Restaurants Clarkville and Local 44, which are both owned by the same company, closed earlier this week while the owners “work internally with staff and the community to address what’s going on in a genuine and meaningful way,” according to co-owner Leigh Maida.
Staff members at Clarkville organized a walkout last weekend and protested outside the restaurant, located at 43rd and Baltimore, after one of their co-workers was fired, they believe, unjustly. There were also protests outside of Local 44 claiming bias in the restaurant’s employment practices. Many community members took to social media to express their concern over what has happened. Continue Reading
Here’s some great news for local wine lovers: Both The Bottle Shop at Local 44 and Clarkville bar & restaurant began selling affordable take-out wine this week. Here are more details for each establishment, which as you may know are owned by the same people.
The Bottle Shop (44th and Spruce) is featuring a small but well curated list of ten red, ten white and two sparkling wines by the bottle. Arguably the best beer sales force in the city are now also “aspiring wine geeks” and will help guide you through their wine assortment.
Clarkville (43rd and Baltimore) is making all of the wines that pour on draft available for take out in a branded 750ml growler. You can buy one in house, or bring your own jug in for a refill.
In addition, a special November “Wine School” featuring The Artisan Cellar’s Sean Faeth is happening in the Bottle Shop at Local 44 on Wednesday, Nov 16 at 5 p.m. This is a free opportunity to get to know some of the bottles they are so excited about. As always, a donation to No Kid Hungry is required to attend Beer/Wine School. RSVP to bottles@local44beerbar.com to secure your seat.
For years my father talked about the case of beer I bought him for Christmas in 1990. This was still mostly yellow beer days and my Dad was a devoted yellow beer drinker. But this was a case of Dock Street Amber Ale, the beer that for many in Philly back then provided our first taste of a locally brewed craft beer.
Twenty five years later Dock Street is back in the bottled beer business, just in time for the holidays. Between them, the new home brew place on Woodland Avenue and Local 44, there are plenty of opportunities to buy local for the beer lover on your list or to transform yourself into a good and proper beer snob.
Dock Street is bottling its Rye IPA, a 50th and Baltimore favorite, and is available by the case (about $40) or the 6-pack ($10) now in a number of shops and restaurants. Continue Reading
A giant dumpster is already in front of the former Best House Pizza. A zoning hearing for 4301 Baltimore Ave is scheduled for Nov. 19. (Photos by West Philly Local)
Tentative plans for a new restaurant and bar at 4301 Baltimore Ave. – formerly Best House Pizza – include a stripped down facade, craft beer on tap, second floor dining and, possibly, pizza by the slice.
The owners of Local 44 introduced their plans to open the establishment, tentatively named “Clarkville,” to the Spruce Hill Community Association planning committee and a roomful of nearby neighbors last night.
Plans call for the removal of the awning and the installation of floor-to-ceiling windows on the restaurant’s first floor, which will also include a bar that serves only tap beer, wine and high-end spirits. In other words, no Jägermeister shots. Continue Reading
Beer lovers have a new place in West Philly to call home. Local 44’s bottle shop opened this afternoon to a throng of beer drinkers and bystanders who crowded the shop adjacent to the bar at 44th and Spruce to get a look at the estimated 500 different beers on sale.
The shop includes a small bar that will always have two casks on offer. But the biggest draw will be the mighty beer selection in a wall of coolers and a special upstairs nook that houses mostly large bottles ranging in price from under $10 to more than $70. Most of the bottles in the cooler are loose and priced individually, so mixing and matching six packs is encouraged. They have plenty of six-pack carriers on hand.
By the way, there is a hallway that leads from the Local 44 bar next door to the bottle shop, but the use of it by anyone except staff is frowned upon. Consider yourself warned.
The hours for the shop are:
Monday-Thursday, Noon-10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, Noon-Midnight
Sunday, Noon-10 p.m.
Check out the short slideshow for other views inside the shop:
Local 44, the friendly neighborhood craft beer pub, confirmed reports today that it will be opening a retail operation next to its location at 44th and Spruce Streets that will sell hundreds of craft beers for carryout.
Local 44 is reportedly in negotiations to lease space connected to the bar. Co-owner Leigh Maida told the City Paper’s Meal Ticket blog that she hopes the bottle shop will have a “record store vibe” that will be “heavy on the education/enthusiasm part of craft beer … no snobbery. [Customers will be able to] chat with the resident beer geek about what’s new, etc.”
An opening date has not yet been announced. Stick around for more details.
Recent Comments