PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The City of Philadelphia is soliciting restaurant proposals for the former visitor center in LOVE Park — the city’s second attempt at turning the building into an eatery.
The restaurant contract for the former LOVE Park Welcome Center, which underwent a $5.6 million renovation in recent years, was initially awarded to restauranteurs Marcie Turney and Valerie Saffron. Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell said the space was supposed to be transformed into a restaurant called Loveluck, but that fell through in the middle of the pandemic.
“Their business was really hard hit in the pandemic and I think they were really spending a lot of time trying to build that business back,” she said.
The city re-issued a request for proposals for the building last summer, and it is again looking for a new concept to fill the 5,500-square-foot site, which Ott Lovell said has served as an iconic building in LOVE Park for more than 50 years.
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Ott Lovell said the city is open to new ideas and looking for an operator with at least three years of experience.
“And of course, also looking for someone that really wants to be in the park,” she added. “Somebody who wants to have a restaurant in a nontraditional location. When you look at places like New York City, Chicago, there are some really incredible restaurants in parks.”
Those interested must attend a mandatory pre-proposal Zoom meeting on April 5. The proposals are due on May 12.
More information can be found here.
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