High Street on Market is moving because of the pandemic and a 50% rent increase

Following a dramatic rise in rent and facing slack business because of the pandemic, High Street on Market in Old City will move in mid-September from its home of nearly seven years, as its lease expires Sept. 30.

Word about the all-day cafe next to Fork began circulating after a manager told employees.

In a statement Monday, owners Ellen Yin, Roberto Sella, and Eli Kulp bill the move as a relocation from 308 Market St. and not a permanent closure. A new location has not been secured. A New York City branch, High Street on Hudson, has been closed throughout the pandemic.

Fork, at 306 Market St., will be unaffected, though the businesses’ shared kitchen will have to be divided, and Fork will lose its private event space and its bakery. The buildings are separately owned, and Fork is under lease through 2022 with plans to renovate its dining room.

For now, it’s business as usual at High Street. No last day of operation has been set.

Yin said High Street’s rent increased more than 50% in October 2019 as part of a one-year renewal. Then came the pandemic and the loss of indoor dining. A representative of Segal, Segal & Lieberman Prime Associates, listed as the owner of 308 Market St., did not return a call seeking comment.

Yin and Sella, who opened Fork in 1997, went next door in 2004 with Fork etc. as a bakery and takeout offshoot. After Kulp signed on, they converted Fork etc. into High Street on Market, which was named the second-best new restaurant in America in 2014 by Bon Appétit, thanks in part to baker Alex Bois, now with Lost Bread Co.

High Street’s success emboldened the owners to branch into other ventures, including management of a.kitchen and a.bar in Rittenhouse.