Stephen Starr eyes new restaurant in Rittenhouse Barnes and Noble

Philadelphia restaurateur Stephen Starr appears on track to take over the city's flagship Barnes and Noble after it moves from its long-time Rittenhouse location next month.

What's happening: The bookseller will close its two-story Walnut Street store — which opened in 1997 — on Feb. 15, Janine Flanigan, Barnes and Noble's director of store planning and design, told Axios.

• It's moving to a smaller location on the 1700 block of Chestnut Street, where Forever 21 was formerly located.
• The new store, which will not include a Starbucks cafe like the flagship location, could open as soon as late March.

The intrigue: Starr, who runs Philly staple Parc and a number of other trendy restaurants around the city, told Axios he's opening up a restaurant in the Walnut Street location.

• He declined to offer any other details, but said to stay tuned.

Yes, but: Real estate magnet Allan Domb, the former city councilman now running for mayor, owns the Walnut Street location and told Axios that "nothing is definite yet."

• Domb said he's in talks about turning it into a restaurant "for potentially Starr or somebody else."