Joel Gruenke, a Yardley-based real estate agent, has partnered with New York restaurateur Mark Anthony D’Andrea to open a new Italian restaurant in South Philadelphia, writes Emma Dooling for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Former Valley Forge Military Academy roommates, the pair stayed connected over the years and teamed up last summer to open a restaurant in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.
Following that success, they decided to bring D’Andrea’s family’s signature Italian cooking, which has been famous for delighting diners at the RoadHouse on Staten Island for the past 55 years, to Philadelphia.
Located beside the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, Macaluso’s Italian Restaurant will move into the former home of Venu.
The 3,500-square-foot site appealed to the owners thanks to a nearby parking lot that was available for lease as well as its close proximity to Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park and Xfinity Live Arena.
“There’s really nowhere somebody could get a good meal around the stadium area either, which is kind of a shame,” said Gruenke.
The restaurant will have many of the same items that RoadHouse offers, such as a spicy shrimp dish and its signature meatballs.
Read more about how Yardley’s Joel Gruenke and restaurateur Mark Anthony D’Andrea are blending family tradition with Philadelphia’s dining scene in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
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