Ninth Street location in South Philadelphia, which opened in 2019 and helped turn Angelo’s into one of the region’s most sought-after pizzeria and cheesesteak shops.
The Angelo’s in West Collingswood Heights, about 10 minutes from the Walt Whitman Bridge, will include table seating as well as a counter overlooking the kitchen. Initially, DiGiampietro wanted more seating. Then he began talking about a takeout-only operation.
“But people love the show,” he said. “They like to see everything happening.”
The build-out still requires installation of a pizza oven, walk-in refrigeration, and other equipment. Even so, DiGiampietro believes the compact space can work.
“We think we can keep a dining room and still fit everything we need in there,” he said. “It’ll be tight, but we work on Ninth Street in basically a submarine, so how much tighter can it get?”
🍜 Kalaya, the Thai destination from chef “Nok” Suntaranon in Fishtown/Kensington, is the Beard’s Outstanding Restaurant for 2026. Kalaya is only the second Philly restaurant to win this national honor, after Friday Saturday Sunday brought it home in 2023, the same year Suntaranon won for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic.
🍣 Chef Jesse Ito of Royal Sushi & Izakayaand Dancerobot, winner of the Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic, proves that nine times can be the charm. (Yes, this was Ito’s ninth nomination, after years of recognition dating back to a Rising Star Chef nod in 2018 and a string of Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic noms.) “I came to Chicago 99% certain that I was going to lose,” Ito told us. Well!
📸 Inquirer photographer Monica Herndonwon the 2026 Beard award for narrative photography last Saturday for an assignment where she followed native hunters in the Canadian Arctic. (When I called her Monday to congratulate her, she had to cut it short because she had to photograph Wawa tacos. The life of a newspaper photographer!)
💡 Here’s your chance to know more about the winning chefs. Critic Craig LaBan and photographer Monica Herndon traveled with them. Check out their articles:
⏲️ Chef Justine MacNeil of Fiore in Kensington was a Beard finalist this year for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Beatrice Forman explains how her approach stands out in the era of social-media bakeries.
🧑🍳 Chef Cristina Martinez, who won the Mid-Atlantic’s Outstanding Chef prize in 2022, has set up a counter to sell her celebrated South Philly Barbacoa inside Triple Bottom Brewing, 915 Spring Garden St. Hours: 3-9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 1-9 p.m. Saturday.
Roxanne, the Michelin-recommended Queen Village bistro that the city shut down over the spring for operating without licenses and inspections, said on Instagram that it would reopen today. Beatrice Forman reports that chef Alexandra Holt is also advertising lunch, though hours and days are unclear.
South Jerseyans seem confused over a rumored impending closing of the Brio Italian Grille in Cherry Hill and an alleged plan for Brazilian steak chain Fogo de Chão to move in. Sarah Nicell unpacks this tale.
Global supplies of Chartreuse are dwindling. But, as Kiki Aranita reports, some Philadelphia bars have figured ways to work around this and concoct their own version of the coveted spirit.
In a story that’s more “pop culture 2026″ than “food,” I recount how an influencer has refashioned the life of former alleged Philadelphia mob kingpin “Skinny Joey” Merlino. His new career includes a podcast and cheesesteak businesses.
This Cavatelli Amatriciana at a new Montgomery County Italian restaurant was a tasty riff on an old favorite. It’s among our top bites, including pastries from a pop-up, drinkable yogurt in Chinatown, and a “walking snack” in South Philly.
Scoops
Wawa is on a small liquor-license binge in the burbs, applying to Harrisburg this week for its soon-to-open Super Wawa stores at 799 Valley Forge Rd. (near White Horse Road) in Schuylkill Township and at Valley Forge Road and Sumneytown Pike in Upper Gwynedd.
David Jansen, who closed his eponymous Mount Airy restaurant last year to become chef at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club in Lafayette Hill, is now on the beach, as they say. He and the club acknowledge that they’ve parted company. Jansen, who spent 22 years at the old Fountain at the Four Seasons Hotel under Jean-Marie Lacroix, said he is taking time off before jumping back in. (The upshot: He will again cook for the general public.)
Soft-shell crab season is upon us, and here are 10 restaurants that have them on the menu.
Restaurant report
Let’s take a first look inside the Blue Warbler, arguably the most ambitious bar/restaurant/cafe to open in Chestnut Hill in years. Shown is the chopped meze salad, featuring smoky baba ghanoush and creamy lemon-garlic hummus, topped with baby greens, watermelon radish, carrots, spicy pickled carrots, harissa crunch, and crispy chickpea. Read on for the story.
Saffron Cafe, a Manayunk newcomer, delivers samosas and viral dot cakes as it bridges Indian and American culture, writes Hira Qureshi.
➕ The week’s openings include: The Monto, the Old City Irish bar at 226 Market St. from Fergus Carey and Jim McNamara, with food by N.A. Poe, debuts at 5 p.m. Saturday). The Huntingdon Valley branch of the revived Iron Hill Brewery opens at 11 a.m. Monday.
Briefly noted
The Hart of Catering in Center City is leaning into a case of mistaken identity with a Kevin Hart look-alike contest set for July 6 — comedian Kevin Hart’s birthday — at its cafe at 2101 Sansom St. Owner Kevin Hart, who says he has spent years fielding confusion over his famous namesake, will host the event beginning at 6 p.m. Contestants will be judged by a panel of comedians, and the winner will receive a catered party package valued at $5,000. Participants can dress as either comedian Kevin Hart or owner Kevin Hart, and birthday cake will be served. Registration is available through Eventbrite.
The Wine Cup, a tasting event featuring wine, beer, and spirits producers, is set for noon-8 p.m. Saturday at the Navy Yard, at the foot of Broad Street in South Philadelphia. Organized by Shakia Williams of Cyrenity Sips Winery, Keyanna Wilson of Aurora’s Vines, and Kevin Lewis of KiRae Wines, the event will include tastings, cocktails sponsored by Tito’s Vodka, nonalcoholic cocktails, food trucks, retail vendors, and a cigar lounge. Tickets, starting at $28.50, are via Eventbrite.
