George Sabatino’s Next Act: A Massive French Restaurant in Kensington

From left: Josh Mann, Graham Gernsheimer, and George Sabatino / Photograph by Mike Prince

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. It’s another week of really big news in the food world — including (but not limited to) a much-anticipated expansion, Hearthside’s pivot, George Sabatino’s new gig, and an art show for the food-obsessed. So let’s get right into it and kick things off this week with …

Fleur’s Is Bringing a Rooftop Bar, a Boutique Hotel, and George Sabatino to Kensington

Okay, so this news was a little bit surprising, considering the last time we talked about George was in August of last year, and way back then (all of eight months ago) he was just getting himself settled into his new post as exec at Rosemary in Ridley Park.

But now it looks like he’s made another jump — back into the city this time, as chef at the new French restaurant Fleur’s, which he’s opening alongside partners Josh Mann and Graham Gernsheimer.

Fleur’s is a big project in several different ways. It’s 14,000 square feet to start, so it’s big physically. The concept includes a French restaurant, a rooftop bar, event space, and a six-room boutique hotel — so it’s also big in terms of ambition. And the building itself (which used to be Fluehr’s Furniture, established in 1888 according to its signage) is this unusual, elbow-shaped, multistory space overlooking the El. Want a breakdown of why the building was kind of a steal? The cats over at OCF Realty wrote a whole thing about the property a while back, and their pictures of it make it look seriously cool.

Anyway, it’s gonna be a thing. A big project with multiple moving parts, and all of it happening right on Front Street with some very big names attached. Mann, for example, is an industry lifer, having done 16 years with Starr in various FOH roles before jumping over to Defined Hospitality and spending the last four years at Condesa, El Techo, Suraya, and Kalaya. Gernsheimer tended bar at Amis and Osteria, was a manager at Frankford Hall, managed a half-dozen different big-name restaurants around town, and is currently director of ops for the Loco Pez Group.

And George?

Well, George has been everywhere. I mean, seriously. He’s been a semi-regular fixture of this column for many years, working at (or owning) some of the most interesting restaurants in the city. I mean, Fleur’s is going to be a French restaurant, right? Know where George learned how to cook French food? From David Ansill at his eponymous restaurant back in the day. And that was before stints at Fork, Barbuzzo, Stateside, Aldine, and a dozen other spots. That most recent move to Rosemary in Ridley Park? It was short-lived but solid — and he was already taking over the gig from a different chef (Elijah Milligan) who also happened to be the chef who took over at Stateside when George left back in 2011.

Now, he’s focused entirely on Fleur’s. Here’s George talking about his ideas for the place:

“We will be building the menu around what’s available at nearby farms. I spent time in 2021 working on a farm, which really invigorated my love for the region’s bounty of produce and inspired me to take my approach to vegetable cooking to new heights. The menu won’t change every night, but it will represent the six growing seasons in which the region’s farmers grow. Garnishes and little things will change often, and we will feature a handful of signature dishes that will give us a lot of seasonal flexibility. We will be focusing heavily on preservation and what’s available both from local waterways and the farms, but on a pretty large scale. This is an opportunity for me to be the most focused and intentional that I’ve ever been, putting all of my knowledge of hospitality into one package. Our goal is to simply produce the best food we can in a beautiful setting with outstanding hospitality and without any egos or pretense. We’re a very tight team, and this is really exciting for all of us.”

The plan is for the restaurant part of the project to be open sometime this spring — meaning soon-ish. That’s 130 seats, including 18 at the bar, two open-air patios, and a dozen seats in one private dining room. The 2,000-square-foot rooftop bar will be opening later in the year, along with a dedicated event space on the fifth floor and the hotel rooms. When Fleur’s opens, it’ll be for dinner only, seven nights a week, with a weekend brunch and happy hour coming once the team gets their legs under them.

In the interim — and for those of you who just can’t wait — it looks like Fleur’s is going to be doing a preview called “A First Taste of Fleur’s” on Saturday, April 19th, at Citrine Studio in Kensington. It’ll be a five-course BYO tasting menu featuring dishes George has been working on for Fleur’s debut menu — sourdough miche and an uni custard tartlet, dry-aged yellowtail, spring pea nage, and steak au poivre — and there’ll be two seatings: at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets will run you $135 apiece. You can get yours here if you’re interested.

Oh, and Speaking of Kensington Real Estate News …

Inside Càphê Roasters / Photo courtesy of Càphê Roasters

The impending opening of Fleur’s is not the only reason for the neighbors to be celebrating.

It looks like the team at Càphê Roasters is eyeing a big move of their own. Know that kinda creepy abandoned building across the street from their current location on Kensington Avenue? Yeah, well, it used to be a roller skating rink, but the CR team is looking to expand into that space and turn it into a brewery, a larger coffee-roasting operation, and a multi-use cafe space with a takeout window.

The Inky talked with the owners about the new plans and wrote all about it over the weekend, but my favorite part of the entire piece was when a recent zoning hearing before the Harrowgate Civic Association broke out in applause (and a unanimous vote to support the expansion). Càphê Roasters’ lawyer seemed completely flummoxed by the overwhelmingly positive reaction. It was adorable.

So while I can’t imagine what in the Scooby Doo the Càphê Roasters team is thinking and would absolutely think twice before expanding my small Vietnamese cafe and coffee-roasting operation into what is an obviously haunted abandoned roller skating rink, they seem to be moving full speed ahead with their plans. There’s still a lot of paperwork and a lot of meetings to come, but I am super psyched to see what they’ll do with more space and a brewery of their own.

