A popular Sichuan spot in Chinatown is considering the possibility of opening another location in Rittenhouse Square.
Dan Tsao, owner of EMei Restaurant, recently purchased a 17,600-square-foot property at 2007–2011 Walnut St., according to The Philadelphia Business Journal.
The ground floor of the three buildings previously housed The Irish Pub restaurant and bar. Tsao originally planned to make the space the flagship location for EMei Restaurant, but told the outlet he has “concerns” about there being too many EMei locations in the city.
There is also a chance Tsao could open a pop-up in the space to serve visitors coming to Philadelphia this summer for the FIFA World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary.
The Walnut St. property is the third restaurant in development. Tsao is opening an EMei Restaurant in East Passyunk in the former Marra’s space, along with a suburban location in Ardmore at the former John Henry’s pub.
EMei Restaurant, founded in 2011, is named after Mount Emei, the highest of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China’s Sichuan province. The mountain’s natural resources inspire many of the restaurant’s dishes.
The menu has earned numerous accolades from The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Magazine.
Popular dishes include “Dan Dan Noodles”, a street-food favorite with flour noodles and wok-crisped ground pork in a spicy garlic sesame-peanut sauce; “Chongqing Spicy Chicken”, crispy boneless chicken tossed with dried chiles, peppercorns, crushed red peppers, sesame seeds and wok-fried scallions; and the celebrated mapo tofu, also called “Mother Chen’s Bean Curd.”
What Now Philadelphia reached out to the team regarding the property. This article may be updated.
