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Termini to open Italian restaurant in Center City with Schulson

It will be next to Harp & Crown.

The Termini bakery family has inked a Center City restaurant deal with Michael Schulson - flying high with two of 2016's hottest openings (Double Knot and Harp & Crown).

And since the Terminis are involved, it cannoli be one thing: South Philly-style Italian.

They're calling it Giuseppe & Sons and it will be modeled on patriarch Vince Termini Sr.'s "side project" – the homespun Mr. Joe's Café, which opened in 2004 across from the 96-year-old Termini Bros. bakery at 1523 S. Eighth St. in South Philadelphia.

The location is on the 1500 block of Sansom Street, next door to Harp & Crown (1523 Sansom). The restaurant's address is technically 1520-22 Chestnut St., on the north side of the actual property.

Vince's son Vinny Termini, 38, who helps run the bakery with his brother, Joe, said he and Schulson were professional acquaintances. "He got to know our brand and the two of us share a love of food," Vinny told me. "He said, 'Why don't we do something together?' It sounded like a great idea. When I told my father, at first he looked at me funny and then said, 'Go for it.' "

Vinny Termini said the food – which the Terminis will oversee – will reflect the menu at Mr. Joe's: "Red sauce." (He said "sauce," not "gravy." Get over it.)

"We'll do the foods my father makes – it might be braciole one day, or baccalà," Vinny said. "Everything is done with soul and passion." Vinny, 42, is a Culinary Institute of America grad; Joe has a food-marketing degree from St. Joseph's.

Vince Termini Sr. is the second-generation, having taken over from his father, Giuseppe, who founded the bakery in 1921.

Schulson modeled the partnership after his deal with Elixr Coffee at Double Knot, where Elixr's Evan Inatome oversees the coffee program on the first floor. (And speaking of Double Knot, chef Kevin Yanaga – who has been receiving stellar notices for the Japanese izakaya tucked into Double Knot's basement – is working with Schulson on an idea for a high-end sushi restaurant.)

Ideas for Giuseppe & Son's décor/atmosphere are still being discussed. They hope to open late in the year.