In 2022, Liz Grothe started cooking for a few of her friends, not knowing the eventual evolution of her cooking would grow into Philadelphia’s favorite supper club, Couch Cafe. 

By the end of this year, however, she is hopeful to move Couch Cafe out of her home and into her own restaurant, writes Chloé Pantazi-Wolber for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

After spending the past few months on the road with pop-ups around the city, an official brick-and-mortar space is a natural step for Grothe.

Couch Cafe is temporarily housed via residency at Forin on Frankford Avenue while Grothe works on securing the financing to cover the rent of her eventual new space.

While pasta has been a hallmark of Couch Cafe, her new restaurant — which she plans to name Scampi — won’t be an exclusive Italian restaurant.

Instead, the focus will be “the new, all-American cuisine,” with themed menus ranging from the Philippines to the U.S. South.

Why the name?

“It’s an homage to what American food is now,” said Grothe. 

With Scampi, she plans to follow a similar model as Couch Cafe — taking prepaid reservations for themed dinners and giving back to the Philly community by supporting other cooks. 

Read more about Chef Liz Grothe’s next step in her culinary journey at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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