Parc -- Stephen Starr's brasserie -- is hurtling toward a July 1-ish opening date. Bradlee Bartram and Michael Palermo, two Starr execs, gave me a quick tour.
Parc occupies the entire corner of 18th and Locust Streets. The bar/lounge occupies the former Bleu space that looks out to Rittenhouse Square on the 18th Street side. It also takes a portion of the former lobby of the Sheraton Rittenhouse Square. The dining room and kitchen occupy half of the former restaurant called Potcheen. All told, there will be 200 seats.
The look will be pure brasserie. The designers/decorators scoured antique shops for various pieces. The coat check, for example, is a wooden ticket booth from an old theater. Flooring in the dining room is old barn wood. A tin ceiling has been distressed and looks pre-smoking ban. Handpainted wall tiles look a hundred years old, as does the mosaic-tile floor in the lounge.
It's not really photographable yet -- between the painters and the electricians scurrying about -- but I managed to capture a few details. Dominique Filoni, the chef, has but a staff of two, but expects to hire dozens in the next week. He's in the final menu-testing phase, and he has a big room of equipment to do it.
1. A construction worker's eye view of the square, from what will be the lounge.
2. A handpainted wall tile.
3. A detail of the mosaic floor in the lounge.
4. Chef Dom Filoni (left) reviews tarts with Starr VP Bradlee Bartram.
5. Filoni's menu for a tasting session.