My Loup’s chef-owners want a life, so their hot, new restaurant is closed on weekends

During and after the pandemic, many restaurateurs felt obliged to tighten hours to manage labor and accommodate their staff’s wishes. But in the case of My Loup — a French-ish bar-restaurant that opened May 1 two blocks from Rittenhouse Square — the chef-owners are also considering their own quality of life.

Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp have made a bold decision: They are serving dinner and drinks from Monday to Friday. Five nights. But no Saturday night madness. No Sunday brunch.

“We wanted time to see our family and friends who aren’t in restaurants,” said Shulman, whose nearby Her Place Supper Club is also closed weekends (and at only 24 seats is about half of My Loup’s capacity).

“It gives us a little more life flexibility, and one day when we have our own family, it might make things a little easier with a traditional weekend-free schedule.”

My Loup’s buzz began in December when it was announced, and grew louder in late March when Shulman was named a finalist in this year’s James Beard Awards’ emerging chef category.

When the first month of reservations went online April 28, all tables and bar seats were claimed within hours. Walk-ins can be accommodated, they said. Reservations open one month out (30 days in advance) at noon daily.

The affianced Shulman and Kemp, both 30 (he is her senior by 10 days), met six years ago at Momofuku Ko in New York City. “We’ve been dreaming of opening a place since we met,” Shulman said, describing My Loup as “an all-the-time spot” as well as “the special occasion, giant seafood plateau extravaganza birthday, random Tuesday celebration, ‘hang at the bar all night and sip dueling espresso martinis’ kind of place.”

Since My Loup is open Mondays, when many restaurants are closed, the couple expects to attract industry workers.

Shulman is focusing on Her Place (“baby number one”), while Kemp concentrates on My Loup, at 2005 Walnut St.

» READ MORE: Craig LaBan's review of Her Place Supper Club

Kemp and Shulman have warmed up the space from previous occupants Bar Poulet and Tria Taproom, aiming for a cozy, French library motif (bold floral wallpaper, French prints, a wooden cart with an ice bucket and fresh flowers), and keeping the 10-seat bar along one side of the room between front and rear dining areas.

Her Place, she explained, “has always been food cooked with love, explained to you by the people who made it, all while sitting in a fun space that feels easy and homey and warm with music that’s almost too loud.”

My Loup is more of a collaboration, she said. Though Kemp had a hand in Her Place’s menu, the My Loup menu is influenced by “our collective cooking experiences — we hate to label it but the closest we’ve gotten is French-inspired market cuisine with an emphasis on freshness.”

Last week’s preview included a hefty slice of foie gras accompanied by strawberries and Parker House rolls and beef tongue sliced with asparagus, lemon, and mint. One entrée was buttery-rich poached trout with ramp. Shulman and Kemp also brought over a Her Place appetizer called Philly Balls, which are croquettes filled with South Philly-style roast pork and dusted with cheese.

Head bartender Jillian Moore oversees the bar, which features a changing cocktail list and an opening wine list set up by Her Place’s beverage director, Julianna Bursack. The list includes traditional, familiar styles as well as bottles from the newer wave of young, natural wine producers.

The name — pronounced “My Lou” (the p is silent) — is one big inside pun. Lou is Shulman’s nickname for Kemp, Loup means wolf in French, and the “wolf” in question is their mini-hot dog, Tootsie.

Shulman burst onto the Philadelphia food radar in mid-2021 after leasing 1740 Sansom St. for Her Place Supper Club. With its shabby chic furnishings, open kitchen, and dinner-party vibes, it was an instant hit.

Shulman, a Connecticut native, started in the business 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 a 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.

Sold on her work ethic, 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 made stops in New York City before Vetri sent her to open Vetri Cucina in Las Vegas. After eight months, she left for Joe Beef in Montreal to join Kemp. They moved back in September 2020.

She was a semifinalist for a James Beard Award in 2022.

Kemp started in restaurants at 14 as a dishwasher in his native Canada. He transitioned to cooking, and his chef sent him to apprentice at the Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff. After two years he found himself missing the city, so he moved to Ottawa to work at Restaurant Eighteen.

He stayed for two years before he made his way to suburban Montreal, where he worked at Cabane a Sucre Au Pied Du Cochon before moving to the Joe Beef group to work at Joe Beef and later Vin Papillon in Montreal.

From there, he headed to Eleven Madison Park and Momofuku Ko in New York and then to Restaurant Moor Hall in England. After four years abroad, he traveled back to Montreal to rejoin the Joe Beef fold at Mon Lapin, before heading to Philadelphia with Shulman in late 2020.

My Loup’s hours are 5 to 10 p.m. weekdays.