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Fountain announces it will close for dinner

On the same day it won yet another accolade from Zagat Survey, word came down that the city's most-decorated restaurant would stop dinner after Dec. 27, pending the hotel's closing sometime next year as it moves into the forthcoming Comcast Innovation and Technology Center.

Big day for the Fountain Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel.

On the same day it won yet another accolade from Zagat Survey, word came down that the city's most-decorated restaurant would stop dinner after Dec. 27, pending the hotel's closing sometime next year as it moves into the forthcoming Comcast Innovation and Technology Center.

William DiStefano, who rose from apprentice to head chef over 25 years, said the management team had decided to finish out its operation "with dignity. We want to give the Fountain its own designated departure time."

The restaurant, which earned four bells from the Inquirer's Craig LaBan for as long as he has been doling them out, will continue to serve breakfast and lunch.

But the hotel's decision effectively spells the end of an era, as the restaurant is known as a dinner destination

The Fountain opened in 1983 with the Four Seasons under chef Jean-Marie Lacroix. Pretty much from the beginning, it has held AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Travel Guide Five Star status - the only one in the region to hold both. Some years ago, the Fountain achieved ratings of 29 for food, decor and service on Zagat Survey's 30-point scale. Few restaurants in the country have been so rated.

Lacroix, there for over two decades and now with Brulee Catering, won the prestigious James Beard Foundation's Best Chef/Mid-Atlantic award while in residence. Martin Hamann, now chef at the Union League, was there for 25 years. David Jansen was the dinner chef for 22 years during its glory days before he left in 2010.

Dinner after Dec. 27 will be offered in the hotel's lounge.

Post edited to add David Jansen's service.