WineDive Sets an Opening Date in Rittenhouse

A variety of dishes on WineDive’s menu / Photograph by Sarah Silbiger

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. Just a few quick things to get through this week, including (but not limited to) WineDive in Rittenhouse, an opera collab, Halloween at Gilda, and a Day of the Dead dinner at Amá. So let’s get right into it, shall we? We’ll start things off this week with …

Welcome Back, WineDive!

The 2022 fire that closed the original incarnations of Sonny’s, Wine Dive (which used to have a space in its name), and Rabbit — all owned by Heather Annechiarico and Chris Fetfatzes — was a seminal event for what was then called Hawthorne’s Restaurant Group. It prematurely ended the runs of three different restaurant concepts (one of which had only been open for a couple of weeks), caused years of delays, and led to the formation of a whole new restaurant group: Happy Monday Hospitality.

But what might’ve been the end of the road for any other small restaurant group has actually become a seemingly non-stop banquet of food and beverage news from Fetfatzes and Annechiarico (and partner Susan Freeman) as they spent years putting things back together and growing their local footprint following the fire. First, there was the reopening of Sonny’s. Then the re-closing of Sonny’s. Then the RE-reopening of Sonny’s.

Then, back in May, I told you about their plans for a do-over of WineDive, this time in a former hair salon in Rittenhouse. The idea was to redo the concept small, in the style of “a retro ’70s/’80s Hollywood hideaway,” and to have it ready … well, soon was all we knew back then.

And here we are, just a few short months later, and I just got word that the brand-new WineDive is prepping for a public opening (and party) on November 6th in its new home at 1534 Sansom Street.

Before that, there’ll be a weeklong soft-opening, starting on October 31st, with limited hours and menu. But November 6th is the big day. The team is aiming for an “old Hollywood meets Atlantic City” kind of vibe, with 30 seats, long hours (4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, with the kitchen running ’til 1 a.m.), no reservations, and 30 wines by the glass. The cocktail list is heavy on some cool, grungy throwbacks (Rusty Nail, Surfer On Acid, Mind Eraser — that kind of thing), which I think is perfect for this particular drinkable moment.

And the kitchen will be doing their own versions of the classics. There’s grilled cheese sandwiches on the board, alongside loaded baked potatoes, roast beef sandwiches, wedge salads, “Shrimp LeJon” (à la Delco’s Clam Tavern), ice-cream bumps and fresh-baked cookies. It’s a deliberately scaled-down menu which, when your kitchen can pull it off (see: Meetinghouse), can be a powerful move — particularly when you’re doing it in Rittenhouse. But, get the balance or the execution just a little bit wrong, and it can backfire. So I’ve got my fingers crossed for this crew.

The bar at WineDive / Photograph by Sarah Silbiger

The new WineDive has a whole schedule of weekly programming — things like rare mini-pours on Mondays, late-night industry brunch on Sundays, and Bottomless Baked Potato Wednesdays (which, honestly, are like the four happiest words I’ve heard all week). Plus, they’re doing $5 house wines every day because “at WineDive, happy hour is every hour.”

And look, this is all great. New cocktails, baked potatoes, and grilled cheese sandwiches in Rittenhouse? That’s nothing but good news. But Happy Monday is also teasing a lot of upcoming projects that they’ve already got in the works. Here’s a list of what Annechiarico, Fetfatzes, and Freeman are promising for the future:

• Re-opening the original Wine Dive as WineDive South.
• Opening Liquorette — a “luxury European-style cocktail bar” — in the space above the new WineDive. They’re hoping for early 2026.
• Penny’s Bagels in Haddonfield. It’s currently under construction.
• Some kind of top-secret, “under-the-radar” project slated to open by the end of the year.
• Two additional, as-yet-unnamed concepts in South Philly, plus a third in Kensington, which are in the pipeline, according to the group. No details yet on those. Or names. Or addresses. But just in case you were worried, that’s definitely enough to keep Happy Monday in the news for a long time to come.

Whew … that was a lot. Now what else is happening this week?

Hey, Speaking of Wine Bars …

It looks like Rittenhouse won’t be the only neighborhood getting a new wine bar come November.

Nature’s Vin — a new woman-owned, natural wine bar (and wine shop) — is opening on East Lancaster Avenue in Wayne on November 7th. And while the Main Line isn’t exactly hurting when it comes to places to drink wine, this place is interesting for its focus on sustainability and inclusivity in the wine space. This is from their mission statement:

“[Nature’s Vin] will be a place where customers can not only purchase delicious wines, but also delve into the natural wine movement through educational experiences. From intimate, private events to tastings and our membership club, we will provide opportunities for our community to gather, learn about delicious new wines, and raise a glass together. By fostering diversity and inclusion, we will offer a distinctive wine experience that creates an inviting culture for all.”

The official opening is listed as November 7th and 8th, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., but they’ve already got a bunch of events on the books — everything from cheese classes to guest sommeliers to holiday crafts.

