Moshulu owner plans major renovation next year

Moshulu, the restaurant/ship hybrid docked at Penn's Landing, will be undergoing major renovations next year in an attempt to breathe new life into the brand.

"After 10 or 12 years, tastes change, design changes and style changes. Even emotionally and psychologically, that's very important to be driving your business forward," said Marty Grims, restaurateur and owner of the Moshulu and White Dog Café. "I always embrace change. If you want to remain relevant, you have to embrace [it], and you always have to be thinking about [it.]"

The restaurant will get new furniture, exterior and interior painting, changes to the deck, and an overhaul of a few key interior structures.

"I want this to feel like it's Ralph Lauren's personal yacht. Ralph Lauren is someone who's really embraced the classic design; he's embraced history," Grims told me. "For me, the design team is looking at this [as if] your client was Ralph Lauren. That's the whole design premise we're embarking on."

Plans are still currently in the design development stage, so nothing is set in stone, but major renovations that are under consideration include:

• Repainting of the entire boat from black to "deep marine blue."
• Moving the bar in the Orchid room to another part of the ship.
• Rebranding the Bongo Bar.
• The removal of the skylight structure above the Orchid room.

Changes to the deck are slated to begin in late spring or early summer. Grims told me he wants the decks to have the quality of a "hotel roof bar," with the vibrancy that such outdoor spaces bring.

Total renovation is expected to be a year-long process. The goal is to minimize any shutdown, so the restaurant will still be operating during the process, with renovations limited to a per-room basis.

Pricing for the overall renovation has not yet been calculated. For the look and feel of the restaurant, Grims said he is aiming for classic American and contemporary.

Grims purchased the boat in 2005 from Campbell Soup Co. heiress Dorrance Hamilton after investing $1.5 million to open the restaurant in 2003.

"What we've strived for over the years is to make Moshulu something more than a place for visitors and tourists of Philadelphia," Grims said. "We want it to be a credible restaurant for the local clientele as well as the local business community. When we renovate, we really want to embrace the history … [and] we can truly embrace the unique qualities of an antique historic ship, embodying warm tones and just make it feel very comfortable."

The designing firm is Balongue Design Inc. from Villanova. The contracting firm is David Semerjian Builders from Berwyn, which also built Grims' White Dog Café location in Wayne, Pa.

Grims is currently working on two new restaurants: A White Dog Café in Haverford, which will take over the spot of his DuJour restaurant, and a new restaurant in the East Village Shoppes in Wayne.

The White Dog Café is slated to open in late February and the Wayne restaurant is slated to open in late spring.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal