In August, entrepreneurs Chef Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran, will open Little Nonna’s (1234 Locust Street, 215-546-2100) an Italian-American eatery in Philadelphia’s Center City’s bustling Midtown Village. Inspired by the “red sauce” family-owned ristorantes of Italian immigrants, Chef Turney will offer thoughtful interpretations of home-style Italian-American dishes with an all-Italian wine list and handcrafted cocktails. The cozy 37-seat restaurant will be evocative of an Italian grandmother’s living room, circa 1950, featuring vintage lace in the windows, hanging antique copper pots and playful accents, including faux flowers. Below is a video preview of Little Nonna’s in the making (don’t say we didn’t warn you about the pasta-eating frenzy).
About Chef Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran
As two of Philadelphia’s most prominent and ambitious entrepreneurs, Chef Marcie Turney and partner Valerie Safran have worked for nearly a decade to transform the once-desolate 13th Street neighborhood into what is now thriving, trendy “Midtown Village.” Today, the couple’s three restaurants in the neighborhood, Jamonera, a Spanish tapas bar, Barbuzzo, a Mediterranean kitchen and bar and Lolita, a modern Mexican restaurant, as well as their gourmet prepared food market, Grocery, and two lifestyle boutiques, Open House and Verde, continue to receive acclaim and draw visitors and locals alike to the area. In addition to her work as executive chef at each of their three restaurants, Chef Turney has also created her own signature line of chocolates, Marcie Blaine Artisanal Chocolates.
