Philadelphia, PA - Center City's largest and most celebrated beer garden is back! Craft Concepts Group and Teddy Sourias announce the return of Uptown Beer Garden at a new permanent and year-round home at 1500 JFK Boulevard.
The picturesque urban oasis comes complete with stunning views, expanded menus, additional shading, lush greenery, original artwork, more dining space, and even bigger vibes. The 18,000+ square foot space offers seating for 350 guests and private event space for up to 700 guests.
Uptown Beer Garden on JFK Center City
Chef Craig Meyers and his culinary team will fire up the menu using the concerted giant food truck installed in Uptown's central garden. The menu features street food and Philadelphia favorites, including starters (smoked chicken wings, crab gravy poutine, crispy eggplant), salads (grilled peach, whole-grain bowl), sandwiches (roast pork, cheesesteak, chicken cheesesteak, parm cutlet, eggplant Italian, crab cake), sides and desserts.
For the bar program, look for nearly two dozen varieties of Craft and American selections in drafts, cans, and bottles, plus wine, seasonal cocktails, frozen drinks, and boozy ice pops. Uptown is now open Monday to Thursday, 4:00pm to 10:00pm, Friday, 4:00pm to 2:00am, Saturday, 2:00pm to 2:00am, and Sunday, 2:00pm to 10:00pm. Uptown is walk-up only for tables, with no reservations needed. For more about Uptown, follow @uptownbeergarden on social media or call 215-397-3308.
"Uptown Beer Garden is back and bigger than ever," said Sourias. "The opportunity to take over space at 1500 JFK came to us during the pandemic, and it was an amazing opportunity to build a new Uptown from the ground up. I am proud of my team for their energy and passion for keeping our restaurants open during the pandemic while at the same time lending a hand to this major undertaking. We are so very proud of the final product. It is bigger, bolder, and more beautiful than ever! We have secured a long-term lease that will allow us to invest more into the property, explore staying open year-round in some capacity, and bring the whole Uptown experience to an all-new level. We have tons of surprises still to share for Uptown - and more surprises across the company. Uptown's grand opening is just the start of new and exciting things to come from Craft Concepts Group as we look forward to our city reopening and better days ahead. Big thanks to my staff, my family, and all of our patrons that supported us. We can't wait to host you this summer!"
UPTOWN VIBE AND LAYOUT
"Uptown Beer Garden is a vibe all in itself this year," said Sourias. "We have all the basic elements you loved about the old Uptown, but we took things up a few levels. While the footprint and seat count are larger this year, we also paid attention to the smaller details that will create intimate experiences within the garden itself. We didn't want to just move Uptown or recreate what was already being done; we really wanted to show off our creativity and create a truly unique and special space. Whether you are looking up, down, or at street level, there are many unique city views and vantage points from the new garden. We wanted to have seating and dining space that let our guests soak in all that urban beauty."
For the new Uptown Beer Garden, Craft Concepts Group has created a giant outdoor restaurant in the middle of Center City in a space that was formerly an empty concrete sidewalk. The ornately decorated location features bright beer garden lighting, 20+ foot tall trees, lush greenery, colorful flowers, a koi fish pond, fountains made from recycled beer taps, graffiti street art from local artists, etc. outdoor kitchen in a giant food truck. Additional design details include top slab tables, tree bark covering for utility polls, colorful directional signs, outdoor ceiling fans, green walls, and more.
Visitors and guests will enjoy the elaborate layout with seven different seating and event situations, including 35+ traditional low and high top tables, semi-private cabanas, outdoor loungers, wooden swings, jewel-colored umbrellas, and complimented cushions. Visitors will find ample seating, shade, and covering at the two bars. The main bar measures 40 feet long and seats 25 people, while the secondary bar clocks in at 25 feet long and seats 15 people. Both were made from reclaimed wood harvested from Adamstown and Reading, PA.
For layout, Uptown's main entrance is directly off of JFK, with a second main entrance in the inner courtyard behind the garden accessible from 16th Street. Once inside the main entrance fence, visitors can take a right for low-top seating with a view of Love Park, or they can take a seat at the main bar
To the left and down the main pathway, visitors can enjoy high-top seating under umbrellas, as well as swing seating around the Koi Pond. Beyond the pond and fountain, the second bar is ready to welcome guests with covering from the elements. Halfway through the main path, visitors will find the food truck, as well as the entrance gate to the VIP cabana area with covered loungers and rustic outdoor coffee tables. Additional seating will be added later this summer to the second entrance and the back bar area.
Inside, visitors and guests can find permanent, air-conditioned bathrooms in the former 7-11 space, providing the kitchen with ample storage space for food and drink.
For design, Sourias worked with his internal CCG team and staffers, plus artist Scott Johnston and interior designer Anne White.
FOOD AND DRINK
For 2021, Uptown Beer Garden will fire up its most extensive menu ever - featuring a mixture of Philadelphia summertime and street food favorites. Chef Craig Meyers and his culinary team will serve everything from giant handhelds, wings, salads, boardwalk fries, and desserts. The kitchen team will operate out of a vast food truck that Sourias secured during the pandemic and have transported here all the way from Texas. Sourias also has designed ample prep and storage space inside the former 7-11, giving Meyers use of Uptown's most extensive kitchen ever. Uptown will start with dine-in, take-out, and catering services. Uptown is exploring possible delivery services later in the summer or early fall.
