Colonial-themed restaurant on site of 1773 tavern closes

PHILADELPHIA — A colonial-themed restaurant on the site of a 1773 tavern in Philadelphia’s Old City has closed because of decreased business stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that City Tavern’s longtime chef-proprietor, Walter Staib, called the closure “bittersweet” and said it followed months of slow business four nights a week. The restaurant had lost its core clientele of international travelers from China, Italy and Japan, he said.

In 1774, according to the restaurant’s website, the tavern was “the unofficial meeting place” of delegates to the first Continental Congress at nearby Carpenters’ Hall, with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams among the participants. It was also the site of a farewell dinner in 1787 after the signing of the Constitution and a 1789 banquet for Washington as he was heading to New York for his inauguration, the site said.

The National Park Service, which owns the property, opened City Tavern in 1976 to coincide with the bicentennial after a restoration based on period images, written accounts and insurance surveys, the restaurant’s site said. The original structure had been razed in 1854 following heavy damage from a fire two decades earlier.

The restaurant had been operated since 1994 by Staib, who said his contract with the government was nearing its end. Since taking over, Staib has also published cookbooks and has had two PBS series, most recently “A Taste of History,” production of which is on hold due to the pandemic.