The changeover, which officially begins next week, has been a long time coming. Capistrano-Sorg, 36, an 11-year veteran, worked for Daly at MTJIC's previous location (1141 Pine St.) and moved with the business to 1119 Locust in 1998. Castano, 29, was the first employee hired at 1119 Locust. Castano will focus on the menu and kitchen while Capistrano-Sorg will focus on desserts and front-of-the-house operations.
"It's not as scary as it could be," Capistrano-Sorg said of the transition. "We're just thinking of this as moving to the next level." The two plan to "modernize" while keeping MTJIC's vibe as "someone's living room."
"I'm so grateful my legacy gets to live on through them," Daly says. That includes the baking. Daly's mother, Martha, is showing the ropes to the new owners.
What's coming
Stephen Starr, whose
Butcher & Singer steak house opens Monday for dinner and Tuesday for lunch, told me that he had a signed agreement of sale for the low-slung building that houses Letto Deli, still operating at 13th and Chancellor Streets in Wash West. Letto's owner and the building owner have not returned my calls over the last week. Starr's ideas for the place are Love Burger (a long-in-the-planning-stage gourmet-burger joint) or a pizza/wine/beer restaurant with a cool aspect he's not fully talking about yet.
Philly is in line for a branch of Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man, a chocolate-themed restaurant chain, at 212 S. 15th St. (that's the storefront that last was West Coast Video). Max Brenner is a multinational with units in New York, Australia, the Philippines, Singapore and Israel. A Max Brenner rep told me the plan is for a retail store/restaurant, to open in late spring or early summer.
