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Jose Garces to open Garces Eats, with food from his restaurants, at Wells Fargo Center’s revamped club level

The bistro stand opening in October on the Broad Street side will have a changing menu of what Garces calls “handheld and bowl-based” dishes.

Chef Jose Garces, at his restaurant Hook & Master in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, will open Garces Eats in the fall at the Wells Fargo Center.
Chef Jose Garces, at his restaurant Hook & Master in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, will open Garces Eats in the fall at the Wells Fargo Center.Read moreMONICA HERNDON / Staff Photographer

The Wells Fargo Center is dribbling out information about new premium food options this October that are part of a $50 million renovation of the club level.

Today, arena owner Comcast-Spectacor will announce that chef Jose Garces will enter the sports-and-entertainment arena with a concept called Garces Eats.

The Garces Eats stand, on the Broad Street side, will offer a changing, wide-ranging menu of what Garces calls “handheld and bowl-based” dishes inspired by such Garces restaurants as Village Whiskey, The Olde Bar, and Distrito. (The Philadelphia location of Distrito is currently idle, its future uncertain.)

Among the Garces Eats dishes available club-level patrons will be smash burgers made with Village Whiskey’s proprietary beef blend and toppings, duck fat fries, lobster rolls, Buffalo cauliflower served with buttermilk ranch and gin-pickled celery, and a Mission-style burrito bar. He said bao buns and rice bowls are possibilities.

It also will have an open kitchen, serving in a format known as an action station. “You know how usually, the cooking is done out of sight in the back,” he said. “We want people to see what we’re cooking.”

In June, the center and concessionaire Aramark announced that restaurateur Stephen Starr would open a sit-down restaurant called Adrian on the club level, replacing The Grille.

Another Philadelphia restaurateur is expected to be announced soon for a food stand on the 11th Street side of the club level.

Garces Eats at Wells Fargo Center is part of growth for Garces. He will open new Buena Onda restaurants in Center City (in mid-August) and Radnor (late September) as he and his partners franchise the taqueria brand nationally. Two additional restaurant concepts are also planned for this fall in Philadelphia.

The scope of the club-level work has risen by $50 million to $350 million, according to Comcast Spectacor. Highlights of the club level include a premium seating entrance and lobby, new seating options and open-floor layout, exclusive retail, and themed whiskey and tequila bars.