Next of Kin Is Opening a Second Location

Next of Kin / Photograph by Michael Persico, originally in Best of Philly 2023

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. It looks like last week’s trend of high-profile closures is continuing this week with surprising announcements from two more local favorites. But it’s not all bad news. We’ve also got some good stuff to talk about — including (but not limited to) crab parties, nerd beer, women’s sports, and how one East Passyunk restaurant is celebrating Christmas in July. So let’s get right into it and kick things off this week with …

Guess Who’s Moving Into the Tria Space in Wash West?

As mentioned last week, we saw news from four different local spots that were all closing (or were already closed). Tria’s Wash West location was one of those four.

When I wrote about the impending closure last Tuesday (last day of service is scheduled for July 3rd), there were already rumors circulating that a local cocktail bar had eyes on the space at 1137 Spruce Street. In the moment, I wasn’t quite sure which cocktail bar. But now I am.

Next of Kin — the dimly-lit Frankford Avenue joint which, for a Fishtown cocktail bar, is only maybe half as Fishtown-y as you think it is — currently has a new liquor license pending with the PLCB. And the address on that pending license? Yup: 1137 Spruce Street.

So it looks like partners Kyle Darrow and John Grubb are looking to expand — which is great news. Next of Kin does a lot of things that more serious cocktail bars wouldn’t dream of. Tattoo collabs, giant pink fizzes, gorgeous psychedelic cocktails, that sort of thing. So here’s hoping they bring that same kind of energy to Spruce Street (along with all their disco balls and neon). And here’s hoping they bring along those psychedelic cocktails, too.

As always, you’ll know more when we know more.

End of the Road for Manatawny Still Works

Manatawny Still Works’ Pottstown location / Photograph courtesy of Manatawny Still Works

On Instagram, Manatawny posted a photo of an empty bottle of their Four-Grain American Whiskey shaped like a headstone emblazoned with the numbers that mark the span of the distillery’s too-brief lifespan: 2014-2025.

This past Friday, Manatawny dropped the (kinda) surprise news that its flagship Pottstown distillery, tasting room, and three affiliated cocktail bars (in Ardmore, Fishtown, and East Passyunk) would all be closing for good on Sunday — giving fans just two days to say goodbye, and leaving people holding gift cards (or with outstanding orders at the distillery) scrambling.

I say kinda surprising because there have been hints that something was up with Manatawny for the past few weeks, but still. Most notably, a post from Autana announcing that their partnership with the distillery was coming to an end. This closure was sudden, final, and would’ve been shocking no matter how much warning came with it.

“Unfortunately, it has come to this,” the final announcement read, in part. “Manatawny Still Works will be closing its doors for the last time on June 29. Since we first opened our doors in Pottstown in 2014, we’ve gratefully enjoyed your enthusiasm, your great ideas and suggestions, the joy and hilarity you brought to our tasting rooms, and all the times you shared our products with others. THANK YOU for everything you did to keep us going.”

Do I need to say how fundamental Manatawny has been to the cocktail scene in and around Philly? I don’t think I do. I’ve got bottles of their whiskey on my shelf at home right now, and it has long been one of my go-to brown liquors for straight sipping. Hell, there’s a half-empty bottle of Six-Grain tucked into the mess on my desk right now, and that profile of Jesse Ito that just recently came out? Let’s just say the editing process was smoothed significantly by that particular bottle’s missing half.

Anyway, this would normally be the part where I’d tell y’all to get up off your asses and get down there to say some final goodbyes, but the quick closure kinda robbed us of that chance. So instead I’ll just say that I’m sad to see the place go, worried about what such a big loss says about the future of local distilling and the craft cocktail scene in general, and offer my best wishes to the staff. Here’s hoping they had some more warning than we did, and that they all land on their feet.

Now what other bad news is there this week? Oh, right …

Nick Elmi’s Laurel Is Also Closing

I know, right? So far, this summer has kinda sucked for the restaurant industry. Not for everyone, of course, but I announced four different closures last week: Seorabol, Mac’s, Tria, and (maybe) Kraftwork. Then Kae Lani Palmisano almost exploded at the Newsroom. And now, we’re losing Manatawny AND Laurel?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Also yes, but with an asterisk.

So here’s what we know: Laurel has been in its space at 1617 East Passyunk Avenue since 2013. After years spent working with Georges Perrier at Le Bec-Fin, stints at Daniel, Lutèce, and Union Pacific in New York, and in Paris staging at Guy Savoy, then a return to Le Bec as exec chef and, oh yeah, winning Top Chef, Laurel was Nick Elmi’s first restaurant that was all his own. He’d follow it with ITV, Royal Boucherie, Lark in Bala Cynwyd (along with an attached party and catering operation), and eventually fold ITV’s space into a larger, more welcoming version of Laurel.

But that space on the Avenue was where we all first got to know who Elmi really was. It was a fun spot, French in a way that was modern, classic, and global all at the same time, focused on tasting menus before they were cool, then went à la carte when everyone in town seemed to be doing nothing but tasting menus. He lasted 12 years there, and did very well. But now, with his lease running out, his intent is to close the place at the end of the year and simply … move on.

Which is where that asterisk comes in.

See, according to the Inquirer, Elmi is looking at maybe picking up a whole new spot somewhere in Center City. He doesn’t know exactly where yet (or maybe just isn’t saying) and doesn’t know whether he’s going to carry forward Laurel’s name or go with a total rebrand, but the silver lining here is that Philly isn’t losing Elmi entirely. And might not even be losing Laurel as a concept. But what we are losing is 12 years of history at 1617 East Passyunk and a place that has been an anchor of the South Philly food scene for more than a decade. I’m excited to see what Elmi does next. And I’m excited to see who might move into such a choice bit of real estate. But none of that makes the idea of losing Laurel feel any less bad.