You’ll know more when I know more.

Now what else is happening this week …

New Jersey’s Hearthside Is Moving

Inside Hearthside in Collingswood / Photograph courtesy of Hearthside

About a year ago, I told y’all about the Piperno Hospitality Group (who own Hearthside in Collingswood) and their plans to open a “high-class, old-fashioned, sit-down ‘contemporary American’ restaurant with an elevated bar program focusing on the classics (plus extensive zero-proof options) and a menu built around the same kind of wood-burning ovens that gave Hearthside its name.” This was a project that had been in the works for years — a complicated dance of paperwork, zoning variances, licensing, planning board meetings, and community drainage surveys — which the Pipernos (Dominic and Lindsay) had begun before COVID and hoped to have finally wrapped up in 12 months or less.

Well, here we are. It’s been a year and change, and I just got word that now, rather than adding 145 seats and a brand new contemporary American restaurant to their portfolio, the Pipernos have decided that they’re just going to up stakes and move Hearthside, in its entirety, down the street to the new location at 105 Haddon Avenue in Haddon Township.

Over on Instagram, the Pipernos say, “This move wasn’t something we initially planned. At first, we imagined building something entirely new. But in every conversation, we kept coming back to Hearthside — to the food, the feeling, and the community we’ve built together. So we made the decision to take everything we love about this place and give it the room to grow.”

So basically, Hearthside with a bar, a lounge, patio seating, and a lot more seats. Which is nothing but good news.

No decisions have been made yet as to what’s going to happen with the original Hearthside location — whether the Pipernos are going to keep it and turn it into something new or whether they’ll be looking for a new tenant. But one thing that they are clear about? Hearthside is currently open in its current location at 801 Haddon Avenue in Collingswood. And the new space won’t be ready for move-in until sometime in 2026.

So, you know, about a year from now.

Now, who has room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

Dishes and drinks featured on Jaffa’s brunch menu / Photograph Liz Wissmann

Here’s something cool: Artist (and former New Yorker editor) John Donohue is having an exhibition at Gleaners Cafe in Bella Vista that he’s calling “The Art Of Philly Dining.” It features hand-drawn illustrations of more than 75 iconic Philly restaurants — both classics and newcomers — that capture “not just the facades of these beloved eateries, but also the emotional connection people have with them.”

These are pen-and-ink sketches, done as one-of-a-kind objects, and Donohue has been doing it for a while through his “All The Restaurants” project. But if you’re a Philly restaurant fanatic (and if you aren’t, why are you even here?), these are some VERY collectible pieces. Pub & Kitchen, Ralph’s, Parc, Fork, Friday Saturday Sunday — no matter what your favorite place is, odds are good that Donohue has a sketch for sale.

Oh, and a bonus? This is a charitable endeavor, so proceeds from sales will be going to CHOP.

Donohue has about 75 four-by-six-inch sketches for sale at Gleaners that’ll run you around $100 each. But he’s also got a few double-signed 12-by-12 canvas prints with signatures from the chefs that run them. So, if you want a sketch of Royal Sushi and Izakaya, signed by Donohue and Jesse Ito? That’ll cost more.

The show will run at Gleaners from April 29th through June 2nd. You can check out some of Donohue’s work (and buy one of those signed prints, if you’re interested) right here.

Meanwhile, it looks like Jaffa Bar will be rolling out weekend brunch service starting April 19th. There’ll be shrimp shakshuka, Persian crab omelets, smoked salmon egg-in-the-hole on house Moroccan frena, merguez sausage and eggs with hash browns, potato borek … Do I even have to tell you how crazy this is all going to be? This is a restaurant that seems made for brunch crowds. And the neighborhood is absolutely going to go bonkers. So if you’re down, reservations are available now. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (with an additional “Mid-Day Happy Hour” service on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.), so I’d plan well in advance.

In news that should surprise absolutely no one, SIN in NoLibs has shut down after a little over a year. The influencer-bait restaurant-slash-nightclub-slash-steakhouse that tried to popularize “vibe dining” and had plans for massive, nationwide expansion before the first location had even opened went dark late last week rather unexpectedly.

It was, hands down, one of the worst-named restaurants in recent memory. (SIN stood for “Steak Italian Nightlife,” and I mean, come on … ) Word is, a new restaurant will be moving into the recently vacated space in a hurry, so watch this space.

Photograph courtesy of Grace & Proper

And finally this week, the crew at Grace & Proper are honoring the season Basque-style with their one-night-only “Basque in the Spring” event featuring a Txakoli-soaked celebration of warmer weather to come.

“Txakoli, the wine of the Basque Country, is just like the region’s language, culture, and food — completely independent from the world around it,” according to the restaurant’s Instagram. “Basque in the Spring is a celebration of Txakolina at the core, along with a showcase of all the things we love about the Basque region of Spain. Pintxos are on display, featuring bone-in Mangalica Jamon, head-on Scarlett Prawns, Manchego Cheese, and Citrus Olive Oil Cake, just to name a few.”

And that all sounds awesome, right? Who isn’t in the mood for some ham and wine and olive oil cake right now?

The party starts at 3 p.m. on April 29th and will run until the sun goes down. An RSVP ticket for the event will cost you $5, and you can get yours right here.