Three restaurant shakeups to know in Philadelphia this week

Since bad news comes in threes, here is word of the closings of a neighborhood cocktail bar in Kensington and an embattled brunch restaurant in Center City, while the founding chef of longtime Italian restaurant in East Falls has departed.

In Riva, the industrial-chic trattoria off Kelly Drive in East Falls known for its pizzas, pastas, and killer terrace overlooking the Schuylkill, lost its chef-founder after nearly 14 years. Arthur Cavaliere, who previously owned the nearby Foghorn & Fletcher and Black Squirrel Pub & Haunt, is no longer affiliated with the restaurant, which remains open. He declined further comment. Mark Sherman, the owner, is now running the restaurant.

Saturday will be the last call at Say No More Kensington, the cozy cocktail bar/performance space on three levels at Second Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue, after a year and a half. In January 2024, shortly after opening, co-founder Alexander Asplundh-Smith was accused of assaulting a former girlfriend, sparking calls for a boycott of the bar. Asplundh-Smith’s partner and cousin, Kristian Maestri, announced a week later that the bar had broken ties with Asplundh-Smith. Maestri told The Inquirer that he was “extremely disappointed and frustrated about the close.” He said he was proud of his staff and “really grateful for the strong community that we built,” adding that he could not comment beyond that because of what he called “an ongoing legal situation.”

Sunday is the stated finale of Chubby Chicks 1111, the bruncherie at 1111 Walnut St. whose owner, Shakeira Turner, alleged harassment, some of it racial, that began even before its opening last December. Turner, whose landlord filed a notice of eviction over unpaid rent and fines, has said on social media that she planned to open next in Atlanta.