A reader checked in recently, wondering what’s going on with Gianna’s at 721 Wharton St., in Passyunk Square.

The building

From the west

Quickly glancing at the building, you could think that a restaurant could be quietly (and with no street presence) operating out of this space. Yet from what we can tell, there hasn’t been a food business operating in this space since before the millennium. In April 2000, the building was put on the market, with the listing noting that the restaurant was no longer in operation. Does anyone remember what the place was like inside?

In 1959, from Phillyhistory.org

According to the Geohistory maps we love so much, the building was used as a meeting hall of some sort for decades before its conversion to a restaurant. Does anybody know who met there? When the space became a restaurant?

In recent years, the building has changed hands a couple of times, with the second and third floors converted to rental apartments that seem to be both sizable and reasonably priced, though not particularly high end.

Low res image from a rental listing on Trend, but you get the idea

From what we can tell, the first floor space remains unused (though we suppose it could be an office and we wouldn’t know it). Could a restaurant find success in this location? Would the neighborhood even want to see this kind of use? Couldn’t the owners at least take down the sign if they don’t intend to lease the space for a restaurant? Ah, the endless questions that keep us up at night…