Restaurant Updates: Summer Openings and Closings

Popular spots in Media, Ardmore and King of Prussia have closed, while new concepts have opened in Kennett Square and Downingtown.

Closed for Business:

Media’s Picasso Restaurant and Bar (36 W. State St.) is closing on Aug. 5 after 12 years in business. The news was shared via an announcement on Facebook. Owner Loic Barnieu also runs Media’s La Belle Epoque Wine Bistro, Diego’s Cantina & Tequila Bar and Sterling Pig Brewery. No word yet if the restaurant will be reopened with a different concept under his ownership.

Ardmore’s Barbacoa (64 Rittenhouse Place) has closed its doors after five years. The Peruvian barbecue restaurant shared the news on Facebook. The eatery will return after a short summer break with a new name, Shack in the Back, and a new location, 29–33 E. Lancaster Ave., next to Ardmore Music Hall. Two other restaurants are expected to join the new space—Ripplewood Whiskey & Craft and Bam Bam Seoul Kitchen.

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Two neighboring watering holes in Bryn Mawr had their last call—Maloney’s Pub (1009 Lancaster Ave.) and Erin Pub (1005 Lancaster Ave.). Both bars closed at the end of June.

Now Open:

Hearth Kitchen (859 E. Baltimore Pike) opened its doors at the Shoppes at Longwood Village in Kennett Square. Hearth is the newest restaurant from chef Bryan Sikora, formerly of Philadelphia’s Django and a.kitchen, Kennett Square’s Talula’s Table and Wilmington, Del.’s La Fia Bakery + Market + Bistro and Cocina LoLo. His wife, Andrea, joins him as co-owner. The menu of Italian-influenced dishes includes wood-fired pizzas, handmade pastas and wood oven-roasted whole branzino with with fennel, peppers, crispy pancetta and white bean puree.

The long-awaited Farmhouse Coffee and Espresso Bar is now open in Downingtown (115 W. Lancaster Ave.). Owners Dana and Pete Petrizzio are serving up specialty coffee drinks using Lancaster-based Square One Coffee Roasters, seasonal Italian sodas and MEM loose leaf teas. The in-house bakery features classic treats like chocolate chip cookies, scones, muffins, brownies and crostata.

Reconceptualized:

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After a short-lived run, the well-regarded Wayne eatery At the Table BYOB (11 Louella Court) has closed briefly to retool the restaurant. Chef-owners Alex Hardy and Tara Buzan will still be in the kitchen and the name will remain the same. The restaurant reopens with new hours on July 11 with lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, featuring both an a la carte menu and a tasting menu. One new menu item will be the dry-aged table burger topped with chanterelles, triple crème brie, caviar and truffled peppercorn cream served with duck fat fries.

Ardmore’s Firinji (54 E. Lancaster Ave.) has a new name—Marokko. The authentic Mediterranean and Moroccan restaurant is serving a menu featuring tangines, kabobs and kumpir, as well as salad bowls and wraps.

Main Line Today Restaurant Week returns October 13-26!