Old City’s Newest Restaurant Is Suddenly Without a Chef or a Menu

Fergus “Fergie” Carey pours a Guinness on opening night at the Monto (Lisa Schaffer Photography)

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After Mac’s Tavern – aka the Always Sunny in Philadelphia bar – closed last summer in Old City, folks were wondering what might replace it. In January, we got our answer: Legendary Philadelphia bar owner Fergus “Fergie” Carey and his business partner Jim McNamara were set to open an Irish pub in the space. The pub, they told us, would be called The Monto, with a kitchen under the helm of Best of Philly-winning sandwich maker N.A. Poe — which was exciting news. On June 20th, after a series of delays, the Monto debuted at 226 Market Street — but two days in, Poe wasn’t part of the plan anymore, for reasons that neither Poe nor Carey care to discuss on the record.

So who is cooking in the kitchen at the Monto now? The answer is no one. There is no food operation of any kind, says Carey, who quickly adds that they’re technically capable of providing food for 30 people, because PLCB rules say you have to in order to be in compliance with state liquor laws. (This is why even the diveiest of dive bars have 30-packs of the cheapest of ramen sitting around in some closet somewhere at all times.)

Carey says that his restaurant neighbors in Old City, like Campo’s Deli and Margherita Pizza, couldn’t be happier with this kitchen-less situation that the Monto finds itself in. “Everybody’s buying their food and bringing it in,” he remarks with a chuckle. But he won’t be chefless forever — the Monto will have a proper kitchen, he says. According to Carey, there are four serious offers on the table from chefs wanting to lease the kitchen — Carey wants nothing to do with the food and is looking for a chef who can run the entire show, the same setup he has at The Jim in South Philly. But he’s not going to make any decisions until after the World Cup is over.

“I’m not rushing into anything,” he says. “We just had a killer week of business — a little busier than Fergie’s Pub, even — and that’s with no kitchen. There is money in the bank already and my partners are so ecstatic.” (Carey’s other partners in the Monto include longtime Philadelphia Irish pub bartenders JohnJoe Devlin and Gary “Swing” McDonald. As for the Monto being busier than Fergie’s during the World Cup, that could have something to do with the fact that while Fergie’s Pub has zero TVs as a result of a longtime ban by Carey, the Monto has plenty.)

So what sort of food might you expect at the Monto once the kitchen does reopen? Carey says there will likely be a focus on some Irish staples as well as more modern takes on Irish food and pub food, such as shepherd’s-pie potato skins and a type of chicken sandwich found at most gas stations in Ireland.

One definite plan that Carey does have for the Monto before he brings in a chef: “A Salute to McGlinchey’s.” Carey and McNamara both once worked at the ridiculously smoky, cheap, and nearly food-less joint that closed last year (they served questionable hot dogs out of a questionable kitchen), and so they are planning a party to pay homage to the beloved old 15th Street dive. The pair wanted to add McGlinchey’s to their bar portfolio but came in nowhere near the original asking price. (This was months before McGlinchey’s officially went on the market in January with a price tag of $2.45 million.) So, the thinking goes, since they can’t have McGlinchey’s, they’ll bring McGlinchey’s to The Monto.

“I’ll have really cheap Rolling Rock for a day or so,” he promises of the as-yet-scheduled event. “I want to find a Ms. Pac-Man tabletop game, like McGlinchey’s had. And I’m gonna bring in a fog machine.” The Monto is, of course, non-smoking.