Skip to content
Food
Link copied to clipboard

Warmdaddy’s, the soul-food destination, to reopen in a new location in Spring Garden

The soul food and blues destination will relocate next door to the Bynum brothers' jazz-themed restaurant.

Co-owners and brothers Benjamin Bynum Jr. and Robert Bynum at South Jazz Kitchen in 2018.
Co-owners and brothers Benjamin Bynum Jr. and Robert Bynum at South Jazz Kitchen in 2018.Read moreTim Tai / Staff Photographer

It’s hard to keep Warmdaddy’s down.

Brothers Robert and Benjamin Bynum are reviving their soul food and blues destination, which over the summer wrapped a 15-year run in Riverview Plaza in South Philadelphia, following a decade in Old City. The Bynums will be setting up their own entertainment district in Spring Garden.

In November, Warmdaddy’s will open at 1410 Mount Vernon St., in the space just off Broad Street that was Green Soul, their healthful fast-casual restaurant. It is next door to South, their jazz-theme restaurant at 600 N. Broad St. The lofted space initially was the home of Alla Spina, a Marc Vetri restaurant.

“Our customers have been very supportive of all of our businesses during these times, and while we hate to see Green Soul go, we know that this new location is just what we needed to reenergize the Warmdaddy’s brand," Robert Bynum said in a statement. "Green Soul is a concept that we believe in and we plan to bring it back in the near future as well.” They also own Relish, in West Oak Lane.

The new Warmdaddy’s will have a more modern design. The menu will be Southern-inspired and will include lighter dishes from the Green Soul menu. (Green Soul was launched in 2011 in West Oak Lane. It first moved to Chestnut Hill before arriving in Spring Garden in late 2018.)

Warmdaddy’s opened in 1995 at 4 S. Front St. as a crosstown companion to Zanzibar Blue, their jazz destination. Warmdaddy’s moved to Columbus Boulevard and Reed Street in 2005.

The Bynums grew up in the club business, learning from their father, Benjamin, now 97, who founded the Cadillac Club at Broad Street and Erie Avenue in North Philadelphia, which hosted such stars as Gladys Knight & The Pips and Aretha Franklin.