Magnolia Bakery Picked a Space Two Tenants Already Burned Through in Rittenhouse
The New York chain's first Philadelphia store is taking 204 South 17th Street, a 1,200 square foot box that sat empty after Chip City Cookies followed a 13-year bakery out the door.
Magnolia Bakery signed a lease for its first Philadelphia store at 204 South 17th Street, near 17th and Walnut in Rittenhouse, Philadelphia Business Journal reported. The roughly 1,200 square foot space is opening in spring 2027 under franchisees Jake Klein and John Candela, both North Jersey natives.
The space has a track record worth knowing before anyone celebrates a new flagship brand landing in Rittenhouse. Miel Patisserie ran a bakery there for about 13 years before Chip City Cookies took over in August 2024. Chip City closed in June 2026, after less than two years, and the box sat vacant since. Two bakery concepts have now tried this exact address and only one lasted.
Second generation restaurant space with an espresso bar, display cases and the ventilation already in lets Magnolia skip the buildout that burns a new concept's first year of cash. The same walls didn't hold Chip City past two years, so a landlord signing the next tenant into a food box with this kind of turnover should underwrite the concept's staying power before signing, as hard as the rent check.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal, Rittenhouse Ramblings
Why it matters
Landlords placing the next tenant in a high turnover food space should underwrite the concept's staying power as hard as the rent check.
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