Does Stephen Starr Want The Spotted Pig For Philly?

Here's a fun rumor to take you into the weekend. A reliable tipster sent Eater a note with the headline SPOTTED PIG OPENING IN PHILADELPHIA!, saying there is a "meeting taking place today in Philadelphia with Stephen Starr about a new gastropub on 18th and Sansom in Center City." Compelling but perhaps not likely. Starr's people tell Eater that he and Spotted Pig owner Ken Friedman have been thinking about opening something together for years, but nothing is confirmed at the moment. Friedman echos that thought, saying that someday they'll do something together, "but prob NY, not Philly."

Starr indeed approached Pig owners Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield several years ago about doing a Spotted Pig in Philadelphia, and they decided not to tarnish the West Village original by opening more than one. April and Ken then went on to open the John Dory and the Breslin and its assorted projects, putting any non New York projects on the back burner.

But a gastropub in Center City could still be in the works for Starr. The location the tipster is talking about is a short walk away from Rittenhouse Square, the heart of Center City Philadelphia and is most likely the ground floor of 10 Rittenhouse, a new condominium project. Starr confirmed that he had the lease for the space and it had been rumored as a location for Starr's "original" pizza restaurant he recently opened in Philly after his tour of New York.

In other Friedman world news, the same loose lipped gossipmonger emailed in yesterday (and apparently contacted Fork in the Road as well) to report that the new John Dory will start out sans kitchen and will just be raw bar for a period of time when it opens in the Ace Hotel.
· The Spotted Pig Coverage [~ENY~]
· Stephen Starr Coverage [~ENY~]