Philly chef scraps plans to open new Atlantic City restaurants

A celebrity chef has scrapped plans to open as many as four restaurants in Atlantic City.

Michael Schulson wants to keep the resort as a place for pleasure rather than business, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer .

The Philadelphia restaurateur and Ocean Casino Resort announced a partnership in February that would have given his Pearl & Mary oyster bar a second location in the casino.

A second restaurant, Samuel’s, was to be a deli-inspired diner pay homage to Schulson’s grandparents who immigrated to the Bronx, where they opened a kosher butcher shop.

In February, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported Schulson was doubling down by planning two more restaurants in the city.

But earlier this month, the Inquirer reported the plans were no more .

Atlantic City “has become more of a haven for me and my family — a place where we escape, reconnect and relax together,” Schulman said in a statement to the publication. “It was a difficult decision but with closer consideration and after talking more with my family, we won’t be opening our concepts there this summer."

It would have been a full-circle moment for Schulson, who opened his first restaurant in the resort in 2008.

Izakaya, a modern Japanese pub in Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, closed this past New Year’s Eve.

Schulman's website still gives mention to Atlantic City endeavors.

"Additionally, Schulson is preparing to debut two new dining establishments, Samuel's and a second location for Pearl & Mary, at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City," the site reads .

Ocean representative Brian Brennan told the Inquirer that the casino is seeking a new partnership for what will be a $5 million investment.