Breaking: The Parkway’s New Darling

Harry Arnold, a veteran of Davio’s and Le Bec-Fin, is planning an upscale 60-seat bistro and bar inside the new Parktown Place luxury apartment building at 2200 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. If the Darling’s name sounds familiar, it is: Arnold owns the pair of Center City Darling Cafés, best know for their out-of-this-world cheesecake and hot cups of joe. But his third spot, tentatively called Darling’s Parktown Place, will serve a full roster of Continental fare — the menu will evolve once an executive chef is named. “Because of the economy and so many restaurants closing, the city is flooded with qualified candidates,” Arnold says.

The downside of the recession on Darling Café? AIMCO, the building’s parent company, has temporarily pushed back the project. Arnold had planned a spring opening, but he now expects the space to open this fall — one hopes while the weather is still nice enough to enjoy the planned 70-plus-seat outdoor space.