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Michael Schulson plans two restaurants for Camden waterfront

The restaurants will open in Camden later this year, according to the chef-restaurateur.

Michael Schulson, owner of the new Independence Beer Garden, on Sixth Street between Market and Chestnut Streets. "You literally don't feel like you're in Philadelphia," he said. CLEM MURRAY / Staff Photographer
Michael Schulson, owner of the new Independence Beer Garden, on Sixth Street between Market and Chestnut Streets. "You literally don't feel like you're in Philadelphia," he said. CLEM MURRAY / Staff PhotographerRead more

Michael Schulson, the chef-restaurateur behind establishments like Double Knot and Giuseppe & Sons, plans to open two restaurants on the Camden waterfront.

The news was announced Thursday by George E. Norcross 3d, the millionaire insurance broker who is chair of Cooper University Hospital and widely viewed as the city’s most powerful political leader.

The restaurants will be housed in the 18-story office complex that is under construction on the waterfront, according to a statement from Norcross. The building is the future headquarters for the South Jersey companies Conner Strong & Buckelew, which is Norcross’ firm, as well as NFI and the Michaels Organization.

The restaurants will open in the fall, according to the statement, and details on the restaurants will be released in the months to come. Schulson could not be reached for comment.

The Camden waterfront has undergone rapid changes in recent years, thanks in large part to a state tax incentive program that drew large companies to relocate in the city, including the defense contractor Lockheed Martin and American Water, which opened an expansive headquarters in December near the Adventure Aquarium.

In 2015, developer Liberty Property Trust announced plans to transform the area by building an office tower, restaurants, housing, and hotels, though last summer the company wrote down the value of the parcel amid less-than-anticipated demand for office space.

Schulson, who was opening chef at Stephen Starr’s Buddakan nearly two decades ago, has become a magnet to well-heeled but generally private local investors.

He opened his first restaurant, Izakaya, at the Borgata in Atlantic City in 2008. About a year later he opened Sampan and its Graffiti Bar, the first of what will become three restaurants on 13th Street south of Sansom, including Double Knot and the soon-to-open Alpen Rose, a small steakhouse. He also owns Harp & Crown and Giuseppe & Sons on the 1500 block of Sansom Street, as well as Independence Beer Garden, on Independence Mall, and Osteria, in Spring Garden. He also has Monkitail in Hollywood, Fla., and is planning a small restaurant on the 1700 block of Locust Street for which the name and concept have not been disclosed.