Over the summer, chef David Katz shuttered Meme at 2201 Spruce St. after a four-year run. This space, which was previously outgrown by Melograno, was a corner grocery and deli as recently as ten years ago. Today, it offers a prime Rittenhouse neighborhood location on a highly visible corner.

In 1995

The other day

According to Michael Klein, Meme’s closing set off a bit of a horse race among Philadelphia restauranteurs, with many established names having a think about different concepts for the space. In the end, it appears that Dan Clark of Pub & Kitchen will be taking over this space, and opening an establishment that serves booze. A letter was affixed to the building a couple of weeks ago, as a means of introduction.

The letter

The letter indicates that the new restaurant will have seating for thirty-six, no hard alcohol, and no live music. The subtext of the letter is, in fact, far more interesting than the letter itself. For those of you who never knew or don’t recall, Clark surely still bears wounds from a zoning fight that was ultimately lost at the corner of 20th & Kater, when neighbors who stood in opposition to his plan to open Bedford Cafe bought the building while in the middle of appealing his zoning approval. Nine months later, the building that could have been a new neighborhood hub remains vacant. Awesome.

We added the pabbit

Hopefully, the P&K guys will have better luck finding support at 22nd & Spruce than they did at 20th & Kater. If not, we wouldn’t be shocked if they picked up and left town. Wouldn’t blame ’em, actually.