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Boqueria, the New York City tapas restaurant, plans to open in Philadelphia

The Spanish restaurant has been expanding since its 2006 founding. It will take space at an apartment building under construction at 1608 Sansom St.

Boqueria, specializing in tapas, was founded in New York City in 2006.
Boqueria, specializing in tapas, was founded in New York City in 2006.Read moreCourtesy of Boqueria

Boqueria, the high-energy New York City-based Spanish restaurant named after Barcelona’s market, will open a branch in Philadelphia, joining a few out-of-town restaurateurs whose new projects are underway.

Founder Yann de Rochefort told The Inquirer that he plans to open a 120-seat restaurant amid 4,500 square feet at the apartment tower under construction at 1608-1620 Sansom St.

De Rochefort said he did not have a projected opening date for the tapas restaurant, which will fill a void left by the pandemic closing of Jose Garces’ Tinto nearby. He said he did not know the budget for the restaurant, but typical projects can cost as much as $5 million.

Marketing materials for the building indicate that it will be available for occupancy in March 2024.

» READ MORE: 30 new restaurants opening in Philadelphia this spring

Boqueria, a hit since its 2006 opening in New York City’s Chelsea, now has four locations in New York, two in Washington, D.C., one in Chicago, one in Nashville, one opening this summer in Boston, and another on tap for Atlanta. De Rochefort and his cofounders also published a cookbook in 2018.

As Boqueria grew concentrically from New York, de Rochefort said, it had skipped Philadelphia because “I hadn’t found any great spots. I really took my time to find a spot that I thought would work well.”

The location, in the expanding Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, is next door to the Center City landmark Happy Rooster and is across from a forthcoming location of Tapster, a syndicated self-service bar and tasting room, in the former Philadelphia Runner shop; it’s due to open in August.

“The location, just off the corner of 16th and Sansom, one of the busiest intersections in the city, is perfectly situated to capture the corporate, resident, shopping and tourist traffic,” said Jacob Cooper of MSC Retail, who with Brittany Goldberg and Brand Urban, represented Boqueria in the transaction.

Out-of-towners are backing other projects in the city:

  1. Loch Bar, a high-end seafood house out of Baltimore will occupy the ground floor of the Arthaus condos at Broad and Locust Streets, across from the Kimmel Center.

  2. Chotto Matte, a bold-designed restaurant that fuses Peruvian and Japanese cuisine, is under construction at the Jessup House, the 20-story high-rise under construction at 12th and Sansom Streets.

  3. The Urbanspace food hall is coming to Brandywine Realty Trust’s Schuylkill Yards development at the former Bulletin Building across from 30th Street Station.

Projected completion dates were not available.