LOVE Park’s future restaurant needs a new operator

The flying saucer-shaped building at LOVE Park, undergoing a longtime renovation into a restaurant, now needs a new operator.

Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran of Safran Turney Hospitality, who in 2019 had signed on to operate a restaurant called Loveluck in the city-owned Fairmount Park Welcome Center on JFK Boulevard near 16th Street, have bowed out of the project, the city announced.

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation said it would issue a new request for proposals for restaurateurs later this month, with the idea of selecting a concessionaire later this year.

The $5.6 million in renovations to the 5,500-square-foot mid-century modern building, erected in 1960, were part of LOVE Park’s recent overall rehab. The restaurant will seat about 185 patrons on three levels, including a deck and patio. Last summer, Safran Turney operated a full-service pop-up restaurant called the Lawn at Loveluck outside of the building.

In a statement, Safran Turney — whose holdings nearby include Bud & Marilyn’s and Barbuzzo — said “the pandemic and its ripple effects have created challenges that none could have anticipated. After much consideration, it’s with much dismay that we end the Loveluck partnership. We’ve always been heavily involved in the daily operations of our existing businesses, but we must be more dialed in now.”

Among the city’s criteria for a concessionaire are at least three years’ experience creating unique food and beverage concepts, overseeing design and construction, and operating high-quality food and alcoholic beverage operations; a unique theme and a superior menu, service, and setting; and a vision for a combination of sit-down and quick-serve service.