Chef Shift: Mike Stollenwerk Leaves Fish

Where will the seafood specialist land next?

Story and Photo by Danya Henninger

Not so long ago, it looked like Mike Stollenwerk was poised to become the Poseidon of Philadelphia. Now, The Insider is reporting that Stollenwerk has stepped away from his current restaurants entirely. The backstory: after his Queen Village BYO Little Fish was listed as one of the top 10 seafood restaurants in the U.S. by Bon Appetit, Stollenwerk launched a larger, liquor-licensed restaurant on Lombard Street called Fish. A couple of years later he opened a Fishtown seafood-centric gastropub called Fathom.

But Fathom was sold after just a few months (it’s now East Girard Gastropub), and the chef also sold Little Fish to concentrate on the bigger restaurant. Fish itself moved to 13th and Locust, where it stuttered and was intermittently closed over the past year, before being revamped as pub-oriented Rhino Bar this fall, moving fancier Fish to a smaller space next door. Looks like that hasn't worked out as planned.

Stollenwerk's former business partner tells The Insider chef de cuisine Adán Trinidad will step up for executive duties at Fish and Rhino Bar. Stollenwerk is so far keeping mum on future plans, but we’ll keep you posted.