Pennsylvania has reprised its Scooped: An Ice Cream Trail, through Sept. 7, at 59 PA Preferred ice cream destinations. Participants can sign up for a free digital passport and earn points by visiting participating locations and making a purchase. Each stop provides a check-in code that allows travelers to collect points toward prizes, such as a branded insulated bag and an entry to a drawing for a package including a Merrymead Farm tour and an overnight stay at Normandy Farm Hotel & Conference Center. Details are here.
Fishtown Taps offers discounts on food and drinks from 5-7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sept. 29 at participating locations throughout 19125. Details are here.
The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festivalis back at Franklin Square through Aug. 16, transforming the park into a glowing showcase of culture, artistry, and light. There’s also a huge slate of food throughout from local vendors Chickie’s & Pete’s, Humpty’s Dumplings, Oishii, Sang Kee Noodle House, and Square Burger. The menu is here. Notable: Korean meatballs from Oishii, the dan dan noodles from Sang Kee, and the beverages served inside whole pineapples and coconuts. Kids will like the five different cotton candy selections (example shown above).
Herr’s is out with three new flavors of Philly-inspired chips as it rolls out another season of its Flavors by Philly promotion. Here’s what we thought of them.
❓Pop quiz
Rita’s Water Italian Ice is offering a new flavor for a month. What is it?
What’s happening with Fiesta III Pizza in Chestnut Hill? — Wade J.
Fiesta III Pizza at 8339 Germantown Ave., which closed in October 2024 after more than four decades, is coming back at the hands of brothers Chris and Argyris (“Ari”) Mountis, who along with their father, Tom, were longtime employees of founder Sam Thomas and his wife, Gloria. In 1966, the Thomases founded the original Fiesta in Upper Darby. In 1982, they opened in Chestnut Hill with oldest son Peter, who took over responsibility following Sam’s retirement in 2012. The Mountises, upgrading the place throughout, now operate Jean’s Pizza in Mayfair. Their goal is a fall reopening.
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“Johnny Cash singing Nine Inch Nails.” That was Fred Mogul’s shorthand for the restaurant he had long wanted to build: familiar but surprising, rooted in tradition, yet willing to scramble expectations.
On Monday, that vision arrived at one of Chestnut Hill’s most prominent corners with the opening of the Blue Warbler at Germantown and Willow Grove Avenues. The all-day operation combines a bakery, café, bar, and restaurant, drawing from Mediterranean, Jewish, Persian, Balkan, and American influences.
The bar at the Blue Warbler during staff training on June 11.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Although the menu is entirely vegetarian, vegan, and pescatarian, Mogul does not want the restaurant defined by what it lacks. “I don’t want to be ‘that vegetarian place,’” he said. “There’s so much you can do without meat.”
The Blue Warbler arrives as Chestnut Hill’s dining scene shows fresh signs of life, despite last year’s closing of Iron Hill Brewery. Earlier this year, Lovat Square opened as a wine shop and gathering place on Germantown Avenue; it is a few weeks from starting its full dinner menu and opening its patio. New restaurants are planned for the former Campbell’s Place and Petit Matines spaces, while former employees of Fiesta Pizza III are planning to reopen the neighborhood institution that closed in 2024.
Owner Fred Mogul at the Blue Warbler.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Against that backdrop, the Blue Warbler is arguably the neighborhood’s most ambitious restaurant project in years.
Its day begins at 7 a.m. with house-baked pastries and coffee before expanding into breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner. Dishes include a shakshuka-inspired “shakshukaccia” with labneh and house focaccia, a Turkish breakfast plate, and the Full Emilio — named for the building’s developer, Emilio Lorenzon — featuring eggs, a latke, mushroom bacon or Santorini sausage, salad, and bread.
Dinner offerings include bacalao with green yogurt and lemon relish, halloumi-stuffed dates with hazelnuts, grilled branzino, pan-fried lemon tofu, and smoked eggplant schnitzel over a tomato-Thai basil salad.
Mogul envisioned the Blue Warbler as a place where different influences could coexist comfortably through unexpected combinations that somehow feel natural. Playlists jump between genres and decades, as you can see from its Spotify (Jimmy Cliff, the Roots, the Cranberries, Aretha Franklin). Artwork, poetry, and design elements pull from a range of traditions and references.
“The idea is to constantly surprise people,” he said, “and bring together things that are a little removed from what they’re familiar with.”
Ara Nasari at the Blue Warbler.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
That vision required a top-to-bottom renovation of a space that had never before housed a restaurant. Industry veterans repeatedly advised Mogul to take an easier path and retrofit an existing dining room for his first restaurant. His reply: “We fell in love with it,” he said.
The restaurant occupies the century-old Lorenzon Building, which was Foster’s Drugstore for decades. (The gray-beige terrazzo floor is a tipoff.) More recently, it housed the photography gallery of Wendy Concannon. Mogul said landlord Richard Snowden shared his belief that the space could become a neighborhood gathering place.
An out-of-the-way seating area at the Blue Warbler.Michael Klein / Staff
Inside, Ambit Architecture and In House Studio transformed what Mogul described as a stone- and glass-heavy interior into a warmer environment defined by reclaimed oak floors, quarter-sawn oak tabletops, walnut accents, custom millwork, and locally selected artwork. The restaurant seats 71 guests, including 15 at the bar, and includes a patio and a private-event room known as the Perch.
For Mogul, the opening marks an unlikely second act.
A longtime journalist, he worked at newspapers in Kansas and Nebraska before moving to Philadelphia in 1999. He freelanced for WHYY radio and television, contributed to NPR, worked as a stringer for The New York Times and Time magazine, and produced historical documentaries before later joining WNYC in New York, where he covered public health, politics, education, and government.
