When the pandemic shut down Chef Michael Kanter‘s booming cooking class and events business, The Cook & His Books, he decided to adapt and do something new. He instead started selling broths, soups, and sandwiches out of his Doylestown location. And when his new eatery, which quickly became popular, was destroyed in an August 2020 fire, Kanter got to work on creating something even greater. It just didn’t seem that way at the time.
“It was a spiraling disaster,” Kanter told What Now Philadelphia. “But I have a great new location on two floors, and I’m just excited to be able to get to do this and get back to work again.”
Kanter’s new Center City location at 102 S. 13th St. in Philadelphia will house both his eatery, Broth Thyme, and The Cook & His Books when it opens in December. The first floor will house Broth Thyme, a 1,400 sq. ft. take-out counter location with seating where customers can also order food on their phone via a QR code and have it delivered to their tables. The second floor and outdoor rooftop area will host The Cook & His Books cooking classes, private events, and themed dinners.
Kanter is just waiting on some permits to clear and working on renovations to fully transform the look of the space, which was the former home to a kitschy Polynesian-themed rooftop bar called Tiki. Kanter is planning a lounge-like setup for Broth Thyme that is warm and inviting to customers stopping in to enjoy a spot of soup and a sandwich.
“I worked in Philly for a long time. I love working in Philly. I love the people,” Kanter, who started his culinary training over 25 years ago at Philly’s Le Bec Fin, said. ” It’s a more interesting location. It’s just the energy of it. I love the energy of it.”
Kanter started his career as an intern straining and making new stocks at Le Bec Fin and has been obsessed ever since. He would make broths for his The Cook & His Books customers and decided to sell it to everyone else when pandemic restrictions shut his classes down, forcing him to refund customers for classes booked solid through August and beyond. Kanter figured if he was selling broths that he might as well soups. And if he was selling soups, he might as well sell sandwiches with in-house smoked meats, salad jars, and desserts. You can find Broth Thyme’s mouthwatering menu here.
“It just took off and kept evolving,” Kanter said. “I think whenever things are difficult and troubling; people just tend to head towards comfort food. So, I think it really hit the mark. It was so busy and so popular so fast. It’s been really great, and I just keep expanding it.”
You can follow Broth Thyme and The Cook & His Books for updates here.
Did this restaurant open? If not, where is chef Michael Kanter? It would be a sin if he is not able to open somewhere. His soups are outstanding! His dinners are outstanding! He even gave my dog a biscuit he baked for his dogs (in Doylestown at Soup Thyme), which I’m sure my dog thought was outstanding also! Please let us all know where Michael is!