The Butcher & the Brewer to close
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The Butcher & the Brewer to close
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Odd, Doc Watson's Pub operated at 216 S. 11th St. for nearly 30 years. (Well, minus a spell seven years ago when management packed the upstairs with underage drinkers.)
The latest bar at that address will last 51 days - Sept. 28 to Nov. 17.
Saturday is last call at The Butcher & the Brewer. Before that, also under B&B owners Matt and Colleen Swartz, it was The Boilermaker for six months.
The Swartzes (as Grainery Restaurant Group) announced Thursday evening that "due to the unforeseen sale of the building," the restaurant will close. Staff will be absorbed "into other ventures" - presumably The Farmer's Cabinet, their bar at 1111 Walnut St. Before the Swartzes took over the building, it was Blue Bear Tavern for less than six months.
I heard that the building was indeed sold a month ago. One explanation for the impending closing could be that the liquor license is listed in LCB records as inactive.
And so is the license at the Farmer's Cabinet, for that matter (screen-grabbed below from the LCB's website).
Update: Matt Swartz says he has a letter of authorization from the LCB, but the LCB says Grainery has not filed its renewal and is not authorized to operate.
Is this a surprise given this group's track record? Of course not.— Mr. Baseball- it's almost comical now how fast they vacate.— suporma
- Right, at this point, they've closed more places than they have left open. At least they didn't do it in the middle of the night this time.— bullrun
Sad...I live a few blocks from this place. Yet, I never stepped foot into it. When it was Blue Bear, the drinks were over priced and not very good. The staff was great and friendly but that won't make me come back. I believe that they are trying to serve a clientele that is non-existent.- they obviously need to be yelled at by jon taffer.— eaglesfillthesky
