Noble Closes, Replaced By Starr’s Il Pittore

Yesterday Noble American Cookery owner Todd Rodgers sent out an email stating Noble was closing immediately and the business was being sold to Stephen Starr. Rodgers and co-owner Bruno Pouget had seen a sizable uptick in business but not without adding additional personal funds to the endeavor.

Within the last few weeks an offer was made by the Starr Restaurant Organization (SRO) to lease the building for a Fall restaurant opening. Michael Klein reports it will be Chris Painter’s Italian Il Pittore.Painter is currently Starr’s Corporate Chef assisting in numerous SRO openings from Angelina to more recently Pizzeria Stella and Frankford Hall.

Rodgers and Pouget own the building and will continue to do so. Rodgers says he’s “worked very hard with Starr Management to ensure that our staff be strongly considered for positions within their company.”

For Painter, the restaurant deal has been a long time coming. Last April it looked like his Il Pittore concept would takeover the Ansill space but that deal fell through. Similarly the project looked like it found a home at the former Deux Cheminees on Locust Street but that agreement similarly fizzled.

Now Painter has a great looking space that shouldn’t require extensive renovations before its projected October opening.

Starr strikes again in Rittenhouse [Official Site]

Photo by Jason Varney | Fussing With Forks