A thousand bottles of beer on the wall...
Lots of things sure are hoppening at Hawthornes in South Philly.
At 11 a.m. Wednesday (11/18), Chris Fetfatzes and Heather Annechiarico expect to unlock the doors of Hawthornes, their cafe/bottle shop/prepared-foods-to-go store at 11th and Fitzwater Streets in South Philly (215-627-3012).
The corner was his family's Bella Vista Beer Distributor until it moved a block away. Before the Fetfatzeses were in the beer biz, they operated hot dog carts, and this is where they stored their carts. (Chris Fetfatzes explained that in a bit of symbolism, a hot dog was the first food prepped in their new kitchen.)
Lots going on here: hardwood floors, retro lighting, white subway tiles, a genuine wood fireplace with "living room" seating area, fling-out windows, a takeout counter, a prepared-food case, and comfy tables seating nearly 40.
Beer cases will hold a staggering 1,000 varieties, and they're offering 16 varieties of 64-ounce counter-pressured growlers to go. Fetfatzes has a proprietary growler-filling system tucked into one of the counters. They'll offer brewers' limited-edition and one-off varieties; Russian River Blind Pig and Damnation were on an early list.
Chef Mike Teevan, who's been around the block a few times (front and back of the house at Water's Edge in Cape May, The Garden in Center City, Rembrandt's in Fairmount, the original Ritz-Carlton), is doing a menu of soups, sandwiches, and salads, with locally sourced ingredients, in-house-roasted meats, on-premises-baked bread and pastries, plus an assortment of to-go dishes.
You order at the counter and pick up your food, except during brunch (8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays). Kitchen will be open till 8 p.m., and sandwiches will be available later.