Anyway, how about we lighten things up with an update about a story we were looking into just last week.

Philly’s First Queer Women’s Sports Bar Coming This Summer

Chivonn Anderson, owner of Marsha’s, Philly’s forthcoming queer women’s sports bar / Photograph by Harry Smith

Meanwhile, all the way at the top end of East Passyunk Avenue, owner Chivonn Anderson (ex of Redcrest Kitchen) has picked up the space at 430 South Street and is currently in the process of turning it into Philly’s “first-ever queer women’s sports bar and venue.”

Anderson is calling the place Marsha’s, named for transgender activist and Stonewall veteran Marsha P. Johnson. The hope is that, in honoring Johnson’s legacy, the bar will “celebrate queer history and serve as a welcoming space where that spirit of courage and inclusivity lives on.”

There’s not a lot of details yet on the food and drink side, but Anderson is promising it’ll cover everyone’s favorite bar snacks, beer, and cocktails. Meanwhile, being a sports bar, the joint will have a lot of TVs, and in terms of the programming, Marsha’s will center women’s sports and all Philly sports teams, with additional screens dedicated to queer movies and television, “ensuring that queer stories remain visible and celebrated in the space.”

Opening on South Street means a lot to Anderson. She’s a Philly native who came out at 15 and found her place (and her people) on South Street during the ’90s. “South Street was the only place I ever felt comfortable growing up,” she says. “Creating Marsha’s on the corner of South Street and Passyunk Ave. feels like a full-circle moment. It’s about building the kind of bar everyone feels welcome stepping foot in.”

No word yet on a precise opening date, but Anderson is hoping to have Marsha’s up and running before the end of summer.

Now who has room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

Randy Rucker, co-owner an chef of River Twice, and his daughter Ruby announcing the restaurant’s Christmas in July event / Photograph by Mike Prince

One more bit of news from East Passyunk: For the past four years, Randy and Amanda Rucker of Little Water and River Twice have celebrated Christmas in July by inviting some seriously heavyweight guest chefs in to share the kitchen with Randy at their original East Passyunk restaurant. They call it “Christmas in July,” and this year’s list of collaborations has just been announced.

From July 22nd through the 26th, River Twice will host several award-winning chefs from Maine, New York, and Washington D.C., each of whom will do a one-night-only collab dinner with Randy and his team. Things kick off on Tuesday, July 22nd with chef Johnny Spero of Reverie, a Michelin-starred New American restaurant in Washington D.C.. Next comes Neil Zabriskie of Regards in Portland, Maine, followed by seafood specialist Nick Tamburo of Smithereens in New York, Jacob Siwak of Forsythia (a Rome-focused Italian restaurant, also in New York), and finally Shola Olunloyo of Studiokitchen right here in Philadelphia for the grand finale on July 26th.

All the Christmas in July dinners start at 5 p.m. There are exactly 50 seats available per night, with reservations running $150 a head ($175 for a seat at the chef’s counter). Every dinner is collaborative, multi-course, and has beverage pairings and à la carte extras available. Interested? Of course you are. Reservations are available right here, but be quick. Seats are limited, and they’re gonna go fast.

Over at Walnut Street Cafe, they’re launching a Crab Fest menu to celebrate the summer shellfish season. We’re talking Maryland cream of crab soup with Old Bay crackers; crab cake sandwiches on brioche bread with lettuce, heirloom tomato, roasted red pepper remoulade and fries; crab cakes on the side with Calabrian chile cocktail sauce; a Vermont cheddar crab dip with Old Bay, green onion and corn tortilla chips; and a crab cake benny on an English muffin with Old Bay hollandaise, lemon, and breakfast potatoes at brunch. The menu is up and running now and will go until the end of August.

Finally this week, Connor Sheridan and Jon Henning — two friends from Philly who share a love of beer — are launching their own brewery called Prime Station Brewing. They’ve currently got two beers in production that will be released this summer: a 4.5 percent ABV dry-hopped pale lager inspired by the history of the Divine Lorraine Hotel called “Cult Of The Divine” and a five percent ABV extra pale ale inspired by a quote about Philadelphia’s early years before urbanization called “Howling Wilderness.”

Sheridan and Henning are doing things on a very small scale as they ramp up. Working with a partner brewery, their first run will get them 80 or 90 cases of each label. They’re working on distribution now, are hoping to find space for a taproom in South Philly in the future, and right now, you may be asking yourself, Why the hell is he telling us all about this weird little microbrewery that hasn’t even got its first bottles on the shelves yet? But Prime Station caught my eye because these guys are super nerds, and honestly any brewery that comes complete with a steampunk backstory that involves time-travelers and an alternate-history version of Philadelphia, is going to get my support.

Dig this, from Prime Station’s first press release:

“Prime Station’s branding tells the story of a steampunk-era character, Axel Hopsworth, who was a brewer, entrepreneur, and inventor living in 1860s Philadelphia. Axel lived in the basement of a train station on Washington Avenue, then known as Prime Street. He built a time machine that suddenly transported him through Philadelphia’s illustrious history. But after time hopping to 2025, he was encouraged to see the brewing industry thriving after the post-prohibition decline, and realized a new era of culture and art was flourishing in Philly. He decided to permanently remain in 2025, with the goal of eventually opening a new Prime Station, an all-day space where Philadelphians can come together to share the best beer, food, art and community the city has to offer.”

Oh, wait. Is there more? There is.

Anyway, I kinda love these guys. And I’ll certainly be looking for their beers when they hit the shelves.