Caribou Cafe, which brought French dining to the Gayborhood 30 years ago, changes management

Chef Olivier Desaintmartin has sold Caribou Cafe, the long-running French destination in Washington Square West, to chef Townsend “Tod” Wentz, whose holdings include two restaurants across the street, The Hayes and Oloroso.

Caribou Cafe has been in its current location at 1126 Walnut St. since 1993, having moved from what is now Oloroso, at 1121 Walnut St. Desaintmartin bought it in 2003 from founder Bruno Pouget.

Caribou remains open and will not change its name or theme, said Wentz, who plans minor renovations in 2024.

“French brasserie is one of my favorite things to do,” said Wentz, 55, whose restaurants are themed to tavern (The Hayes), upscale contemporary French (Townsend), Italian (A Mano and the new Oltremare), and Spanish (Oloroso).

“I’ve never bought a restaurant before,” Wentz said. “We’ve always opened them at somebody else’s space or built them. We’re very excited to have a Philadelphia institution with all its history to work with.”

For Desaintmartin, 62, the sale — made final Monday — is a long time coming and will give him a respite after 45 years in the kitchen, including 20 years at Caribou. Asked what he would do, he replied, “Absolutely no idea. A lot of things are going through my mind, but nothing is set in stone.” He said he wanted to stay in the restaurant business, perhaps consulting and teaching. “The kitchen is my thing,” he said. “I’d like to teach the young people the structure of cooking, not the squeeze bottles and little fancy stuff. Make sure that it tastes good.”

Desaintmartin, born in France’s Picardie region, came to America in 1986 for a job at Le Bernardin in New York. He moved to Philadelphia in 1988 to work at the Bellevue Hotel as executive chef. In 1990, he moved to the posh La Campagne in Cherry Hill before he landed with the Dock Street brewpubs in 1996.

Caribou initially was a coffee shop in 1988 at 24th and Lombard Streets. A year later, Pouget, now a Realtor, moved it to 1121 Walnut St. before moving it again to the current location in 1993.

In addition to Caribou, Desaintmartin operated the smaller La Bohéme, and later Zinc, on nearby 11th Street in the mid- to late-aughts. He also had a small French takeout spot next door, in the space that is now Middle Child, called Petit-Rôti.

At Caribou, he served the classics: cassoulet with duck confit, skate wings, and escargot in puff pastry. He expects them to continue under Wentz, especially the desserts such as white chocolate bread pudding and cappuccino cheesecake. “I know my crème brûlée is the best, but everybody does it now,” he said.

“I’m excited for Tod,” Desaintmartin said. “This cooking is his background when he was with Jean-Marie Lacroix at the [former] Four Seasons. He always wanted to have a French bistro and now we has it.”