It Lives!

[Capaneus]

A new Italian is coming to the Rittenhouse/Graduate Hospital area: construction is underway in the space at 17th and Spruce that once housed Galileo's. The owners are new to the Philadelphia restaurant scene, but ran what they describe as a well-regarded Shore Italian named La Fontana Del Mare. No opening date is set as work is just starting. I forgot to ask about their wine status, but I don't remember seeing a License Application notice, so we can hope for a BYO.

Let's wish them the success that eluded the space's previous tenants. Is anyone familiar with their previous restaurant? I believe they said it was in Ocean City, NJ...

Edited October 5, 2005 by Capaneus (log)

[mrbigjas]

good news! i was wondering what was going in there. thanks for the tip.

[shacke]

A new Italian is coming to the Rittenhouse/Graduate Hospital area: construction is underway in the space at 17th and Spruce that once housed Galileo's. The owners are new to the Philadelphia restaurant scene, but ran what they describe as a well-regarded Shore Italian named La Fontana Del Mare. No opening date is set as work is just starting. I forgot to ask about their wine status, but I don't remember seeing a License Application notice, so we can hope for a BYO.

Let's wish them the success that eluded the space's previous tenants. Is anyone familiar with their previous restaurant? I believe they said it was in Ocean City, NJ...

←

I wish them all the luck. That space seems "cursed" and I could never figure out why other than its just cursed - a known real estate phenomenon. If memory serves, it was Fratelli's for a long while (?) and then nothingness for many years... 'til now hopefully.

Evan

[Capaneus]

A new Italian is coming to the Rittenhouse/Graduate Hospital area: construction is underway in the space at 17th and Spruce that once housed Galileo's. The owners are new to the Philadelphia restaurant scene, but ran what they describe as a well-regarded Shore Italian named La Fontana Del Mare. No opening date is set as work is just starting. I forgot to ask about their wine status, but I don't remember seeing a License Application notice, so we can hope for a BYO.

Let's wish them the success that eluded the space's previous tenants. Is anyone familiar with their previous restaurant? I believe they said it was in Ocean City, NJ...

←

I wish them all the luck. That space seems "cursed" and I could never figure out why other than its just cursed - a known real estate phenomenon. If memory serves, it was Fratelli's for a long while (?) and then nothingness for many years... 'til now hopefully.

Evan

←

As I recall, it was Galileo, and then the shark-jumping involved something called Galileo's Osservatorio. I started telling the guy about the history of the place, but I got the feeling it was news to him, so I stopped. No sense in spooking him, particularly when I think part of the problem was the neighborhood, and that has changed so completely, in terms of restaurants.

[MarketStEl]

I wish them all the luck.  That space seems "cursed" and I could never figure out why other than its just cursed - a known real estate phenomenon.  If memory serves, it was Fratelli's for a long while (?) and then nothingness for many years... 'til now hopefully.

Evan

←

As I recall, it was Galileo, and then the shark-jumping involved something called Galileo's Osservatorio. I started telling the guy about the history of the place, but I got the feeling it was news to him, so I stopped. No sense in spooking him, particularly when I think part of the problem was the neighborhood, and that has changed so completely, in terms of restaurants.

←

In between Fratelli and Galileo--or was it after Galileo?--it was the space where Day's Deli went to die after getting kicked out of its longtime home at 18th and Spruce, next to Great Scot (which took over the building for storage space).

It was called "Days & Nights -- An American Cafe" in that last incarnation, which was very short-lived. The food was on a par with the old deli, which wasn't all that hot.

Edited to add: And while we're on the subject of cursed or semi-cursed spaces, does anyone know what might happen to the street-floor space in the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows building at 12th and Spruce that housed a succession of so-so all-night diners over the years (variously, the Hasty Tasty, the Duck Soup Deli and the Cheap Art Cafe, plus a couple of others I've probably missed)? I had heard that the owners of the Plough and the Stars had wanted to put something in there, and a liquor license application did appear on the windows a few months ago, but that space has now sat empty for about two years, and there are no signs of revival.

Edited October 5, 2005 by MarketStEl (log)

[KatieLoeb]

A new Italian is coming to the Rittenhouse/Graduate Hospital area: construction is underway in the space at 17th and Spruce that once housed Galileo's. The owners are new to the Philadelphia restaurant scene, but ran what they describe as a well-regarded Shore Italian named La Fontana Del Mare. No opening date is set as work is just starting. I forgot to ask about their wine status, but I don't remember seeing a License Application notice, so we can hope for a BYO.

Let's wish them the success that eluded the space's previous tenants. Is anyone familiar with their previous restaurant? I believe they said it was in Ocean City, NJ...

←

I wish them all the luck. That space seems "cursed" and I could never figure out why other than its just cursed - a known real estate phenomenon. If memory serves, it was Fratelli's for a long while (?) and then nothingness for many years... 'til now hopefully.

Evan

←

The winner for Most-Cursed-Restaurant-Space-in-All-of-Philadelphia is a toss up between this place and the former Pompano Grill space in the old bank building at Passyunk & Bainbridge.

[herbacidal]

A new Italian is coming to the Rittenhouse/Graduate Hospital area: construction is underway in the space at 17th and Spruce that once housed Galileo's. The owners are new to the Philadelphia restaurant scene, but ran what they describe as a well-regarded Shore Italian named La Fontana Del Mare. No opening date is set as work is just starting. I forgot to ask about their wine status, but I don't remember seeing a License Application notice, so we can hope for a BYO.

Let's wish them the success that eluded the space's previous tenants. Is anyone familiar with their previous restaurant? I believe they said it was in Ocean City, NJ...

←

I wish them all the luck. That space seems "cursed" and I could never figure out why other than its just cursed - a known real estate phenomenon. If memory serves, it was Fratelli's for a long while (?) and then nothingness for many years... 'til now hopefully.

Evan

←

The winner for Most-Cursed-Restaurant-Space-in-All-of-Philadelphia is a toss up between this place and the former Pompano Grill space in the old bank building at Passyunk & Bainbridge.

←

Really? As far as layout, I think the Pompano space is less of a problem.

They may well be equally cursed, but for the Galileo space, I think the lack of enough 1st level dining, plus that step down from the entrance to the 1st level or the walk up to the 2nd level is too awkward.

At the Pompano space, IIRC both the downstairs and the upstairs levels are much larger, and I don't recall there being a step down from the entrance.