Artisan Boulanger Patissier Opening On Friday, August 2

On Friday, August 2, the long-awaited opening of the new Artisan Boulanger Patissier at 1218 Mifflin St. is going down. Owners Amanda Eap and Andre Chin had originally earmarked August 3 to cut the ribbon, but Eap said that the Chinese calendar said Friday offered up better luck for the future of their business. The dynamic duo have been a bread-making staple of the Philly landscape for 22 years and worked out of the same shop on the corner of East Passyunk and Morris until last year when they were forced to move.

The new space is much larger, and Eap said that they will be extending their hours later than before as the menu is being greatly expanded to include more lunch and dinner-type dishes. They've hired a sushi chef that will be making fresh rolls and maki throughout the day, and are adding salads and sandwiches#x2014;prosciutto and mozzarella, and banh mi are on the list#x2014;to the daily offerings. They've also brought in a GM, Sean Tully, who most-recently worked at the La Colombe roaster in North Philly.

The same phenomenal breads that they've been making for two decades will still be available, of course, and Eap said the oven made the move down the street without any mishaps. "It's already calibrated, and the test runs have been going fantastic," Eap told Eater. "So, we'll be ready go go for everyone on Friday."

The new location is perfect for Eap and Chin to grow their business, but they only moved because there was no other option. They wanted to stay put at their original location, but a row with the landlord forced them to move.

"The owner of our old building is a longtime friend of the family, and we had been asking about buying it from him for years, and he finally agreed to do so," Eap told Eater. "But, when we finally agreed on a price right around $450,000, he put it on the market for almost twice that much and told us he wouldn't negotiate, so we had to pay that much if we wanted it. It was time to move on."

Even though the story started out bittersweett, they couldn't be happier with how everything turned out, as their old location had serious structural issues and needed to be demolished. And the new space on Mifflin Street is better in every way. "It wasn't fun, and we were blindsided," Eap told Eater. "But, this is very exciting, and after 20 years a move was just what we needed. We can't wait."

· All Artisan Boulanger Coverage [~EPHI~]
· Artisan Boulanger Pattisier [Official]