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Location Just Screams Gastropub to Us

Posted by Foobooz on September 22nd, 2010


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We spotted this property at 38th and Lancaster on Craigslist and LoopNet recently and cannot help but think it screams gastropub. And as a fairly big corner location we cannot help but think that it would appeal to William Reed of Standard Tap and Johnny Brenda’s.

This is of course wishful thinking but fun nonetheless. What would you like to see go into this location?


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    This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 at 9:00 am and is filed under Food Nerd News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

    • amanda

      That’s Scooters. It’s a local nuisance bar (and an off duty police officer was stabbed there recently), hardly gastropub material. I’d personally like to see almost ANYTHING else there, but I’m pretty sure it’s here to stay.

    • Jimmy

      A gastropub…how original.

    • Mark

      Actually Amanda, if an off-duty cop was stabbed there I’d say its days are numbered. And that it is listed for sale is another good bet it won’t be there long.

      Seems like a great location for something more than a nuisance bar. Good visibility and all that.

    • Brian

      I have to admit, i agree with Jimmy. While I do love Standard Tap (oh my how I crave the pork sandwich) Gastropubs have become a bit of a saturated market.

      With Presby hospital right there, I’m thinking something more lunch friendly… You got a deli, pizza, and thai down Lancaster, so what about a mexican place. Yum… mexican food!

    • barryg

      @Brian, isn’t there a Mexican place a couple blocks from there on Lancaster? I can’t remember the name.

    • http://manshouldeatsandwiches.tumblr.com Bryan

      @BarryG: You’re thinking of Zocalo. Having had worked in that area; I think the next owner should definitely gear that property towards the Hospital crowd. The neighbors don’t spend money over there. They just don’t.

    • mazza3

      i don’t think that neighborhood needs a gastropub. too many drexel students nearby would make a gastropub here a puke factory….

      and bryan is right. i work up here too and the food businesses that do well (lemongrass (ick), zocalo (meh) and stan’s (YAY) are all geared towards the day workers….a pub that is aiming for a nighttime crowed has two types to market to: born and raised locals and college kids. not exactly the target gastro crown…you see some b&r locals wandering into jb’s, but that isn’t the majority of the crowd at all…

    • bonzombiekitty

      Mark, the cop that got stabbed there got stabbed a few years ago. Or maybe I’m thinking of a different event. I know an off duty cop was shot/stabbed there back when I lived a couple blocks from there. And that was five+ years ago.

    • Heather

      The cop who was stabbed is a friend of mine. It happened over the summer. He’s ok and has been back to work for a while now. He was trying to break up a fight between 2 women and one of the women stabbed him. Both women were arrested.

      As for anymore gastropubs, as an owner of something I guess one would classify a “gastropub” I really do belive the market is oversaturated. And once you take the risk to go in to a developing area, other people will follow. If you lack population density the struggles are enough to make you want to get a job in a department store again. (I’m not joking about that either)

      Also as an owner I can tell you that having problem spots like this shut down is extremely difficult. Once a liquor license is issued, there are “points” that go against it for violations. With a good lawyer and a willingness to pay fines, a problem spot can stay open for many many years. Kind of why my place was such a bad spot for a long time but stayed open before we bought it.

      Now if the bar in the location is a rented space, the building owner can choose to not renew the lease or raise the rent to an astronomical amount which can force out the tennant which can force a sale of the business. (kildares in KofP shut down for this reason) Most places with leased space have a number of protective clauses and conditionals in their leases to prevent this. The owner of the building, provided it is not thier name on the liquor license, is not held responsible for whatever negative activity goes on with the establishment.

      Once an alcohol selling business becomes a “nuisance” bar, even with new ownership and concept it can take a very long time to establish a new reputation and weed out the negativity. We spent the better part of a year doing this.

      And this concludes bar 101 for the day.

      Cheers
      Heather

    • amanda

      I mostly just think it’s a nuisance because there’s always a lot of homeless people/questionably homed people that sleep on the steps of the building after buying drinks inside… or drunks yelling at people outside. And it’s noisy. Not exactly the best kind of thing to have around the corner. :P Guess we’ll see what happens if it’s sold, but it’s been there for so long it’s sort of hard to imagine that corner without it.

      Also that was really interesting, Heather! Thanks for sharing your perspective.

    • michael

      @ Heather Kildares in K.O.P. shut down because they were behind 6 months in rent at $17,000.00 a month. I have that from a very reliable source, not a former disgruntled employee.

    • http://rolandafaim.wordpress.com/ Roland

      The location just isn’t safe. Yet. Lived 2 blocks away for 5 years. You just don’t walk that way.

    • mike

      Ok, don’t know where most of you are getting your information, but there’s a lot of screamingly inaccurate stuff on here. That area has improved by leaps and bounds … and that corner is screaming for a pub, or restaurant with sidewalk seating.

      - Scooters IS being sold.
      - Scooters has been a nuisance bar.
      - Neighbors are determined to see this KEY property developed in such a way that it becomes a magnet and catalyst for other development on Lancaster Avenue.

      The block has seen major physical improvements and the University City District has a gateway project planned for the corner and is trying to put together funding for a Pedestrian lighting project.

      Have lived in the neighborhood for almost 15 years. Have never been afraid of going to this area, there’s just been nothing of interest, unless one of the galleries or the East Africa Center has something of interest.

      Stop the negative talk. Think positive. Make something happen!

    • George

      Maybe the Philadelphia market is saturated with Gastropubs, but this stretch of Lancaster Avenue isn’t! There is a huge demand in this area for a good quality establishment, and this place could really be a game changer for Lancaster Avenue. It’s location is primo (all this talk about being dangerous is absurd), and the locals are tired of travelling to other parts of the city for good beer and food. With development happening in Point Breeze and Brewerytown, I don’t see how this is all that much of a stretch.

    • Mike

      Gastropub is one of those vague/absurd terms that doesn’t really mean much. You could call just about any bar that isn’t a sportsbar or a dive a “Gastropub”.

      Basically, all this post is saying is that hopefully the new owner makes it a better bar.

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