Raw Out At Piazza


It seems like just months ago that I was telling you about Sansom Street sushi joint Raw getting an outpost at Bart Blastein’s mixed-use 80,000-square foot revolving door aka The Piazza at Schmidts, replacing Shola Olunloyo’s ill-fated Speck project. Oh wait. That’s because it was just months ago. Well, after what I hear was one helluva New Years’ Eve party at the complex (even my Enterprise car rental guy in Upper Darby said so), word comes that Raw is no longer open for business.

What’s happening with the space is unclear. The hostess at the Sansom Street restaurant said Monday that she thinks the Piazza restaurant is only open for takeout, but the person who answered the phone “Uh, hello?” at the Raw Piazza number said there’s no takeout, no nothing. He said that it may just be closed for the winter, which is, of course, usually restaurantspeak for something else entirely.

One well-placed Northern Liberties source says that Raw may be no more but that its replacement is expected to be something of the “reconcepted Asian” variety. Landlord Bart Blatstein did not immediately return a call for comment.