His 18-year tenure there ended in 2021, after the newsroom’s new manager accused him of using Associated Press copy without attribution, sparking a station-wide uproar and petition drive. Mogul sued the station for defamation and received a settlement whose terms he would not disclose, except to say that the Warbler rose from the ashes of tumult at WNYC.
The idea of opening a restaurant, however, had been percolating for years.
A view from the elevated dining room seating to the bar at the Blue Warbler.Michael Klein / Staff
“I like being a reporter because I like telling people’s stories, schmoozing, having a deadline, and producing something tangible,” Mogul said. “Restaurants felt like another version of that — feeding people, creating a place, making something every day.”
After considering locations in other cities, he settled on Philadelphia. “Opening a restaurant in Brooklyn felt like starting a podcast,” he said. “There are so many, and how do you get heard above the fray?”
Mogul assembled a team of restaurant veterans for the project, which was originally known as AM/FM, a nod to his radio career. After he and his family settled in Chestnut Hill, they were workshopping names of birds to connect with the nearby Wissahickon: “There were two weeks where it was ‘the Purple Finch.’ Then someone said, ‘There’s Spice Finch [restaurant near Rittenhouse Square]. I said, ‘Oh, I think there’s only room for one finch.’” They settled on Blue Warbler. One day, Mogul said, he hopes to see one in the wild.
Executive chef Daniel Berret most recently worked at the Study at University City and previously helped develop the menu at Chestnut Hill Brewing Co. Chef de cuisine Renee Rowlett’s résumé includes Picnic, Society Hill Hotel, and Eva in Kensington. General manager Andy Boyask has worked at Tria, Parc, Johnny Brenda’s, PYT, and Zahav, while restaurant consultant Arthur Cavaliere, a Starr Restaurants alumnus who operated In Riva in East Falls for more than a decade, helped shape the project.
The Blue Warbler, in Philadelphia, June 11, 2026.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Weekdays begin with walk-up breakfast and lunch service, while dinner is initially offered Wednesday through Sunday. Additional nights will be added. Weekend brunch shifts to full table service. Among the dishes Berret is most excited about are smoked Arctic char served over sourdough bagels, salt-cod fritters, house-made pastries, and a mushroom-focused dinner dish.
The bar program includes a balanced draft and canned-beer list with an emphasis on local breweries, including a dedicated line for nearby Attic Brewing. The wine list was built around the restaurant’s vegetable- and seafood-focused menu, leaning toward acid-forward bottles, lighter reds, island wines, rosés, orange wines, and whites. Cocktails are intended to be approachable rather than fussy, with riffs on classics such as a Mai Tai made with fresh orgeat and a frothy Clover Club. The restaurant also plans to build out its nonalcoholic offerings.
The Blue Warbler, 8001 Germantown Ave. Opening hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Before Philadelphia’s chefs, bakers, restaurateurs, and bartenders take center stage at tonight’s James Beard Awards in Chicago, one Philadelphian has already brought home a medal.
On Saturday night, Inquirer staff photographer Monica Herndon won the 2026 James Beard Media Award for Narrative Photography for “The hunt for life-giving ‘country food’ in the Canadian Arctic,” a photo essay documenting Inuit food traditions in the remote northern Québec community of Inukjuak.
The Inquirer’s Monica Herndon, winner of the Narrative Photography Award, speaks during the 2026 James Beard Media Awards on June 13.Jeff Schear / Getty Images for the James Beard Foundation
The project accompanied reporting by Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan and chronicled how residents hunt, prepare, share, and preserve traditional foods, including seal, beluga, and caribou. In October 2024, Herndon and LaBan followed filmmaker Kirk French of Penn State to the region as he screened a documentary.
“There was this moment, at the end of the trip when I was leaving, when one of the elders pulled me aside and whispered, ‘You know you’re very lucky to be here,’” Herndon recalled in a chat Monday before she photographed tacos for a food article. “It sent chills down my spine.”
A father and daughter walk near the Innuksuak River in Inukjuak, Quebec.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
A native of Annapolis, Md., Herndon has worked at The Inquirer for nearly seven years. She won a 2022 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award and Best in Show recognition from the National Press Photographers Association’s Northern Short Course contest for her work on The Inquirer’s “Wildest Dreams” project, a mini-anthology of storytelling about Black cultural inheritance, legacy, and joy.
Now the attention turns to the restaurant and chef awards, which will be presented tonight at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Philadelphia enters the ceremony with seven finalists, one of the strongest showings of any city in the country. Kalaya is nominated for Outstanding Restaurant, while Emmett is a finalist for Best New Restaurant. The Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday is in the running for Outstanding Bar.
In individual categories, Justine MacNeil of Fiore is a finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. The hotly contested Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category includes three Philadelphia contenders: Jesse Ito of Royal Sushi & Izakaya, Amanda Shulman of Her Place Supper Club, and Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate of Honeysuckle.
Philadelphia already has one James Beard honor secured this year.
In February, Center City’s Oyster House received a James Beard America’s Classics Award, recognizing restaurants with timeless appeal and deep roots in their communities.
The soft-shell crab is one of the pleasures of late spring and summer. They offer the sweet, briny flavor of fresh blue crab wrapped in a delicate, edible shell that turns crisp when cooked.
This year’s season, however, appears to have been compressed.
Soft-shells are blue crabs that have recently shed their hard outer shell and are briefly in a soft, vulnerable state. Anthony D’Angelo of South Philadelphia seafood distributor Samuels Seafood said warmer water temperatures brought on the crab molt early, while fewer marketable peelers, weather interruptions, and normal predation left restaurants with fewer crabs and a shorter window.
Volume this year is down about 20% from last year, yet prices last year were about 15% higher, D’Angelo said.
