The deal to relocate 19th Street's Whole Foods to 22nd and Pennsylvania Avenue, where Best Western Center City now sits, seems to be on hold. Developer Neal Rodin and Best Western owner Dalia Shuster have had some conflict over a confidentiality agreement. Philly Post's Simon van Zuylen-Wood called the principals to find out where the deal stands:
When I called Rodin, he said, "It will happen, unless God changes his mind," and hung up on me when I asked about the confidentiality agreement. Shuster was slightly more helpful, telling me in an email that "the deal is on hold," adding, "if the deal will [be] done, we will know in the end 2013." On the plus side, the delay gives the regulars at the hotel's B&W Bar more time to hang out and reminisce about the building's former incarnation as the Franklin Motor Inn, when Joe Frazier used to come by. And then there's Brian Coyle, who treasures the freedom of expression: "This bar," he told van Zuylen-Wood, "was the one place I could just come in and just trash the fucking Eagles."
· Destined for Demolition, the Best Western's Bar Keeps Serving Drinks [Philly Post]