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Allen Iverson says he wants to open a restaurant in Philly

The Answer told GQ he’s getting ready to open a restaurant in Virginia. And he hopes to expand.

Former Sixer Allen Iverson walks out on the court to the applause of the crowd before the playoff game against the Hawks at the Wells Fargo Center on June 16, 2021.
Former Sixer Allen Iverson walks out on the court to the applause of the crowd before the playoff game against the Hawks at the Wells Fargo Center on June 16, 2021.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Allen Iverson, former Sixer and one of Philadelphia’s most beloved athletes, wants to bring a restaurant to Philadelphia — though he plans to test the appetite for such a venture in his native Virginia first.

Philadelphians can only hope the fashion icon, whose business ventures include a lifelong deal with Reebok, incorporates a version of TGI Friday’s Philly cheesesteak wrap on the menu, a nod to one of his go-to meals at the chain during his years as a Sixer.

In a new GQ profile published online Tuesday, The Answer talks about how happy he is to not have to play basketball anymore, the man who helped him perfect his crossover, fashion, and his culinary plans.

“I’m crawling before I walk,” Iverson said of the project, which will start with a Virginia location offering seafood and soul food.

He did not offer additional details regarding a launch date and The Inquirer was not able to reach Iverson’s management team for comment on the star’s expansion plans. Still, Iverson made clear he wanted to open more than one location.

“I’m starting in Virginia,” he said. “Then we gonna take it to Philadelphia because it’ll be big, obviously, in Philadelphia. Then D.C. and Charlotte.”

Virginia is a logical jumping-off point because it’s Iverson’s birthplace and his mother opened a restaurant in his hometown of Hampton in 2010.

Should the former hooper open a restaurant in Philly, history suggests he’s right about it being big. During his time as a Sixer, Iverson’s devotion to the chain TGI Friday’s was legendary and his presence often gave the place the feel of a club.

Iverson used to frequent the City Avenue Friday’s so often, it became one of the top locations in the country, he said in a 2016 Complex interview. Iverson would go on to say the employees were “like family” to him. (Hear Iverson talk about “Club Friday’s” starting at 2:49 in this video.)

A Friday’s employee told Billy Penn Iverson would sometimes play Monopoly there for hours. And his love of the Friday’s was so well known, many fell for a satirical column published by Philadelphia City Paper that claimed Iverson spent as much as $40,000 when he brought strippers to the restaurant “because they didn’t have the Endless Appetizers thing back then.”