Farmers' Cabinet spins off Sutton's Parlor in Rittenhouse
Matt Swartz, who runs Farmers' Cabinet at 11th and Walnut Streets, opened at 40 S. 19th St.
Open a bar in Rittenhouse under the radar?
Leave it to Matt Swartz, who has The Farmers' Cabinet at 11th and Walnut Streets.
On Thanksgiving eve, he simply opened the doors of Sutton's Parlor at 38-40 S. 19th St., the bilevel spot between Market and Chestnut that has hosted such destinations as Whistle Bar and Tragos Lounge. The liquor license still bears the name of Pete Antipas, who owns the bricks.
The downstairs is a craft cocktail bar and the upstairs is a beer bar. There's a rustic small-plates menu. At least two deer donated heads to adorn the walls. "Sutton" happens to be the late moonshiner Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton.
Running the place is Adam Kanter, who owned the erstwhile Rum Bar at 20th and Walnut Streets.
Swartz declined to comment on his new bar - to perhaps provide hours or even to toot his own horn. He texted that whatever he says will be "twisted around in the press."
Kanter said that addition to his management duties, he will distill products. "As our Distillery License is in the "applied" phase, we are still 3-6 months out from producing spirits. My 8.5 gal still for artisinal small batch rums and brandies arrives very soon. We will be building a 200 gal monster to produce larger batches of whiskeys, rums, and gins," he wrote on Facebook.
Some history:
October 2010, Swartz and his wife, Colleen, with a partner, opened Fork & Barrel, a Euro beer bar in East Falls.
March 2011, the group opened the Farmers' Cabinet at 1111-13 Walnut St.
April 18, 2011, the group moved out of the Fork & Barrel in the middle of the night, calling it a "business decision to close since The Farmers' Cabinet has so many of the same elements." It also closed Tap & Table in Emmaus.
On Sept. 28, 2012, the Swartzes opened The Butcher & Brewer at 216 S. 11th St. It closed 51 days later, on Nov. 17.