Love Park Welcome Center, Philadelphia, PA

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Prominent Philadelphia restaurateurs and business owners Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran of Safran Turney Hospitality, along with partner Terence Lewis, will open Loveluck, a full-service restaurant and bar in LOVE Park's iconic Welcome Center.

Mayor Jim Kenney unveiled specialty glass manufactured by LOVE Park Welcome Center presenting sponsor Saint-Gobain, and acknowledged other critical partners in the renovation of this historic site, including  Fairmount Park Conservancy.

“Loveluck will transform the Welcome Center into a destination for quality dining and socializing. This opening marks another positive step in the rebirth of LOVE Park,” says Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.

Saint-Gobain, one of the world's largest building materials companies and manufacturer of innovative material solutions, is providing funding, sustainable building materials, and building science expertise to support the much-anticipated redevelopment of the Welcome Center building. Fairmount Park Conservancy is the nonprofit champion of Philadelphia's parks and has partnered with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation on many transformative programs and initiatives.

After a full-scale renovation of the LOVE Park Welcome Center, designed by KieranTimberlake, Turney and Safran will work with Philadelphia-based Stokes Architecture + Design, as well as Rohe Creative, to collaborate on Loveluck's layout and interior. The distinctive and elevated circular space will provide 360-degree views of the park offered through the custom Saint-Gobain Glass, which utilizes pioneering coating technologies to enhance the architects' vision, provide optimum occupant thermal comfort, and allow for unrestricted views of the park.

“Saint-Gobain has a rich legacy rooted in our ability to adapt over the past 353 years and continuously develop innovative solutions that impact people's well-being every day,” says Carmen Ferrigno, vice president of communications, branding and philanthropy, Saint-Gobain North America and executive director of the Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation. “As Philadelphia works to evolve LOVE Park, we're honored to stand alongside the city to share in an expression of what makes Philly great: bridging the old with the new, reinventing an iconic structure in a unique and relevant way, and marrying the head and the heart, technology and human impact, for future generations of visitors the world over.”

Current plans for the restaurant include indoor seating for 60, 40 seats on the balcony, and an additional 80 seats on the terrace located at the plaza level of the park.

“It's an honor to have the opportunity to create a dining experience within an iconic structure at one of Philadelphia's most treasured parks,” says Turney.

“As with our other restaurants, we want to create an experience at Loveluck that is approachable and fun,” says Safran.

“I am so excited that Safran Turney Hospitality, owners of some of Philadelphia's most successful and welcoming restaurants have decided to open their next restaurant at the LOVE Park Welcome Center,” says Kathryn Ott Lovell, commisisoner, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. “Their investment in LOVE Park is another sign of the resurgence of LOVE Park.”

Construction on LOVE Park and the Welcome Center began in 2016. The city-led redesign was conceived in partnership between Hargreaves Associates and KieranTimberlake in 2015 after a national selection process and robust community engagement process.

“The renovation of the LOVE Park Welcome Center is another great example of what can happen when public, private, and nonprofit partners come together to support Philadelphia's parks,” says John Gattuso, board president of Fairmount Park Conservancy. “We are thrilled to be a part of the renovation of this iconic building and see LOVE Park come to life.”

The redesigned park reopened in spring 2018 with a wide variety of new and exciting programs. The new LOVE Park features the famous LOVE sculpture by Robert Indiana, more green space, a new fountain, a reorganized layout, and several food truck vendors.

Loveluck is slated to open in late fall 2019, with dinner service to start, shortly followed by lunch and weekend brunch.

CORRECTION, 3/20/2019, 9:16 a.m.: Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this story misspelled the last name of the mayor of Philadelphia. It is Kenney, not Kenny.