City Winery music and dining venue coming to former Gallery mall, now to reopen in Sept. 2019
The venue, which has locations in six cities including New York, Chicago, and Atlanta, will join already-announced tenants including AMC Theatres and clothing retailer H&M at the Fashion District Philadelphia project.
City Winery, a New York-based chain of live-music clubs with wine bars and restaurant space, will occupy part of the Fashion District Philadelphia, the shopping and entertainment complex now taking form in the shell of the former Gallery at Market East mall in Center City.
The venue, which has locations in six cities including New York, Chicago, and Atlanta, is among the tenants newly announced by developers Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and Macerich in a release on Wednesday.
Others include Ralph Lauren Corp. and Forever 21, while Chick-fil-A will occupy space in the project's "Market Eats" food court, Philadelphia-based PREIT and Macerich, of Santa Monica, Calif, said in the release.
The developers also said that the Fashion District will open all at once in September 2019. PREIT chief executive Joseph Coradino had previously said the project's first phases would open in late 2018.
"The project's well-curated offerings create a one-of-a-kind destination that blends shopping, dining, entertainment and culture," Coradino said in the release. "Philadelphia and the retail environment have evolved dramatically since this project's inception, and we are unveiling a cohesive offering befitting this world-class city."
In a separate earnings statement Wednesday, Macerich disclosed that the Fashion District project's budget has grown to as much as $420 million, up from a previous $325 million.
The announcements come almost two years after PREIT and Macerich began work on the transformation of the former Gallery's 650,000 square feet of retail space between Market and Filbert Streets, bounded by Eighth and 11th Streets.
Leases have been signed for about 80 percent of the project's rentable space with tenants that also include AMC Theatres, H&M, Zumiez Inc, Asics, Zale Corp., Guess? Inc., Columbia Sportswear Co., Levi Strauss & Co., Francesca's, and Skechers USA, PREIT and Macerich said.
Other restaurant and food court tenants include Dallas BBQ, Chickie's & Pete's, Chick-fil-A, Oath Pizza, Burgerfi International L.L.C., Pei Wei Asian Diner L.L.C., Freshii and La Madeleine de Corps Inc..
City Winery was established in 2008 in New York by Michael Dorf, whose earlier enterprises included the Knitting Factory venue and concert business, with a working winery, restaurant, live-music club and private event space. Performers there have included David Crosby and Patti Smith.
"We are so proud to open our seventh location in a city that has such a rich history and passion for both music and cultural experiences as well as a dynamic food scene," Dorf said in the release. "We are bringing to Philadelphia a venue unlike any other in the city."