PHILADELPHIA — DiNardo’s Famous Seafood, a Philadelphia dining institution, has closed after 42 years in business and the family that ran the restaurant has sold the Old City building where it operated the eatery.
The property at 312 Race St. was bought by ASI Corp., a Philadelphia real estate company operated by Alex Schwartz, for $2.25 million. The DiNardo family bought the property in 1976 for $107,000, according to Philadelphia property records.
ASI owns an adjacent garage at 304-10 Race St. It bought that property in September 2016 for $4.6 million and the acquisition of 312 Race made sense from a strategic standpoint if ASI decides to eventually develop it.
Ken Mallin of MPN Realty represented the buyer. The seller was represented by Allan Domb, who in addition to serving on Philadelphia’s City Council also operates a real estate business.
“It had a tremendous run,” Domb said about DiNardo’s. “It was a Philadelphia institution. Can you name 10 restaurants that have been around for 42 years? It was a celebration of a great restaurant, but times have
changed.”
The restaurant and property had gotten to a point where it was time to either renovate or sell, Domb said, and the DiNardos chose the latter route. The restaurant closed in mid-June. Attempts to contact the seller was unsuccessful.
Natalie Kostelni, Reporter
Philadelphia Business Journal
