Jim’s Steaks to reopen bigger and Tequilas plans ‘surprises’ when both bounce back from fires

Two popular Philadelphia restaurants that were closed by fire are making their way back, their owners have told The Inquirer.

Jim’s South Street Steaks, shut down by a blaze on July 29, 2022, is now targeting a late-October return, owner Ken Silver said. The new Jim’s will be nearly twice the size. It will occupy both its corner building at Fourth and South Streets and the property next door, previously Eye’s Gallery, which also was heavily damaged. Eye’s, a folk-art shop, has since reopened at 327 South St., a half-block away.

Tequilas, a posh Mexican restaurant at 1602 Locust St., is aiming for an early 2024 reopening, owner David Suro said. Tequilas staff and patrons were routed during dinnertime on Feb. 9, 2023.

Reopenings after fire can take some time, as owners must navigate permitting and insurance issues, some of which delay the repairs themselves. In the case of the Melrose Diner, damaged by fire in June, the owner decided to proceed with his earlier plan to raze the building and construct an apartment building over a new restaurant.

Here is where Jim’s and Tequilas stand:

Shortly after the fire, Jim’s owner Ken Silver — whose father, Abner, opened the shop in 1976 — began talking to Eye’s Gallery owner Julia Zagar, who had owned the building next door since 1968.

Zagar agreed to sell her building to Silver and to relocate Eye’s nearby. Silver agreed to maintain Eye’s signature glass and tile mosaics done by Zagar’s husband, Isaiah Zagar, who created the nearby Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens. “We hugged at settlement,” Silver said. “How often does that happen?”

Jim’s is gaining a full floor of ADA-compliant seating to complement its second-floor dining room. There also will be a merchandise counter on the Eye’s side, away from the grills.

This week, the walls between the two buildings will be breached. The original Jim’s side will maintain its Art Deco look, while the Eye’s side will feature the mosaics and exposed brick. “You’re going to be walking into another world on that side and you will have your own art gallery, effectively,” Silver said.

Tequilas owner David Suro, who also imports and produces agave spirits, was on a business trip in his native Mexico when the calls came that February night. Residents of nearby high-rises were tweeting images of firefighters clambering over his roof to access the exhaust vent, which spewed smoke.

The fire destroyed the kitchen, where it started, Suro said, while smoke permeated everything else, including curtains. The rear dining room also was damaged.

When he returned to Philadelphia, he and his wife had no place to stay. They had relocated to Mexico while their apartment, on the top floor of the building, was being renovated.

Suro, a native of Guadalajara, opened the first incarnation of Tequilas at 1511 Locust St., in 1986. A year before, he arrived in Philadelphia at age 23 and started working at El Metate, a much more casual Mexican-themed restaurant.

He bought 1602 Locust St. in 2001, and moved the restaurant. Later, he created the brand Siembra Spirits.

The building, which dates to 1854, was the home of William Duane, a U.S. Treasury secretary under President Andrew Jackson. Suro said the Baccarat chandelier in the dining room was given to Duane by heirs of Napoleon’s brother, who lived in Philadelphia.

» READ MORE: Special report from Craig LaBan: How agave inspires David Suro

The building later housed the classic Philadelphia restaurants La Panetiere, where Georges Perrier first cooked in 1967, and later Magnolia Cafe.

“I’ve always felt very humble and lucky to be able to own a property of that historical relevance in the history of Philadelphia,” Suro said Sunday on a call from Mexico, calling the building “an architectural jewel.” Suro sent damaged architectural elements to an expert in Guadalajara who does restoration work in 19th-century buildings.

Most of the restaurant will look as it was, he said, though he hinted at “surprises,” including breakfast service in what he described as part of a new concept.

» READ MORE: A brief history of Tequila's

The food will be updated. “Beautiful things are happening here in Mexico,” Suro said. “It’s all this young talent doing beautiful things in a very respectful way to traditional Mexican food. We have to remember that Tequilas back in 1986 was inspired by what was going on in Guadalajara and [the rest of] Mexico. And 40 years later, we have these chefs that are evolving Mexican food to the next level.”

Suro said the repairs themselves were moving “slow and smoothly. If everything goes fine, I will say [it will reopen in] early- or mid-January.”

“But you never know.”