Amina Takes Over Shuttered SIN Space in NoLibs — and It Opens This Friday

Darryl Harmon and Felicia Wilson of Amina, which will soon move to SIN’s shuttered location in Northern Liberties. / Photograph by Mike Prince

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. It’s the third week in a row of REALLY big news in the food world — including (but not limited to) a new owner for the SIN space, a new restaurant at the Kimmel, a new ice cream shop for Rittenhouse, and a couple of killer collab dinners coming right up. So let’s get right into it and kick things off this week with …

SIN Gets a New Tenant (and a Much Better Name)

I know it was a long time ago, but remember just last week when I told you about SIN in NoLibs throwing in the towel and closing down without telling anyone?

Yeah, well I mentioned then that there were already rumors circulating that someone was sniffing around the big Germantown Avenue location previously known for its “vibe dining” concept (and notable lack of people interested in its “vibe dining” concept), but imagine my surprise when I heard that someone had already snapped it up.

I mean, seriously. The glow of the last lights being switched off had barely even faded when word came down that Felicia Wilson and chef/partner Darryl Harmon had swooped in and called dibs.

Dig this: Wilson and Harmon opened their first spot together (Amina, at 104 Chestnut Street in Old City) almost exactly three years ago. That place has done well for itself, bringing American Southern-meets-African cuisine to the neighbors and slinging mountains of peri peri wings, braised oxtails, Nigerian hot chicken and lobster mashed potatoes. One problem though? Amina seated 70. And that just wasn’t enough space for Wilson.

SIN, though? That has space for 200. And no one was using those seats anymore. So Wilson and Harmon pounced, announced that Amina was going to be moving to NoLibs, and set an opening date of April 25th.

Yeah. Three days from now.

For Wilson, this was all just about opportunity. “I love the block we’re on in Old City,” she says. “[B]ut with BlackHen just down the street and First Daughter Oyster Co. a few blocks away (inside the Renaissance Downtown Hotel), and now having restaurants in Center City (Fia) and the Parkway (AVANA), I saw this as an opportunity to expand our footprint to yet another neighborhood.”

Wilson is doing a little redecorating of the interior. Harmon is buffing out the menu with some picnic basket chicken wings, an oxtail mac soufflé and — making good use of SIN’s old steakhouse kitchen layout — an 18-ounce Delmonico ribeye.

And the plan is to have everything up and running smoothly starting at 5 p.m. this Friday. It’s not an impossible lift. I hear there was a minor flood at the bar right before SIN closed the doors, but the space is basically as turnkey as it gets, considering it was (arguably) a fully functioning restaurant like 15 minutes ago.

So I’m wishing nothing but the best for Wilson and Harmon. Here’s hoping they bring something a little more substantial than “vibes” to the neighborhood.

Now, what else is happening this week?

Leo Brings Squid Ink, Blood Oranges, and 100 New Seats to the Kimmel Center

A dessert at Leo / Photograph by Neal Santos

The Kimmel Center has already launched its own all-day cafe-slash-cocktail lounge named Curtain Call that’s been stuffing the Broad Street swells full of fancy sandwiches and martinis since January of this year. It opened as a simple, approachable operation in the former home of Garces Trading Co. and served as a kind of reset for the Kimmel’s food (and drink) service after GTC and Garces’s ever-changing fine-dining concept Volvér both closed in 2024.

Now, they’ve got a replacement for Volvér as well. Leo (named after the Philadelphia Orchestra’s legendary music director Leopold Stokowski) will serve as the fine-dining destination that the Kimmel has been lacking for the past year, a “go-to spot to unwind, connect, and savor an exceptional meal anytime the mood strikes,” according to the PR team.

Chef Chris Cryer will be running the show at the new spot. He’s spent the last several months overseeing ops at Curtain Call (after being brought in from Peak in NYC), and will now be overseeing a menu that’s heavy on seasonality, locality and the Mid-Atlantic coastal flavors of his youth. The current draft of the menu offers up squid ink campanelle in a lobster and aged ham ragù, Merguez dumplings with cardamom yogurt, fennel-cured hiramasa with smoked olive, and a blood orange custard with coconut rice and finger lime for dessert.

