One of Philly’s hottest chefs to open a second restaurant

Amanda Shulman, chef-owner of the hit Center City restaurant Her Place Supper Club, has an exciting 2023 on her plate.

Not only is Shulman planning her wedding to fellow chef Alex Kemp Roussy, the two of them plan to open a restaurant together nearby in Rittenhouse. Her Place Supper Club will remain.

Neither the new bar-restaurant’s name nor its concept has been finalized, but its location is set: 2005 Walnut St., which last was Bar Poulet, which specialized in bubbles and fried chicken and closed in September after 16 months. Previously it was Tria Taproom, before a brief stint at the beginning of the pandemic as Joyride Beef & Ale.

“It’s been our dream to do a restaurant together,” Shulman said, adding that they would not call it “Our Place,” lest anyone connect the two businesses.

No opening date has been set, either. (Many restaurateurs no longer publicly predict opening dates, given supply-chain delays for equipment and various behind-the-scenes issues.)

“He’s the best cook I know,” said Shulman, 30, who met Kemp Roussy while working at Momofuku Ko in New York City. The Canadian-raised Kemp Roussy, who is also 30, counts kitchen stops including Montreal’s Mon Lapin and Joe Beef, New York’s Eleven Madison Park, and the U.K.’s two-Michelin-star Moor Hall Restaurant With Rooms.

“Philly’s in for a treat,” she said.

Jon Myerow, who ran Tria Taproom and Bar Poulet, called it “an opportunity for Philly’s most acclaimed rising chef to add a second location, and for the Tria team to focus on our core concept” — wines, beers, cheeses, and light snacks that do not require a full kitchen.

As the brand approaches its 20th anniversary, he said, “it’s clear that guests still love Tria.” He said he was looking to grow it beyond the two Center City locations.

Veronica Blum of MPN Realty handled the transaction for both parties.

Shulman burst onto the local food radar in mid-2021 after leasing 1740 Sansom St., the Rittenhouse storefront that previously housed Slice Pizza and a short-lived version of Swiss Haus Pastry.

Her Place Supper Club, with its shabby chic furnishings and open kitchen, was an instant hit for Shulman, who chats with guests between courses.

Shulman, a Connecticut native, was opening executive sous chef a few years back at Vetri Cucina in Las Vegas. Her career began as a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in political science and journalism, hoping to become an international correspondent. While interviewing Marc Vetri’s father, Sal, at Vetri Cucina for a profile, she ended up staying to make a staff meal with him.

Her apartment in West Philadelphia became an occasional supper club for five-course dinners attended by friends. She landed gigs at Amis Trattoria (then a Vetri-owned restaurant) as well as the Bake Shop on 20th, where she had signed on primarily to learn about babka making.

Sold on her, in 2017 Vetri sent her to work in Bergamo, Italy — the same city where he worked as a young chef. Back in the States, she did a couple of stops in New York City before Vetri sent her to open Vegas. After eight months, she left for Joe Beef in Montreal to join Kemp Roussy. They moved back in September 2020.

Kemp Roussy, meanwhile, is a consultant.