Matyson To Become Second Milkhouse

Milkhouse’s Coming Soon sign from Suburban Station.

Tommy Guest, the owner and proprietor of Milkhouse, the grilled cheese and ice cream spot in Suburban Station confirms with us that he is taking over the just closed Matyson BYOB at 37 South 19th Street.

This will be the second location for Milkhouse, and will offer Guest some flexibility when compared with the original. There will be more room for seating, and gas grills, instead of the electric grills he’s limited to in the train station.

If all goes well, the second Milkhouse will open by the end of August.

More on Matyson’s Closing

Matyson closed after a successful 12-year run. Owner Butch Puchowitz (and father of Ben Puchowitz) is retiring from the business.

A 12-year run as a Center City BYOB is impressive enough, but when you consider the talent that came through the kitchen, it’s even more so.

Original owners Matt and Sonjia Spector are still going strong with their JoLe in Calistoga, California. Ben Puchowitz, then took over with the help of co-chef-de-cuisine Brian Lofink. Puchowitz is now behind the highly successful Cheu Noodle Bar and Bing Bing Dim Sum while Lofink is the executive chef at Kraftwork and Sidecar Bar & Grille.

Additionally, the small BYOB was the launching ground for several other restaurateurs and chefs including:

• Adam and Cheri Willner learned they loved bagels while cooking brunch at Matyson. The couple has since moved on to open Knead Bagels on Washington Square.
• Scott Schroeder who has gone on to social media fame as well as been the head guy at South Philadelphia Taproom and American Sardine bar, while opening his own spot, Hungry Pigeon.
• Jesse Kimball worked at Matyson in its early days and has been Memphis Taproom’s chef since its opening.
• David Gilberg who was the man behind Koo Zee Doo and is now the overall executive chef for FCM Hospitality (William Street Common, Boot & Saddle, and more).

Below is a letter, Matyson emailed out to its mailing list:

Dear friends,

Sadly, after almost 12 years and hundreds of tasting menus, Matyson has closed. Matt and Sonjia Spector opened Matyson in the fall of 2003 and quickly made the restaurant feel like a second home to their employees and guests with their passion, dedication and kindness. When they moved to California in 2007, Ben Puchowitz took over the kitchen and followed in their footsteps creating dynamic menus that pushed culinary boundaries. Ben has since created his own mini restaurant empire with Cheu Noodle and Bing Bing. In fact, we have had some of the most talented chefs in the city come through our kitchen, including Brian Lofink, Adam Willner, Jesse Kimball, David Gilberg and Scott Schroeder.

Besides inspiring chefs to create incredible food and open restaurants of their own, Matyson has created many wonderful relationships. We have met our husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, and friends for life here. We have celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, babies and many other events together. This place was so much more than just a job, it was our life.

Thank you to our incredible kitchen staff including chef BV Nguyen, sous chef Matt Sosalski and pastry chef Sonia Bravo. Their tireless work and unending creativity led to some of the most exciting and delicious menus in the city. Thank you to our front of the house staff including long term staff members Tracy Messina, Loren Boghosian, Adriane Poehlman, and of course the one and only Louis Remolde, whose charisma is unmatched and one of the biggest reasons for our success.

But ultimately, thank you- all of our amazing guests, regulars and supporters. It has been such a pleasure getting to know you throughout the years and we will surely miss you. Thank you for letting us share our cuisine and service with you and most of all thank you for the memories.

Milkhouse [Official]