There’ll be an open kitchen, a chef’s counter, a bar, seating for around 100. Right now, they’re looking at both an à la carte menu and a prix-fixe — which is fairly standard when you’ve got complications like theatergoer guests’ showtimes to deal with. And in partnership with Rhubarb Hospitality Collection (which knows a thing or two about running fancy restaurants in iconic locations), they’re looking at making Leo not just a special occasion restaurant for pre-theater dining, but a place where anyone can drop by whenever they want.

“At Leo, I want to create an honest, simple, and beautiful dining experience,” Cryer says. “One that feels warm, familiar, and exciting with every bite. The Philadelphia food scene is so vibrant, and we’re really looking forward to contributing to it and connecting with our guests.”

There’s no hard opening date for Leo yet, but construction is currently underway and they’re hoping to sneak in a debut before summer comes.

Oh, and Speaking of Summer …

The soon-to-open Weckerly’s in Rittenhouse / Photograph by Dan Heinkel Photography

A couple weeks ago, I told y’all about Weckerly’s prepping for the sunnier seasons with a brand-new brick-and-mortar location in Rittenhouse. I promised to let you know as soon as I had some more details and guess what? Now I’ve got some more details.

The new shop will be moving into the space at 1600 Spruce Street which used to be a home design store. And rather than being just your run-of-the-mill scoop shop, this new Weckerly’s is going to be set up more like a cafe, with seating and coffee service during the day (with beans from Brandywine Roasters out of Delaware), and looooong hours. During regular service, they’ll be open from early in the morning (7 or 8 a.m., depending on the day) until 10 or 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on the weekends — which is surprisingly late for a cafe, and VERY late for an ice cream shop. Though, honestly, midnight ice cream? That sounds pretty awesome now that I think about it.

The menu is also more expansive. This new spot will be offering vegan ice cream, a brand-new soft-serve program, an exclusive Weckerly’s ice-cream sandwich that’ll only be available at the new Rittenhouse location, and 24 small-batch flavors available on opening day.

Which brings us to the most important update of all: an opening date. Regular hours are still kinda up in the air, but the new Weckerly’s will be celebrating its grand opening on Friday, May 9th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a free scoop and a limited-edition Weckerly’s ice cream pint koozie to the first 50 customers in line. They’ll also be handing out flowers to anyone who shows up with their mom in honor of Mother’s Day.

Now who has room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

Spread at Javelin / Photograph by Mike Prince

That same week that I told y’all about the new Weckerley’s coming to Rittenhouse, I also let you know about restaurateur Albert Zheng’s upcoming replacement for his eight-year-old Engimono sushi restaurant at 1811 Fairmount Avenue. The new place (which is also a sushi restaurant, and will also be at 1811 Fairmount Avenue) is called Javelin, and it now has an opening date, too.

Javelin is opening the doors tomorrow (April 23rd) at 4 p.m. Service will be walk-in only until May 1st (which is when the reservation system goes live). It’ll also by BYO for the time being because the liquor license isn’t ready yet. But when that license does come through (likely in a few weeks, according to press), there’ll be a full cocktail and wine program run by Richie Tray of the Library Bar, who is consulting.

The menu leans heavy on the sushi, sashimi and maki, obviously, but the kitchen will also be doing a variety of modern Japanese dishes and luxury add-ons like crab and avocado towers, truffle toro, A5 Wagyu steaks and tuna tacos.

On the other side of the bridge, the first Federal Donuts & Chicken in New Jersey will be opening a couple days later.

On April 25th, the franchise location at Marlton Square will be celebrating its grand opening with free t-shirts for the first 100 customers on Friday the 25th, then free funfetti “Grand Opening” cake donuts (with purchase) on Saturday the 26th (while supplies last).

