Bookbinders Is Back

by Liz Harris

The Old Original Bookbinder's, the Philadelphia restaurant as famous for its food as the celebrities who've dined there, will be opening late this summer. So will the new luxury condominiums being erected on top of and around the original building.

The landmark restaurant has been unavailable to diners since it closed its doors in 2001. Restaurant owner John Taxin and Philadelphia-based Renaissance Properties are working together to bring Bookbinder's back to Old City.

"What was important to me was not to let this city landmark go away," Taxin says.

The renovation will include a conversion of Bookbinder's second, third and fourth floors and is part of the $21 million historic redevelopment project Moravian at Independence Park. The finished building will feature eight luxury apartments, 19 condominiums and a completely refurbished restaurant.

Out of 19 available units only five are still available; all have high ceilings and big windows, some even come with fireplaces and strategically placed marble. The prices of the remaining condominiums range from $895,000 to $2.4 million. Stanley Taraila of Renaissance Properties says a lot of the buyers are customizing the units, turning three apartments into two and then doing additional work themselves. While most of the units were intended to be about 200,000 square feet, many of them are now closer to 300,000 square feet.

Interior renovations to the restaurant will include a grand dining room, complete with a raw bar, large lobster tank, and a circular bar beneath an old Bookbinder's chandelier -- which necessitates tending by a barkeep no taller than 5-foot-8. The restaurant will now be one floor rather than two, and additions will be made to the menu. Prices and meal portions will remain the same, Taxin says.

Taxin, who lives in Old City, says that the presence of Bookbinder's new restaurant and living space combination should help stimulate growth and property values in the neighborhood.

Both the Society Hill Civic Association and Old City Civic Association have publicly supported the renovations and new living space, saying that the development should foster positive growth in the neighborhood.

Taxin is third generation in the family responsible for the atmosphere at Bookbinder's. His grandfather and namesake bought the restaurant from the Bookbinder family in 1935.

When Bookbinder's closed in 2001 due to financial difficulties, they had been in negotiations with several developers. No contracts were ever agreed upon, so the restaurant closed.

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