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Cedars closes after 32 years in Queen Village

A sushi restaurant is expected to move in.

Cedars, 616 S. Second St., after its 2015 renovation.
Cedars, 616 S. Second St., after its 2015 renovation.Read moreMICHAEL KLEIN / Staff

After 32 years on Second Street below South in Queen Village, Cedars — one of the city's earlier Lebanese restaurants — has bowed out.

Co-owner Ghassan Sawan said simply that he and his four brothers had opted to lease the space to a New York operator of sushi restaurants, who would be renovating. The move is the second major closing on the block this summer, following the shutdown in July of Hikaru after 35 years.

Cedars did not go quietly. The Sawans did a top-to-bottom renovation three summers ago and sold off the liquor license, making it a BYOB.

The family owns Byblos and Vango near Rittenhouse Square, and the neighboring Fez. It also is developing a Middle Eastern restaurant atop a future hotel on the 1500 block of Chestnut Street.