Restaurant Death Watch: Which Marathon Will Be Next To Go?

Things are looking rough for the Marathon empire. Between the lawsuits, closures, property seizures and rumors of worse on the way, the local chain (which has lost half its locations in the past year, two just last week) seems to be heading in a decidedly southerly direction. As of today, there are still operating locations at 16th and Sansom, 19th and Market and 19th and Spruce, but…

…in May of this year, the chain shut down its University City Marathon and MarBar locations at 40th and Walnut, citing lagging business.

…early last week, the Borish family (who own the Marathon operation) settled a lawsuit brought against them by partners Bernard and Murray Spain. As part of that settlement, the 10th and Walnut Marathon location went to Barry Gutin and Larry Cohen, the guys behind Cuba Libre. Word is, they’re going to be opening a new restaurant there and Matt Levin (ex of Adsum) is going to be their chef.

…on December 7, the 13th and Chestnut location got a visit by a Philadelphia police officer and two other men who changed the locks and booted everyone out–in the middle of lunch. Though Marathon is claiming that they chose to close due to “increased occupancy costs,” the landlord says different, claiming that Marathon was evicted due to more than $186,000 in unpaid rent.

So, with things trending in a downward fashion for the once-powerful restaurant group, the next question is obvious: Which Marathon do you think will be be the next to close?

Answers in the comments section, and don’t forget to show your work.