Breaking: Marc Vetri’s Next Move

There have been reports that Marc Vetri is scouting the city for his next restaurant, a super-casual trattoria … and he might just land in South Philly.

In April’s issue, writer John Marchese profiles chef Marc Vetri and tackles all the questions on every foodie’s mind: Will Marc stay in Philly? Will he continue to expand his empire? Can he do it all? Why do they call him Polenta Man?

Of course, we here at news-obsessed RC have our favorite part of the story: Vetri (and partner Jeffery Benjamin) walking through their possible third restaurant location. In January The Insider reported that Vetri had a deal on the table to open a third spot in the Kimpton Hotel at 17th and Arch Streets; while that may still be in play, it turns out Vetri is looking at some other spots. You can get a first-look at the story here, but since we know you’ll just scan for the next-restaurant part, we’ll fill you in on what we learned: Real Estate maven Eric Blumenfeld — who owns 640 North Broad, the condos were Osteria is housed — is hoping to pair up with the chef again, this time at his Marine Club condo project on Washington and Broad. In the story, Marc says he’d like Vetri sous chef Brad Spence to head up the trattoria, and also shares an idea for a fourth concept:

“And we’d like to do a real Italian coffee place,” Vetri says, “where it has a liquor license and it has the pastries lined up in the morning, and you walk in and grab one and go up to the counter and say, ‘I had this and this.’ Kind of the honor system.”

Check out the story “La Dolce Vetri” for more on Marc’s world.