Christmas Pop-Up Bar Comes Early Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The coronavirus pandemic has been a real Grinch since March for bars, restaurants and big events.

But residents of Philadelphia may feel their spirits rise when popular Christmas-themed pop-up bar Tinsel returns early this weekend.

Owner Teddy Sourias didn’t want to wait until December to put people in a festive mood.

The bar, featuring Christmas music, elaborate decorations and holiday cocktails, has become familiar at 12th and Sansom streets in Center City. For this "Christmas in July," however, the bar is making one major change to stay off of Gov. Tom Wolf's "naughty" list. 

“It’s 100% outdoors,” Sourias said. “Every part of the outdoor space we own is decked out in some sort of Christmas decoration: lights or bows or everything we could find.”

View this post on Instagram

Presenting the most wonderful time of year to remind us better days are ahead! -- #tinselinjuly starts Friday at 3pm with Christmas themed dining tables, new sweets and eats, twinkling lights, festive tunes and Christmas cocktails. Here’s a little look what’s everyone think!? Merry Christmas in July! ---- #tinselphilly

A post shared by Tinsel In July (@tinselphilly) on Jul 16, 2020 at 3:56pm PDT

“It was ideal to bring this all together and have, like, a little Tinsel town and have cocktails and food and a lot of lights and make it look like a festive, joyful summer of a Christmas,” he added.

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Tis the season. Tinsel in July! Ready to bring you joy, hope, twinkling lights during these challenging times. Taking over 12th Street this summer. Stay tuned! #tinselphilly #tinselphl #tinselinjuly

A post shared by Tinsel In July (@tinselphilly) on Jul 15, 2020 at 7:47pm PDT

This latest version of Tinsel is expected to stick around for a good part of the summer.

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