Also on the 26th, FarmerJawn is hosting the first of their weekly “FarmerJawn Field Trips” — a quick escape from Philly to visit the FarmerJawn farm and store in West Chester. Every week, they run a group of people out to the farm where you’ll get to have some small bites, meet founder Christa Barfield and shop for some local products. Tickets are $10, but that’s really just to secure your seat because you also get a $10 credit at the store for any purchase over $30. Info and reservations for the weekly field trips (running through November 1st) are available here.

Finally this week, we’ve got three excellent collab dinners coming up — all of which would be totally worth your time.

First, it’s a one-night-only kitchen takeover at Middle Child Clubhouse by the crew from Kampar. They’ll be doing ramly burgers with rendang, nasi lemak, roti canai and achat in the kitchen, and slinging special cocktails from behind the bar. No reservations. Walk-ins only, and it’s all PAYG. Monday, April 28th, from 5 to 10 p.m. Be there or be square.

Second, Emmett is kicking off a new monthly dinner series called “Not A Pop-Up” with chef Nich Bazik from Provenance doing … a pop-up? I dunno. He’s doing a one-night, multi-course collab menu with Emmett’s Evan Snyder and his team, and the line-up looks bonkers. We’re talking Wagyu rye tartlets, madeleines with a foie gras parfait, Sweet Amalia oysters with ssamjang, ramp gelée, and sesame; a mid-course of rabbit lasagna with pork crackling and jus, followed by bluefin tuna with dashima cream, kimchi beurre fondue, sorghum, and wild arugula flowers, then an entrée of lamb loin crepinette with merguez, Swiss chard, and maitake, along with smoked steelhead trout with spring peas, trout roe, spring pea nage. Then there’s dessert: a “strawberry parfait” from Abby Dahan of Provenance (quotation marks hers), and a banana pain perdu with crémeux and hazelnut from Emmett.

The dinner is happening on Tuesday, May 13th at Emmett. Tickets are $125 and seatings are staggered between 5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Reservations opened today at noon, so if you’re down, get yours right here. It sounds like it’s gonna be a helluva night.

Kevin Yanaga / Photograph by Mike Prince

Finally, on Monday, May 5th, Kevin Yanaga is celebrating the one-year anniversary of his Yanaga Kappo Izakaya in the biggest possible way: by shutting down the entire 300 block of Fairmount Avenue and throwing a massive block party and collab dinner featuring the crews from Mawn, Neighborhood Ramen, Zama and Nihonbashi Philly — a.k.a. “Tokyo Philly” — which is a popular cheesesteak shop located in Japan. 

The party will start at 5pm and run until 10 p.m. It will include, “food from all of the participating restaurants, including a collaborative sukiyaki cheesesteak, as well as a teriyaki chicken egg cheesesteak produced by Yanaga and Nihonbashi Philly (Kosuke and Tomomi Chujo, which will be served on a freshly baked Del Rossi’s roll; Mawn’s famous hot dog (Martin’s roll, snap-o-razzo beef dog, wild boar Cambodian chili, rolled onions, vinegar peppers, and cornichons; a ‘Philly Style’ maki (cheesesteak roll) from chef Jose Luna at Zama as a complimentary amuse for guests; a Cinco de Mayo-inspired mazeman from Neighborhood Ramen, and a handroll cart manned by chef Yanaga. There will be Beam/Suntory whiskey on hand, along with beers from both Human Robot and Yards.”

So yeah. It’s a LOT. And most of the people involved in this are former Zama employees. Yanaga worked there. So did Mawn’s Phila and Rachel Lorn, and Neighborhood Ramen’s Lindsey Mariko Steigerwald and Jesse Pryor. They all did time with the late chef Hiroyuki “Zama” Tanaka, so this whole party? It’s also a kind of reunion for them. According to Phila (who used to make cheesesteaks for staff meal), “Zama loved cheesesteaks — they were his favorite — and I’m sure he’s smiling about this one. He recently passed, so it’s going to be awesome to be together for a quickie jawn honoring our mentor.”

The whole event will be walk-up, come-as-you-are, with all the food and drinks sold à la carte. Show up early, stay late, hang out. This one is going to be a blast.