Michael Klein: And then there were three Talula's

Aimee Olexy has built off the rustic elegance of Talula's Table and Talula's Garden with a cafe/market/"supper club" called Talula's Daily, which opened this week adjacent to Talula's Garden on the ground floor of the Ayer building at 210 W. Washington Square (215-592-7787).

Olexy, partnering again with Stephen Starr and working with Richard Stokes Architecture, fashioned an industrial-meets-country charmer designed to serve many purposes: Local grocery with milk and yogurt brought in from Lancaster County, healthful-prepared-foods shop (kitchen and refrigerator cases), cafe, cheese and bread counter, and bar that serves house-made chai, teas, organic coffee, wine, and two draft beers. It's also a showcase for the retailer Anthropologie, as its kitchen and tabletop items are part of the furnishings. The curved bar was created by students in the Challenge Program in Wilmington from marble sourced from Independence Hall.

After the 7 p.m. closing every day but Monday, the cafe becomes a "supper club," with chef de cuisine Scott Megill's family-style dinners from a four-course menu ($50) that changes monthly.

Kermit's Bake Shoppe, billed as the love child of a pizzeria and a bakery, opened this week at 2204 Washington Ave. (267-639-4267). Owner Adam Ritter (Sidecar Bar, Kraftwork) - who named the place after his cat, which, in turn, is named after jazz great Kermit Ruffins - enlisted his restaurants' chef, Brian Lofink, and pastry whiz Chad Durkin, who appeared on TLC's Next Great Baker. It's takeout and delivery only (there's a counter, though, if you're roughing it), and the plan is to dispatch the fleet of retro delivery bikes through a smartphone app. Kermit's executes a full line of baked goods (bagels, bread, cakes, as well as fun stuff), plus pizza by the pie or slice, sweet and savory pies, candies and confections, and soups. Gluten-free is a big part of the deal. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekends.

Ryan Pollock, who owns Fairmount's Rybread, has opened Rybrew, a beer/sandwich shop, at 2816 W. Girard Ave. (215-763-1984) in Brewerytown, across from Butter's. He and fiancee/partner Stephanie Mertz are using this larger location - a narrow, high-ceilinged, onetime toy store with a nifty original balcony - as the commissary for both locations. It offers a sandwich/salad list, plus drink-in/takeout beer of about 180 types.

Chef Al Paris has lots going on in Chestnut Hill: He's building out Paris Bistro in the Chestnut Hill Hotel (due in October), developing a second Green Soul health-food shop for the Chestnut Hill Farmers Market (due in August), and running Heirloom, a BYOB at 8705 Germantown Ave. He also just opened an upmarket seafooder at the Jersey Shore: Coastal Blue, a 260-seater that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily and weekend brunch at the new Hotel Icona in Diamond Beach, a slice of sand between Wildwood Crest and Cape May. Paris describes Coastal Blue, which has a raw bar and plenty of outside dining, as "Amalfi Coast-chic."

Ocean Prime, a swellegant, high-end steak/seafooder, has set a Sept. 3 opening date for its first East Coast location, in the former Roy's at 15th and Sansom Streets. This will be location number 10. Ocean Prime's overall look is modern supper club, but when owner Cameron Mitchell and general manager Marc Oppen toured the World War II-era building, they were astounded at the history inside and out. Mitchell has retained the classic touches, including plaster cornices.

Sang Kee Asian Bistro in Wynnewood is expanding into the former ice cream shop next door. Owner Michael Chow expects to open the new room in November. He also recently opened a noodle bar in Parx Casino in Bensalem.

Nongyao "Moon" Krapugthong of Manayunk's Chabaa Thai and Yanako is setting up Ya Thai, a stand at the Ardmore Farmers Market. She hopes to open in September.

San Saing did not go far for his second location of Red Kings, his Chinatown BYOB at 933 Race St. Or for its name. Red Kings 2 has opened a half-block away, at 1006 Race St. (215-238-1392), at the former Singapore and Golden Pond. Red Kings 2 is plusher, with white tablecloths and a phone-book-size menu that leans toward Szechuan. It's BYOB and opens at 4 p.m. daily.

Paesano's, Peter McAndrews' sandwich shop, is running a seasonal operation in the back of Memories in Margate, and has signed on to prepare the food at Woody's (202 S. 13th St.), one of the busiest bars in the city. McAndrews says he has shut down Popolino, his Northern Liberties BYOB, for the summer. He'll book private events there till fall.

Pat Szoke, who set the bar higher for bar food at the Industry in Pennsport, is headed back to the Vetri fold. He starts next month as chef at Alla Spina in North Philadelphia. The opening was created when Marc Vetri appointed Alla Spina chef Michael Deganis to oversee the kitchen at the Osteria offshoot opening in the fall in Moorestown Mall.