As an example, D’Angelo said jumbo soft-shells sold for an average of about $98 a dozen in May, compared with roughly $117 a dozen during the same period last year. Another run of crabs from the Carolinas is expected in late August or early September, likely at lower prices, he said.
Many restaurants are offering soft-shells when they can get them. Blue Corn in the Italian Market recently featured them as tacos with mango slaw, guacamole, fresh jalapeño, and microgreens.
Others keep them on the menu throughout the season. Soft-shells remain one of the more expensive seafood items. Several restaurateurs said they are paying $95 to $100 a dozen for jumbo crabs. Given that many restaurants target food costs of roughly 30% to 33% of menu price, that is one reason a soft-shell dish can easily top $30.
For chef Randy Rucker, who serves soft-shells at both River Twice and Little Water, the annual ritual is worth the cost and unpredictability. “When they’re available, we grab them,” he said. “They’re special. They’ll always be special.”
Here are some of the dishes I’ve found. As always, call ahead to confirm availability.
Soft-shell crabs, herb crusted over an arugula salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and mango, at Caffe Aldo Lamberti, 2011 Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill.Courtesy of Caffe Aldo Lamberti
Caffe Aldo Lamberti, Cherry Hill
Chef Genaro “Jerry” Ventura changes the preparation of his crabs frequently at this Italian destination. Last week, he crusted soft-shells with herbs and served them over arugula with tomatoes, cucumbers, and mango. Another preparation paired pan-seared soft-shells with squid-ink linguine, garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, tomatoes, and snap peas. Expect to pay about $28 for one crab at lunch or $45 to $48 for two at dinner.
Condesa, Center City
At this Mexican restaurant, chef Jason Peabody’s crab relleno features beer-battered soft-shell crab with green rice, salsa roja, and epazote mayo ($34).
At the Crossbar (2225 Darby Rd., Havertown), a soft-shell crab sandwich is deep fried and topped with a smoky house- made harissa aioli, lettuce, and tomato and served on Le Bus brioche bun.Courtesy of the Crossbar
The Crossbar, Havertown
This Delco taproom’s soft-shell is battered and fried, then topped with smoky house-made harissa aioli, lettuce, and tomato on a Le Bus brioche bun ($24).
Soft-shell crab with flageolet beans, tapenade, and preserved lemon at the Good King Tavern, 614 S. Seventh St.Ed Newton
The Good King Tavern, Bella Vista
The French bistro has featured soft-shell crab as a chalkboard special with flageolet beans, tapenade, and preserved lemon ($32).
Chicken-fried soft-shell crab with vin jaune hollandaise and sorrel at Little Water, 261 S. 20th St.
.Courtesy of Little Water
Little Water, Center City
This seafood restaurant’s chicken-fried soft-shell crab comes with vin jaune hollandaise and sorrel ($42).
The soft-shell Benedict at Lucky Duck, 501 N. Columbus Blvd.Pri Rambhia
Lucky Duck, Old City/Northern Liberties
Soft-shells are on this riverside bar’s weekend brunch menu as a Benedict with Old Bay Alabama white sauce, arugula, and hollandaise, on brioche.
Oyster House, Center City
The seafood destination’s grilled soft-shell crab ($36) is plated with poblano Dijon sauce, blanched asparagus, smoked trout roe, and pickled ramps. There’s also a fried soft-shell crab BLT ($29) with smoked bacon and ramp buttermilk ranch.
Soft-shell hoagie tartine at Post Haste, 2519 Frankford Ave.KC Tinari
Post Haste, Kensington
At this farm-to-table restaurant, chef Ari Miller (husband of Inquirer food reporter Kiki Aranita) offers a soft-shell hoagie tartine featuring a breaded and fried crab on Brass Monkey bread with green coriander mayo, shredded local iceberg lettuce, heirloom tomato, crispy herbs, and caviar lime ($24).
Soft-shell crab cooked over charcoal with crab fat and golden Ossetra caviar at River Twice, 1601 E. Passyunk Ave.Mike Prince
River Twice, South Philadelphia
The signature preparation at this Southern restaurant returns this season: a soft-shell crab grilled over charcoal and finished with crab-fat koji butter and golden Ossetra caviar ($52).
At Stina (1705 Snyder Ave.), the soft-shell crab is served with Greek-style potato salad, capers, lemon, herbs, extra-virgin olive oil, smoked trout caviar, and Bukovo vinaigrette.Courtesy of Stina
Stina, South Philadelphia
At his Mediterranean restaurant, chef Bobby Saritsoglou serves soft-shell crab with Greek-style potato salad, capers, lemon, herbs, extra-virgin olive oil, smoked trout caviar, and Bukovo vinaigrette ($36).
At noon on a bright June Tuesday, the scene at Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks & Pizza on the Wildwood boardwalk felt more like a South Philly block party than a soft opening.
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino worked the crowd at his new shop — hugging, shaking hands, posing for photos — moving easily among his friends and admirers. At 64, five years removed from the criminal justice system, the onetime alleged head of Philadelphia’s underworld is enjoying a second act that few could have predicted: cheesesteak entrepreneur, podcaster, and social-media personality.
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino (left) and Joe “Lil Snuff” Perri Jr. (right) posing with a customer outside the Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks & Pizza shop in Wildwood.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Orbiting him with a phone and a grin was Joe “Lil Snuff” Perri Jr. — 30 years his junior — Skinny Joey’s collaborator and the man who helped set him up with a new career. While customers lined up out front for steaks, slices, photos, $35 hats, and $25 T-shirts, Perri was shooting clips for social media.
Their partnership has transformed Merlino from a flashy, polarizing tabloid fixture into a flashy, polarizing Instagram-age brand. Merlino provides the mythology, while Perri supplies the algorithm.
