Restaurant notes: Fork & Barrel opening a spot in Center City

Joe Pesce has vacated 1113 Walnut St., and its new occupant will be the team behind East Falls' newcomer hit Fork & Barrel, which just won two bells from Craig LaBan.

Partner Matt Scheller told me that the new restaurant, so far unnamed, will have touches of Fork & Barrel (as well as sibling operations The Bookstore, a "speakeasy" in Bethlehem, and Tap & Table, a gastropub in Emmaus), but will not be a duplication. He is loath to use the g- word (as in gastropub), "because it's a catch-all for any bar with good food."

Expect a strong beer and cocktail program when it opens in several months.