Stephen Starr is planning to open a massive new restaurant at the former Barnes & Noble near Rittenhouse
A liquor license from a former Starr restaurant was posted at 1805 Walnut St. Starr did not disclose the concept or the timeline. A partner called it "beachfront property" on Rittenhouse Square.
Stephen Starr confirms that his company is building a restaurant on the former site of the Barnes & Noble bookstore on the north side of Rittenhouse Square.
On Thursday, the date that a liquor-license transfer was posted at 1805 Walnut St., Starr would not disclose the concept or the timeline.
The restaurant will be about twice the size of Parc, his French restaurant near the southeast corner of the square, and will have outdoor seating on the wide sidewalk, said Allan Domb, a partner in Starr Restaurants and a former city council member and mayoral candidate. It also would join Barclay Prime, at the Barclay.
The property is also down the block from the Love and the Dandelion, two other Starr restaurants.
“It’s beachfront property on Rittenhouse Square,” Domb said.
By dint of its sheer size, taking two stories of the 24,000-square-foot building, the new restaurant will have “a big impact,” Domb said, citing the restaurant’s visibility to improve public safety.
“It demonstrates a commitment to the city. This city needs to create a good lifestyle for people who want to live and have fun. It sends a really good message to our suburbanites to come back and feel good about it. The suburbs are fine but the city has all the fun.”
Barnes & Noble occupied 1805 Walnut St. for 26 years before relocating in April to a smaller space, previously home to Forever 21, at 1708 Chestnut St.
The bookstore’s move was seen as part of a larger retail reshuffling after walk-in business plunged during the outset of the pandemic, followed by the unrest following George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police officers.
The liquor license at 1805 Walnut St., applied for in the name of Smallville Restaurant Group, is being transferred from Jones, the Starr restaurant at Seventh and Chestnut Streets that closed during the pandemic.
Lately, Starr has been opening restaurants in other cities, including a branch of Pastis in Miami.
Last year, he and Aramark collaborated on a new restaurant called Adrian at the Wells Fargo Center and is partnering with Aramark on Starr-branded dining options at its catering venues nationwide.