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Monsu in the Italian Market to close, but you have 3 months’ notice

Chef-owner Peter McAndrews, meanwhile, is preparing to revive Modo Mio.

Chef-owner Peter McAndrews outside Monsu at 901 Christian St.
Chef-owner Peter McAndrews outside Monsu at 901 Christian St.Read moreCOURTESY MONSU

The bad news: Chef Peter McAndrews says he’s closing Monsu, his energetic Sicilian BYOB at Ninth and Christian Streets in the Italian Market, on the eve of its ninth anniversary as its lease is running out.

The good news: Last day will be Sept. 29, allowing some breathing room for people to get their last tastes of arancia, sagne chine, and eggplant en carrozza. Reviews were solid.

More good news: McAndrews, who owns the Paesano’s sandwich shop on Girard Avenue in Northern Liberties as well as La Porta in Media, is preparing to bring back Modo Mio, his trattoria, which closed in 2017. In its new incarnation, Modo Mio will have a liquor license and a Center City address. (Modo Mio is now home to Cadence, the hit South Kensington BYOB.)

“Monsu,” by the way, is a Sicilian corruption of the French honorific “Monseigneur,” from the era when wealthy Sicilians hired French chefs to work in their homes.