Chiarella's on East Passyunk to close

Chiarella's, the homespun Italian BYOB across from the Singing Fountain at East Passyunk Square, is closing. Its last day will be Tuesday, June 30.

In 2012, the restaurant was featured on Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, an episode punctuated by yelling matches between Ramsay and co-owner Tommy DeFino.

At the time, the East Passyunk restaurant scene was a mere blip of what it is now. Fond and Noord now occupy the other corners of 11th and Tasker Streets.

It's possible that rising rents and not the vagaries of business prompted the impending closing.

Dina Chiarella said the landlord was "pushing" them out at the end of the lease. "We're not closing because we want to close," she said Sunday.