Chef Jose Garces will open his seventh new restaurant

"Chef Jose Garces will open a new restaurant — his seventh in Philadelphia — in the Cira Centre later this month.

JG Domestic, as the restaurant will be known, will fill the space once occupied by Daniel Stern’s Rae, which closed in December 2008. The Cira Centre, which is next to 30th Street Station, is at 2929 Arch St.

A mid-October opening is planned, though an exact date has not been set.

The 175-seat restaurant will focus on “artisanal” foods from around the country — products like Jasper Hill Vermont cheddar cheese, skirt steak from Strube Ranch in Texas and Washington state “lobster” mushrooms. By fall 2011, it will receive much of its produce from a 40-acre farm in Bucks County, Pa., recently acquired by Garces.

“I want JG Domestic to be a must for anyone who lives in the Philadelphia area, and for out-of-town visitors too,” said Garces. “It may be a little too lofty, but my plan is to have it become a true dining destination — the kind of place that people go out of their way to visit and enjoy.”

Garces has become a familiar face on the Food Network, on “The Next Iron Chef.” In Philadelphia, he’s made his mark in just five years.

Garces Restaurant Group owns Amada, Tinto, Distrito, Chifa, Village Whiskey and Garces Trading Co. In Chicago, it owns Mercat a la Planxa. In the future, there are plans for Guapos Tacos, a Mexican food truck, and Frohman’s Wursthaus, a “beers-and-bratwurst joint.”