Recently, we’ve been all over various happenings on South Street West, including numerous new restaurants and a couple of significant mixed-use projects. But what of South Street East, the place where the Orlons taught us that “all the hippies meet?” Sure, we’ve seen this and that going on east of Broad, but in the minds of many, this stretch reached its peak back in the 1970s. These days, it’s usually the tourists and the teenagers meeting on South Street, with a backdrop of chain stores, numerous vacant retail spaces, and the occasional Irish foods store.

Image from Food and History @ Temple

But according to Craig Laban, a new restaurant is coming to 604 South St., and it could be a game changer. This space was part of a row of vacant stores that we reported on about a year ago, and contained a Foot Locker before it went out of business around 2008. In December however, it’s expected that Peter Serpico, who last worked for David Chang of Momofuku, will be opening the most exciting new restaurant to come to South Street in years. Stephen Starr appears to be the person behind bringing Serpico to Philadelphia, and he has allowed the chef to workshop his menu in the back kitchen of Barclay Prime.

Future location of Serpico

No, not this guy

Will this exciting new restaurant be a shot in the arm for South Street, and attract other destination restaurants? Or has the competition from other commercial districts that have come into their own in the past decade taken away too many potential customers from South Street? One thing is certain: If some more businesses are interested in coming to the area, there are still plenty of vacant spaces to be had.

Former McDonald's to the east, former Walgreens to the west

We’ll see you in December Serpico. Very, very excited for what you’ll be bringing to the table both in the restaurant and in the neighborhood.