The makers of Bing Bing Dim Sum and Cheu Noodle Bar are coming back, with a South Street bistro

Restaurateurs Shawn Darragh and chef Ben Puchowitz, who closed their cult favorites Cheu Fishtown and Bing Bing Dim Sum last year, are coming back with what they call an American neo-bistro called Banshee at 16th and South Streets, the former Tio Flores. They are targeting late summer for the opening.

This time, Darragh and Puchowitz are taking a backseat to twin brothers Kyle and Bryan Donovan, 33, who will run Banshee as general manager and chef, respectively.

Banshee is a whole new concept, with Scandinavian-inspired decor and a wide-open menu. Don’t expect the ramens, dumplings, and other Asian-inspired street food that defined Cheu (which opened in 2013 and expanded in 2017) and Bing Bing (which ran from 2015 to 2024), or even the Japanese plates from their erstwhile izakaya, Nunu (2018 to 2023).

Banshee’s menu, the partners say, will be loosely defined and not genre-specific, as it will include lighter fare and shareable entrees, with an emphasis on vegetables and seafood. Sample dishes: prawn skewers with tamarind glaze; grilled beets with pickled peach and nectarine; and passionfruit semifreddo with burnt pineapple jam. There will be house-baked bread, too.

“There’ll be a lot of technique, but it’s not going to be fussy or use a lot of expensive ingredients,” said Bryan Donovan, who was Cheu Fishtown’s opening sous chef and later moved away — first to cook at Sqirl in Los Angeles and then at Contra, Wildair, and the Four Horsemen in New York City. “The goal is to strike a balance between versatility and approachability. We want it to be a place where you can just grab a bite and a drink after work or come for a date night.” At least initially, it will be open five evenings a week.

Kyle Donovan started at Cheu a decade ago in its first location, on 10th Street near Spruce, and ran Bing Bing, on East Passyunk Avenue, for its final four or five years.

For Darragh and Puchowitz, Banshee is a chance to stay involved in the restaurant world while stepping back from day-to-day operations. Darragh has since opened a construction company and Puchowitz is in real estate now. They had originally planned to open Banshee in the old Bing Bing space, but the deal with the building owner fell through. (That space is being renovated for a future tenant.)

Darragh said the building at 1600 South St., owned by a friend, is located in an area that has “such good energy — restaurants, bars, shops. It reminded me of East Passyunk, where businesses energize each other.”

Banshee’s look will be warm — far from the edgy, grungy graffiti art that defined Cheu and Bing Bing. “Cheu and Bing Bing were built when Ben and I were 27 or 28,” Darragh said. “It’s fair to say we’re all grown up now. We’re trying to carry over that neighborhood spirit but take it a step further — maybe a little more refined but still fun.”

Stokes Architecture & Design — whose projects include the Lovers Bar and Friday Saturday Sunday, Provenance, Hiroki, and a collab with Defined Hospitality on Kalaya — is doing a full redesign of the space, including the bar. Stokes says its plans call for lighting above the bar to create “a floating glow, allowing light to wash upward and outward for a luminous effect.”

“The vibe is super-important to us,” Kyle Donovan said. “Bryan and I are even curating the music playlist ourselves. It’ll be indie, some pop, even a little punk rock.”