The hit restaurant Wm. Mulherin’s Sons plans to open a pizzeria in burgeoning East Market
This Mulherin’s menu will be lighter and more pizza-focused. Much development is coming to the East Market neighborhood, including a possible Sugar Factory.
Wm. Mulherin’s Sons, the Italian restaurant that opened in 2016 in a century-old restored whiskey distillery under the Market-Frankford El in Fishtown, will get a sibling in Center City.
Method Co. tells The Inquirer that Mulherin’s — as this location will be known — will occupy part of the ground floor of The Girard building at 1175 Ludlow St., next to Iron Hill Brewery. The Girard includes Roost, Method Co.’s extended-stay hotel, as well as residential units, retail spaces, and underground parking.
It is expected to open in the first quarter of 2022.
Method Co. culinary director Jim Burke, who also oversees the Fishtown location, will be opening chef, offering lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Wood-fired pizzas and lighter fare will predominate this menu, which will include handmade pastas, small plates, and a few entrées. Beverages will include draft and craft cocktails and a wine list of primarily Italian wines. Burke promises a few flavors of house-made soft-serve desserts.
Method Co. is working with Stokes Architecture, which designed the original Wm. Mulherin’s Sons, on the 2,600-square-foot space that will be fit out with 110 seats, including 50 outside. They’re going for similar design details to the original, such as saddle leather banquettes and hand-clipped mosaic tile flooring throughout the space. Interiors will be layered with reclaimed marble, honed soapstone tabletops, and custom wallpaper by Stacey Rozich to accent a neutral color palette.
Method Co., which also owns the Japanese restaurant Hiroki behind the original Mulherin’s, plans a hospitality expansion, including a new boutique hotel in Delaware scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2022. It will include a rooftop lounge and event venue, a ground-floor restaurant, and a lower-level cocktail lounge. Method Co. is also opening more Roost concepts and hotel properties in such markets as Charleston, S.C., Tampa, Fla., and Detroit in the next few years.
The immediate area around East Market seems poised for a resurgence. Sources tell The Inquirer that the contiguous properties at 1214 Chestnut St., formerly Porta, and 1213 Sansom St., formerly Brickwall Tavern, have been leased.
Talk is that Sugar Factory — a nationally syndicated restaurant/candy store that also has a location in Cherry Hill under development — is taking Porta, while the New York restaurant group Stanton & Bowery is taking Brickwall for an unknown bar concept. Principals did not return messages seeking comment.