Symbiotically, they are building an unlikely enterprise. Merlino gives Perri access, credibility, and a bigger stage. Perri gives Merlino comic relief, social-media fluency, and a way to be seen as entrepreneurial rather than simply infamous as a reputed former mob boss.
“Without me, there’s no him,” Perri said. “Without him, there’s no me. It’s just a good mix.”
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino joining customers at Skinny Joey’s in Wildwood during its soft opening on June 2. They call themselves “the Schuylkill Girls” (from left): Julie Shelton, Cindy McCullough, and Terry Landy, all of whom now live in Wildwood.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A ‘mob media’ moment
George Anastasia, who covered organized crime for more than 30 years at The Inquirer and now teaches an organized-crime course at Rowan University, said Merlino’s new career fits a broader moment in mob media.
Former wiseguys, associates, historians, and fans now gather in a true-crime subculture known online as “MobTube,” where the lore is packaged into YouTube shows, Patreon feeds, podcasts, clips, and merch.
Merlino has lived the story that fuels the genre. One of Philadelphia’s most recognizable organized-crime figures, Merlino was convicted in 1990 for his role in a $352,000 armored truck robbery in 1987.
In 2001, he and six co-defendants were tried on federal racketeering charges, including three counts of murder and two of attempted murder. Merlino was acquitted on those counts, but served about 12 years on other charges, including gambling and extortion. A supervised-release violation briefly returned him to prison in 2014, and a second major racketeering case ended in 2018 with a guilty plea to a single illegal-gambling charge after a mistrial. In a separate trial in 2004, he was acquitted of the 1996 killing of Joseph Sodano, an underling in North Jersey. Merlino completed federal supervision in 2021, but he’s been banned from New Jersey casinos since 1988 and from Pennsylvania casinos since a 2016 incident at the former SugarHouse Casino.
And Merlino has made it no secret that he is different from many of the former figures who populate the MobTube genre. Unlike Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, John Alito, and Jimmy Calandra, Merlino never cooperated with prosecutors.
“He saw guys who cooperated come back and become media sensations,” Anastasia said. “And I think he got [annoyed] that these are all guys who, in his view, violated the code, and now they’re making money on that old life. He did his time as a stand-up guy. ‘So [to heck with that] — I’m going to make money, too.’ And he created this brand.”
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino (left) and Joe Perri Jr. on the set of “The Skinny” podcast.Courtesy of Joe Perri Jr.
Perri helped make that legible to a younger audience.
“Lil Snuff is part sycophant and part guide,” Anastasia said. “He’s the one who, in a lot of ways, sets the flow. Joey is going to be Joey, but somebody has to keep bringing him back to the point.”
The rise of Lil Snuff
Before he was Merlino’s co-host, Perri was Lil Snuff.
The nickname came from his father: As a 10-year-old, Joe Sr. turned around when a cousin was calling for a dog named Snuffy. Boom. He was Snuff. When his son was born at Methodist Hospital in 1992, Snuff became Big Snuff.
As a teenager, Lil Snuffbussedtables at Stogie Joe’s, the Saloon, and Fitzwater Cafe. At 18, he joined the stagehands union. At 21, he got a job at Mall Chevrolet in Cherry Hill. The older salesmen had relationships and repeat customers. Perri’s mentor told him that he needed a lane.
It was 2013, and social media was beginning to reshape promotion. Perri started making his own brassy, unscripted commercials. “Selling Chevys for less” became his tagline.
He also made videos about gambling and food, his two passions. He was not famous, but he was visible in the South Philly-to-South Jersey social media corridor where restaurants, sports, betting, family, and neighborhood identity blur into one feed.
At the same time, Perri said, he was abusing pills. In 2014, at 22, his parents found him a rehab center in South Florida. To make sure he got there safely, they called a family friend whose Italian restaurant in Boca Raton had recently opened:
Joey Merlino.
“My father grew up with his grandfather,” Merlino said, explaining the bond. “I grew up with his father. I’ve known him since he was born.”
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino in 2014 at the Boca Raton restaurant bearing his name.Terry Renna / For The Inquirer
Perri said it took several attempts before recovery stuck. He has been sober since Sept. 11, 2016. “I’m big with recovery,” he said. “That’s the main thing in my life. I put sobriety first and then everything after that.”
Merlino’s — where Merlino was maitre d’ because his legal situation then precluded ownership — closed in 2016, just before the feds arrested Merlino at his home in Boca in the lead-up to his second racketeering case. “If I didn’t have this trouble, it would still be open,” Merlino said earlier this month.
After Merlino attained freedom in July 2021, producers called with movie, television, and book deals. Merlino turned them all down. “Nothing seemed right,” Merlino said. Someone brought up the idea of a podcast.
“I didn’t even know what that was,” Merlino said.
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino leaving the federal courthouse in Manhattan after being sentenced on Oct. 17, 2018.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
His friend Raymond “Wags” Wagner explained the concept and suggested a loose format built around food and sports betting. Actor Kevin Connolly of Entourage fame, who was involved early as a producer, told Merlino that he needed a co-host.
“They said, ‘Who would you want?’” Perri said. “They were sending him people, and he was like, ‘I’m not doing nothing with these people.’”
Then Ray Wags suggested Perri.
“Joey was like, ‘100 percent. Get him on the phone,’” Perri said. “Kevin Connolly said, ‘Send me your videos.’ I sent him my videos, and he said, ‘You’re the guy.’ The rest was history.”
The world of ‘MobTube’
Merlino and Perri launched the video podcast in 2023. Viewers are not just watching Merlino talk about the old life. They see him bust Perri’s chops about eating too much and mock his parlays. They get gambling tips, watch them interview athletes and celebrities — all part of a South Philly generational comedy.
Perri describes it in family terms. “My dad’s my dad, but he’s also my best friend, too,” Perri said. “We gamble together. We go out together. We have fun together. So they see me and Joey as that, and they can’t figure out how we mix so good.”
