Le Bec Fin Closing, Chef Justin Bogle Moving In

It's official. Chef Justin Bogle, most recently the executive chef at now-shuttered Gilt in NYC, is moving back to Philly, just as we reported earlier this month. But, he's not going to be the new chef at Le Bec Fin, as we had originally heard. The Insider is reporting that LBF is closing up shop after 40 years of slinging hash at 1523 Walnut Street. It's truly the end of an era, and a sad goodbye to the restaurant that put Philly's culinary scene on the map.

As for Bogle, the two Michelin-starred chef is taking over the LBF bricks with a new, unnamed project that has Philly restaurateur Chris Scarduzio signed on as director of operations. The entire building is going through an intense overhaul, which includes a re-do for the facade as well as the guts of the place.

LBF 2.0 honcho Nicolas Fanucci has left the restaurant, and will not be involved in the new project at all. While Fanucci was pegged as the new owner when LBF 2.0 premiered, the restaurant was actually in the hands of a private equity group. Bogle was not going to take the job when he was asked to head up Le Bec Fin, but once the group decided to start over, he jumped at the opportunity.

There's no timeline as to when the new place will open up shop, but stay tuned and we'll keep you informed.

· Le Bec Fin to 'retire' [The Insider]
· All Justin Bogle Coverage [~EPHI~]
· All Le Bec Fin Coverage [~EPHI~]