July 11, 2018
Courtesy of/Philadelphia Museum of Art
Architectural rendering of Stir by Gehry Partners and KX-L.
A new restaurant will open inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art this fall.
Stir will be designed by architect Frank Gehry and operated by Starr Catering Group. It will be the only Gehry-designed restaurant offering fine dining to the public anywhere on the East Coast.
Gehry is currently transforming much of the interior of the museum’s 1928 building through the Core Project, scheduled to be completed in 2020.
One of the most eye-catching structural elements of the new restaurant will be its dramatic centerpiece, which will be "shaped in Douglas fir and flowing in form, that extends across the ceiling above the main dining room," according to the museum.
All of the walls and ceiling will be Douglas fir, while the floors will be red oak. Also, there will be a mix of frosted glass, felt, steel, leather, bronze and onyx inside the space, where there will be seating for 76.
As for food, the newly-appointed executive chef Mark Tropea summed up the menu in two words: local and inspired. To drink, there will be cocktails, beer and wine.
Stir will open on Tuesday, Oct. 9. The restaurant will start taking reservations the day before.
It will be open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and will offer brunch on Sunday from 11 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art also plans on opening a new, larger cafeteria and an espresso bar.
Opening Tuesday, Oct. 9
Philadelphia Museum of Art
2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 684-7990