“He’s good,” Merlino said. “I’m old, he’s young. He talks good, he’s funny. He’s a pain in the balls, but it’s a good fit.”
They began The Skinny podcast on YouTube, but now focus more on Patreon, where the content is unfiltered. And better monetized. Perri says TheSkinny has 1,600 Patreon subscribers paying $15.95 a month. He said their social-media pages combined average 30 million views a month.
Perri’s wife, Danielle, handles bookings and schedules. “I produce,” Perri said. “I cut the clips. I do everything. It’s me and Joey. Two-man show.”
A wider audience
When they started, Perri was still selling cars at Mall Chevrolet. But the now-shuttered dealership got tired of people showing up hoping to see Merlino instead of test-driving a Suburban.
Perri quit. The show grew.Merlino’s reinvention has coincided with a broader shift in the gambling world. Legal sportsbooks, now ubiquitous on television and online, have largely supplanted the corner bookmaker, turning an activity once associated with organized crime into a mainstream consumer business. Guests span sports, hip-hop, gambling, and entertainment, including Wallo267, Fat Joe, Ric Flair, and Bernard Hopkins.
Each booking widened his audience, and Merlino was being absorbed into a broader celebrity ecosystem.
Last October, Netflix released Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia, a docuseries revisiting the violent 1990s power struggle between John Stanfa and Merlino’s younger faction. It steered even more viewers to Merlino and Perri’s world.
‘Skinny Joey,’ wit’
Then came the cheesesteaks.
One night, Perri, Merlino, and friends were playing poker. Merlino wanted cheesesteaks. Perri said he’d make them.
“He’s like, ‘You can’t make cheesesteaks,’” Perri said. “I said, ‘Are you nuts? I’ve been making them my whole life.’”
Perri cooked some. “He was like, ‘This is the best f— cheesesteak ever,’” Perri said. “He said, ‘Let’s open up a cheesesteak place.’ I said, ‘All right. Call it Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks.’ And that was it.”
The first shop opened in March 2025 at 3020 S. Broad St., near the sports complex. From the start, Skinny Joey’s was more than a sandwich shop. It was a set. The shop leaned into Merlino’s notoriety; the sandwiches are wrapped in a collage of newspaper articles about his past.
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino (left) working the grill beside Joe “Lil Snuff” Perri Jr. at the Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia at its opening in March 2025.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Celebrities showed up: Jason Kelce, Landon Dickerson, Mack Wilson. A customer eating a cheesesteak was good content. A recognizable person eating one on camera was better.
The restaurant also became a magnet for the kind of drama that fuels digital engagement: online beef. Podcaster Gene Borrello, a former Bonnano crime family associate and Merlino antagonist, weighed in last year on an apparent feud between Skinny Joey’s camp and Frank Olivieri of Pat’s King of Steaks. Merlino and Perri had taken issue with a video posted by Olivieri — whose great-uncle invented the steak sandwich — in which he chided shops that chop the meat on the grill. Like most online food feuds, this seems to have subsided.
Then came the deal for Wildwood, where Skinny Joey’s replaced Joe’s Pizzeria, which had been on the boardwalk at Magnolia Avenue for 15 years. There, Skinny Joey’s added pizza and stromboli, which are not sold at the South Philadelphia location.
Reflections in the pizza display case on the boardwalk at Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks & Pizza in Wildwood.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The pizza recipe comes from Vito’s on Haddonfield Berlin Road in Cherry Hill, and the stromboli from Pizza Shack at 15th and Oregon in South Philadelphia, both owned by Skinny Joey’s business partners Stephen Casasanto and John Fioravanti, whom Merlino also described as longtime friends.
More locations are planned. Perri said a Boothwyn shop is expected around Sept. 1, and several others are in the pipeline.
Bypassing the gatekeepers
Merlino is an extreme case of a recent phenomenon. People with complicated histories — criminal, scandalous, controversial, or simply overexposed — no longer need traditional gatekeepers to reintroduce themselves. They can speak directly to followers and monetize the attention.
Perri is not a journalist, of course, or a publicist, exactly. He is not merely a manager, producer, or sidekick. He is something in between — a new kind of local media operator.
He knows the scene, and how to make content feel unscripted even when the business behind it is deliberate. He is close enough to Merlino to bust his chops and deferential enough to preserve the hierarchy. He can translate Merlino to younger audiences without making him seem managed.
Perri softens Merlino without sanding him down. Merlino still curses, rants, and mocks rivals. Anyone they disagree with is a “bedbug.”
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino greets a table of customers at Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks & Pizza in Wildwood.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
“At the end of the day, Joey isn’t going to change who he is for anybody,” Perri said. “If he can’t talk the way he wants to talk, what’s the point?”
That is part of the appeal and part of the discomfort. The audience knows Merlino’s history. They may see him as funny, defiant, loyal, misunderstood, or simply entertaining.
“There’s a segment of the American population that has always been fascinated with the outlaw: Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Don Corleone, Al Capone,” Anastasia said. “What the internet has provided is: Here are these guys in their own words. Are they being genuine? I don’t know. You can say that about any personality. But here’s a look at them without any filter.”
The filter used to be people like Anastasia.
“I was, in a lot of ways, the middleman between the people who were interested in this and the guys who were doing it,” he said. “And people who are interested in this don’t need the middleman anymore. They just go online and listen to whoever they want to listen to.”
🚨Inquirer Food Fest will return Nov. 14 with a new format and a hot lineup of chefs and experiences. Read up on the details and snag your early-bird discount now.
🏅The 2026 James Beard Awards are Monday night. Follow along on Inquirer.com as the seven Philadelphia finalists walk the red carpet and hope for glory.
Also in this edition:
La Famiglia: At age 50, the Old City Italian destination is still sharp.
