PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Uptown Beer Garden is ready to reopen for the season with some big changes: a new location.
“We’ve moved one block away from our old location,” said owner Teddy Sourias. It’s now across the street from LOVE Park, in the courtyard adjacent to the former 7-Eleven.
The former convenience store is also a part of Uptown’s space, with 10 new bathrooms and plans for an indoor restaurant this fall.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Sourias expects to extend the outdoor dining season into the winter. He said the pandemic has changed how they built the space, as they “now know how to build our bars and how to heat them properly.”
“One thing COVID brought was to open people’s minds to outdoor seating,” he added.
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Eventually, they will also extend the venue into the SEPTA subway station.
“Our goal is to go to the lower level where the concourse is. It’s completely enclosed with glass and it’s open above with these beautiful leaf art pieces that were done by a local artist,” he explained. “You can’t get down there now, so the plan is hopefully by next year will have a staircase to help access the lower-level space.”
Uptown Beer Garden will have 16 local beers on tap. As for food: “Philadelphia cheesesteak-based pork sandwiches, a lot of vegan options, a lot of gluten-free options.”
The Uptown will be open for July Fourth weekend.
For more on Uptown Beer Garden, listen to the KYW Newsradio original podcast What’s Cooking on the Audacy app.