Ballad of El Gordo,

Kitchen Nightmares? On East Passyunk Ave., It’s More Like Parking Nightmares

The parking nightmare culprit
The parking nightmare culprit

On any given night, finding a parking spot along East Passyunk Ave.’s flourishing restaurant row can be a little challenging. With Gordon Ramsay and his Kitchen Nightmares crew on location there for the next week or so shooting at Chiarella’s, the parking situation has become something of a nightmare of its own. Since beginning shooting there earlier this week, Gordo’s production team has gobbled as many as 16 parking spots along the avenue, and nearly half of the municipal parking lot across from Cantina Los Caballitos. “It’s getting a little hectic down here,” Izumi and Paradiso chef Corey Baver told Grub Street. “Parking’s always bad in South Philly, and this isn’t helping much.”

The parking nightmare culprit

To offset the parking pitfalls created by Grodo, Baver and some other local restaurateurs are working with the Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation to provide complimentary valet parking on Friday and Saturday nights. Patrons of Izumi, Paradiso, Fond and Salt & Pepper must produce a business card from one of the restaurants to get the free parking. Otherwise, it’s going to cost $35 per car.

“I’m not sure if anyone else is participating,” Baver added. “As far as the Cantina goes, their customers all ride bikes.”

Kitchen Nightmares? On East Passyunk Ave., It’s More Like Parking