The Inquirer Food team got the assignment: Choose the 76 dishes that define Philadelphia — the flavors, traditions, and creations that have shaped the culinary scene over the centuries. This week, we’re counting down, , day by day. The top 10 will appear Friday.
Where to watch the Philadelphia FIFA matches (aside from “Philadelphia Stadium,” né Lincoln Financial Field)? Beatrice Forman offers a roundup of 19 bars in the city and suburbs.
Vedge in Center City is offering what it says is the world’s first tasting course dedicated to bean-to-bar chocolate — and it’s all vegan. “It’s like a little bow that wraps up the end of a meal,” co-owner Kate Jacoby told Beatrice Forman.
Craig LaBan kicks it old-school for a visit to La Famiglia in Old City, which opened in 1976 on Front Street near Market. (At its front door right now is a project to cap I-95 to create a park. Fifty years ago, there was no I-95.) Craig came away from his review meals dazzled at the gilded room, enthralled by the legendary wine cellar, and impressed with the kitchen that still cooks on all burners.
International cheesesteak news
American cheese has disappeared from the shelves of Costco Japan, throwing Nihonbashi Philly, Tokyo’s Philly cheesesteak outpost, for a loop. Kiki Aranita has the report.
There’s better news out of South Korea. When Henry Jeong opened Wiir Philadelphia in Seoul in 2022, he said his cheesesteaks were “garbage.” Now Jeong’s restaurant is thriving, all thanks to traditional hoagie rolls he learned to make during a trip to Philly.
That sandwich shown above is the K-Town cheesesteak from Double Down Kitchen, which is soft-opening now at Ridge Hall in Ambler under Binoy Cherian and Nathan Baynes. It’s a luscious but zingy combo of ribeye, kimchi, grilled onions, four cheeses (Cooper, mozzarella, provolone, mild cheddar), and gochujang aioli on a seeded roll from Corropolese Bakery. They also do steaks with Indian and Middle Eastern spins.
Where have we gone to sup this week? To Rittenhouse for Northeastern Chinese specialties, to Queen Village for cheese-stuffed soft-shell crab parm, to the Wildwood boardwalk for stromboli, and to Cherry Hill for this corned beef and chopped liver on rye.
Scoops
Mixteca, a cantina out of New York backed by James Beard Award-winning bartenders, will join East Kensington’s burgeoning restaurant scene next month. It’s taking the former Martha space for an indoor-outdoor experience.
ANEU Kitchens, which deals in healthful comfort food, just signed a lease for part of the former Di Bruno Bros. space at the Ardmore Farmers Market in Suburban Square. Owner Meridith Coyle plans to open what will be her fourth location by July 1. As Brooke Schultz reported last week, ANEU also has a location on the way to Wayne, making it No. 5. Speaking of the farmers market: The Asian-fusion food stall Aziatischjust closed after 13 years, while lease negotiations continue for three new vendors, says broker Doug Green of MSC.
Restaurant report
Punch Buggy Brewing Co.’s long-awaited brewery in Spring City opens Saturday. Patrick Coyne’s first location opened seven years ago in North Philadelphia. He told Brooke Schultz that he’s learned something about Chester Countians since he moved there two years ago: They especially like sours and dark beers.
Barra Rossa, which opened at 10th and Walnut Streets in 2013 as Stella Rossa, has closed with the end of its lease. Owner Dave Magrogan said the building, owned by Jefferson Hospital, needed a complete overhaul. With the end of the season at the nearby Walnut Street Theatre, it was “the logical time to close,” he said. Magrogan’s first partner there was gift-store magnate Bernie Spain — “a great negotiator, businessman and mentor,” he said. “He was the reason I kept it open after his passing [in 2021], out of respect for him and our partnerships. A young and hungry operator will do well there.”
Sura Indian Bistro has left 1726 Chestnut St., and co-owner Patti Revathi says the partners are looking for a new location. Sura opened in April 2024 as a rebrand of Ancient Spirits & Grille, which had occupied the three-story space since 2021.
Briefly noted
Reading Terminal Market has transformed the 1100 block of Filbert Street into a pedestrian-only plaza featuring more than 15 local vendors, live entertainment, a bar, and expanded seating. Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through early August. Stephanie Farr has more here.
Philly VegFest returns Saturday for its sixth annual celebration of vegan food, plant-based living, and food justice. The free festival runs noon-7 p.m. at Girard College (2101 S. College Ave.) with more than 50 food and retail vendors, music, speakers, film screenings, a vegan beer and cider garden, and family activities. Headliners include former NBA star and vegan advocate John Salley, filmmaker John “Bad Ass Vegan” Lewis, physician Milton Mills, and wellness coach Gigi the Vegan Jones. Details are here.
Cocktail bar R&D’s new pop-up series, “South Goes North,” imports South Philly dive bars to Fishtown one Sunday a month from 6-10 p.m. Joining R&D beverage director Aaron Deary will be The Jim (this Sunday), South Philadelphia Tap Room (July 12), and 12 Steps Down (Aug. 9).
Medium Rare, the syndicated steakhouse in Fishtown, offers a comp Father’s Day brunch to first-time fathers on June 21. Proof of a 2026 birth date, such as a copy of birth certificate or similar documentation, is required. Booking is via OpenTable.
Do you know anything about a chain called Chicken Salad Chick? — Emily R.
There’s a franchise idea for everyone nowadays. Chicken Salad Chick is a fast-casual brand, founded in Auburn, Ga., in 2008, whose menu is based on a dozen varieties of chicken salad. With 45 store openings in 2025 alone, it’s now pushing into the Northeast U.S. Two Philly-area locations are in the works now. One is under construction at Airport Center, just outside of Allentown (late July-early August), and a second is being teed up for Providence Town Center in Collegeville (“Q3 or Q4,” the company told me). In other niche franchise news, the region’s first Graze Craze, which sells custom charcuterie boards created by Grazologists™, just opened in Blue Bell Village, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell.
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A James Beard Award-winning New York cocktail team is bringing its agave-focused bar concept to Philadelphia, taking over the former Martha space in East Kensington.
Mixteca, an ode to tequila, mezcal, and Mexican drinking culture from industry veterans Jeff Bell and Euclides “Victor” Lopez, is expected to open next month at York and Martha Streets. It’s the former home of Martha, the acclaimed bar that closed in November 2024 after a decade.
Euclides “Victor” Lopez behind the bar with his signature drink La Bandera at Mixteca in New York City on June 4, 2026.Michael Klein / Staff
Mixteca opened in New York’s West Village last July, with a limited food menu from Tacos 1986 next door.
The project marks the Philadelphia debut for both Mixteca and Apres Cru Hospitality, the New York-based investment and management company behind the expansion.
Apres Cru, which also works with such chefs as Marc Forgione and Ludo Lefebvre, initially announced that Martha would become a Philadelphia outpost of Pig & Khao, the Thai- and Filipino-inspired restaurant from Top Chef alumna Leah Cohen and her husband, Ben Byruch.
Construction plans for Mixteca as seen in the space at 2113 E. York St. on May 28, 2026.Michael Klein / Staff
“But we got deeper into this neighborhood and this space, [Mixteca] just started to feel like a really good fit for here,” Chris Quinlan, Apres Cru’s vice president, said.
The former Martha, at 2113 E. York St., occupies part of the long-gone Weisbrod & Hess Brewery complex near Frankford Avenue. It’s in a fast-growing restaurant district — across from Picnic and beside Zig Zag BBQ, down the block from Philadelphia Brewing Co., and around the corner from the Monkey Bar. Emilia, Bar ILU, Fiore, and Little Walter’s are all within a short walk.
Mixteca will retain Martha’s indoor-outdoor appeal while significantly reworking the layout. The space will seat about 75 guests indoors, including a comfy lounge area on the York Street side, with an additional 50 seats on the patio. A new balcony, seating about 20 and overlooking the dining room and bar, will accommodate private dinners and small events.
Mixteca’s future home at 2113 E. York St. previously housed Martha.Michael Klein / Staff
The design will draw heavily from Puebla, Mexico, where Lopez was born. Talavera tile, ceramic details, and a signature arched back bar inspired by a museum in Puebla will connect the Philadelphia location to the original West Village location without replicating it.
“I’m incapable of copy-and-paste,” Bell said. “Doing the exact same thing a second time isn’t inspiring to me.”
Bell and Lopez first worked together at the influential East Village cocktail destination Please Don’t Tell, known as PDT. Lopez joined the operation shortly after its 2007 opening after working at the bar’s associated hot dog joint, Crif Dogs, for five years. PDT won the Beard Awards’ first award for Outstanding Bar Program in 2012.
“If you ever drank at PDT since its inception, there’s a very good chance he made one of your cocktails,” Bell said of Lopez.
Mixteca’s concept grew out of conversations Bell and Lopez began nearly a decade ago about creating a venue centered on agave spirits and Lopez’s Mexican heritage. “He spent so many years making everybody else’s drinks, and this is a chance for him,” Bell said.
Mixteca’s calling card is La Bandera, a three-shot tequila ritual inspired by the colors of the Mexican flag and served in a tray over pebble ice. The order starts with a tangy, ceviche-like green juice, segues to a crisp blanco tequila, and finishes with a red, fruity sangrita chaser.
While tequila and mezcal remain the focus, Bell said the Philadelphia version will lean more heavily into food than the New York original. The menu is expected to feature house-made tortillas, tacos, guacamole, esquites, and other street-food staples, alongside larger dishes designed for groups and families. A small children’s menu and desserts such as flan or tres leches cake are also planned.
Bell said the East Kensington neighborhood helped shape the offerings. “In the West Village, it’s more about going out for drinks and late nights,” he said. “Here it’s more residential.”
“If there were a sliding scale, and New York was 80/20 drinks-to-food, here it’s probably more like 55/45 or 50/50.”
Cocktails will still anchor the experience. The bar plans to import popular features from New York, including a daily “Margarita Hour” offering discounted margaritas. Bell also said the menu will incorporate Philadelphia influences through agave-based interpretations of local classics such as the Clover Club and Fish House Punch.
The beverage program will also include a substantial selection of nonalcoholic drinks.
For a neighborhood that has become increasingly defined by destination dining, Mixteca will arrive as something slightly different: a cocktail-forward gathering place that aims to function as both bar and restaurant.
“We’re not going to impose our will,” Bell said. “We’re going to showcase our concept, try to ingratiate ourselves with the community, and evolve over time into whatever makes the most sense here.”
When a barge strike shut down Amtrak service south of Wilmington on Saturday, singer and actor Nick Jonas found himself with an unexpected layover — and an impromptu dinner in Delaware.
Jonas was traveling from New York to the Baltimore area for a stop on his “A Night With Nick” solo tour when his train was halted. A barge had struck the Susquehanna River Bridge between Perryville and Havre de Grace, Md., disrupting Northeast Corridor service.
Unable to find a rideshare for the rest of the trip, Jonas searched Google for “best restaurant in Wilmington” and landed at Bardea Food & Drink, according to co-owner Scott Stein. (Bardea, six blocks from the train station, happens to be a local favorite of Inquirer critic Craig LaBan.)
The Camp Rock star and three members of his team settled in for dinner while arranging alternate transportation.
Jonas recounted the unexpected stop on Snapchat before continuing to the Hall at Live! inside Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, where he performed Saturday night.
They had several of the restaurant’s signature dishes, including the ricotta gnocchi and burrata pop tart, along with two pizzas, a half-chicken, gem salad, and fusilloni pasta, before a car service fetched them.
The detour came a day after the national release of the film Power Ballad, a dramedy co-starring Paul Rudd and Jonas.
