Sidecar Bar & Grille has been sold to developer Feibush; no changes planned
Owner Adam Ritter said buyer Ori Feibush "knows this is my baby. He's obviously invested in the neighborhood."
Adam Ritter, who opened Sidecar Bar & Grille at 22nd and Christian Streets a decade ago, is selling it to developer Ori Feibush, who entered the bar business only earlier this month about four blocks away.
Both men say Sidecar's entire staff will remain and the business will continue to operate as it has since 2006 with no changes. The sale is expected to close Dec. 31.
Reason: Ritter no longer lives in Philadelphia, as he and his family moved to New Orleans last year. "It's a challenge running multiple restaurants from 1,200 miles away," Ritter said. "I've been flying up every week."
Ritter said he would continue to own and operate Kraftwork, his bar in Fishtown. He closed the nearby Kermit's Bake Shoppe last month. "Now I'll only have to come up once a month," he said.
Ritter said Feibush "knows this is my baby. He's obviously invested in the neighborhood."
Two weeks ago, Feibush - whose retail and residential developments are primarily in Point Breeze, the neighborhood just south of Washington Avenue - opened Burg's Hideaway Lounge at 21st and Federal Streets. That corner bar, known as Burg's for three decades, was renovated and briefly operated as a "neo-bistro" called Buckminster's. Clearly, it serves Feibush well to have operating businesses in his home area.
Ritter said he would consult at Sidecar, which he and his wife renovated and opened to entertain the first wave of gentrifiers in the neighborhood known as Southwest Center City or Graduate Hospital.
Meanwhile, Point Breeze has seen the recent debut of the cheery On Point Bistro at 20th and Federal Streets, and is about to get Mattei Family Pizza, a brick-oven operation at 1260 Point Breeze Ave. (at Wharton Street).