Joncarl Lachman and Lee Styer Team Up, Opening The Dutch in Pennsport

Today, chefs Joncarl Lachman and Lee Styer, friends, neighbors (Styer chef-owns Fond, and Lachman — Noord, across the street), and French omelet makers, signed the lease to their new collaborative restaurant coming to 1527 S. 4th Street. The Dutch will take over the ex-Fourth and Cross spot in Pennsport, where Styer and Lachman will join forces serving up breakfast, lunch, and brunch.

The restaurant's inspiration? After a night of service, the two ended up drunkenly cooking omelets together in Fond's kitchen — apparently, they had a blast. Lachman's affinity for brunch followed him from Chicago where his restaurants, Home Bistro and Vincent, both had great crowds on weekend mornings. Noord's brunch was an instant success on East Passyunk, and with French-trained Styer bringing his near-perfect technique to the table, The Dutch looks to fill the void left in Pennsport's heart after Fourth and Cross shuttered back in December 2015.

The chefs are planning for an April opening after some cosmetic touch-ups. The menu will pull inspiration from their respective heritages, be it Pennsylvania Dutch (Styer) or Dutch-Dutch (Lachman). And good news for fans of Noord and Neuf's bread programs, Jonnathan Yacashin, Noord's sous chef and bread savant, will be baking for The Dutch as well. Hours will go from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.

Updates to come.