Both the shop and the wine bar will be open Tuesday to Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 10 p.m. You can make reservations (and check out the scheduled events) right here.

Celebrating the Day Of The Dead at Amá

Amá’s Todos Santos Pan de muerto / Photograph by Mike Prince

I loved chef Frankie Ramirez’s vision of traditional Mexican flavors and modern technique at Amá in Fishtown. Everything about the place — from the long bar to the cool space, the excellent cocktails, lamb neck birria, adobo-roasted chicken, and tuna tostadas stung with soy — was exactly what I wanted from this new generation of Mexican restaurants in Philly, and Ramirez’s entire history, both inside the kitchen and out, was on full display in every dish.

And while Amá is new enough that it hasn’t yet had a ton of event dinners in the space, Frankie and his crew are doing a special Día de los Muertos dinner on Sunday, November 2nd, that’s worth paying attention to.

Starting at 5 p.m., there’ll be a one-night-only menu of special Day of the Dead food and cocktails. We’re talking lobster aquachile (Maine lobster, orange and tatemado aquachile); escargot with avocado, mole blanco, and hazelnut salsa macha; pechuga de pato with plantain, foie gras tlahollo, and a black mole — that kind of thing. Basically, exactly what you’d expect on a party menu from one of the best Mexican fusion kitchen operating in Philly right now.

The bar will be getting in on the action, too, doing cocktail specials inspired by the holiday. And from the pastry department, there’ll be Todos Santos Pan de Muerto, and calaverita with mezcal-infused milk chocolate mousse, feuilletine, and cempasuchil.

Amá’s FOH team will be decorating the entire dining room for the party. And while the regular menu will be available during the festivities, it’s these specials that are the real draw. Seeing a talented kitchen stretch like this is always exciting, and Ramirez and his team write these menus like chapters in an edible autobiography.

Reservations for the night are available here. Make yours quick, though, because something tells me they’re going to book up in a hurry.

Now who has room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

Inside Emmett’s dining room / Photograph by Mike Prince

Want to know a collab dinner I am excited about? How ’bout Evan Snyder, Frankie Ramirez, Jen Carroll, Ian Graye, Tim Dearing, and Michael Brenfleck all getting together for one night in Snyder’s kitchen at Emmett for a star-studded, multi-course dinner to support the Vetri Community Partnership?

Each of the chefs will be designing a course for the menu, which will then be executed and served by Emmett’s team, leaving the chefs free to hang out in the dining room to chat with guests and explain their dishes. Dinner starts at 6 p.m. on Sunday, November 23rd. Tickets are $275 per person, with proceeds going to the Vetri Cooking Lab — an after-school cooking program for third to 12th graders from across the city. The only complication here? There will only be a single seating and a max of 36 guests. So if you’re down for one of those once-in-a-lifetime meals for a very good cause, reservations are open now. Get yours here.

After a long wait, it looks like Crust Vegan Bakery will officially be making the move to East Falls.

On Instagram, owner Meagan Benz explained (in detail) the complications of finding and building out a new home that can bring together Crust’s storefront operation and commercial kitchen and offer enough space for guests to come in, hang out, eat some cupcakes, drink some coffee, and enjoy the vibes.

Looks like about a month until the move officially happens. Keep an eye on Insta to keep track of the run-up to moving day.

Meanwhile, back in Rittenhouse/Fitler, it looks like La Maison Jaune is just about ready to open at 244 South 22nd Street. The place got off to kind of a rocky start with the neighbors, but the little black-and-white tiled French cafe and coffeeshop had a soft-open/neighborhood day on Saturday and it now looks like everything is on track for a grand opening sometime very soon.

Over at Gilda, they’re getting ready for their third annual Halloween party — this time taking the form of “a spooky collaborative menu” with the team from Kouklet Bakehouse featuring a mix of sweet and savory baked goods, non-alcoholic cocktails, costumes, a DJ spinning an all-vinyl Halloween mix, vendors selling vintage clothes, comic books, sports art, and handmade candies, plus Brazilian hot dogs from Kouklet. And who can say no to Brazilian hot dogs?

The party starts at 6 p.m. at Gilda on October 30th. Costumes are encouraged, everything is PAYG and reservations are not required.

And if you’re looking for something a little bit fancier (okay, a lot fancier), Jean-Georges Philadelphia is partnering with Opera Philadelphia for a one-night-only “immersive dinner” on November 20th. According to the event description, “the evening will feature a multi-course tasting menu, floral installations by Jeff Leatham, and performances by members of Opera Philadelphia’s orchestra and affiliated artists, including Grammy Award-winning general director Anthony Roth Costanzo. The program will include selections by Purcell, Berlioz, and Vivaldi, as well as songs, arias, and holiday favorites.”

So if you want to eat lobster while strangers sing opera at you, this is your night. It’s not my kind of thing, but who knows what you weirdos are into. Reservations here.