USA, PA: Source Brewing to open its third location in Manayunk

A massive 19th-century bank on Manayunk's Main Street is in the midst of being transformed into a brewery, restaurant and event space, PhillyVoice reported on June 10.

Source Brewing is planning to open its third location in the fall of 2025 at 4334 Main St., in a 10,000 square-foot building that spans four stories. The new brewery joins Source Brewing locations in Colts Neck, New Jersey, and Fishtown, each run by "Shark Tank" alum Philip Petracca, his wife Keri Petracca and business partner Greg Taylor.

"We were looking for a larger space in Pennsylvania," Philip Petracca said last week. "Manayunk was placed on our radar. We actually fell in love with the location. The folks that run the groups within Manayunk do a really great job of supporting small business and doing events throughout the year. (There are) a lot of people and beautiful residential apartments on the water, and just so much history there."

The upcoming location is positioned with its back to the Manayunk Canal and trails. The building is next to Pizza Jawn and diagonal from Fat Lady Brewing. In addition to being a bank back in the 1800s, the huge space also once held an exotic car dealership — "So there were some Ferraris and Lamborghinis in there at a point in time," Petracca said — and sat vacant for long stretches of time. As Petracca puts it, the property owner was "very particular" about what type of business would fill the space.

"He wanted something that was going to complement the other bars and restaurants and the other things that are going on in Manayunk," Petracca said of the property owner "So we've been working with him for the last year and a half to make this work. We're super excited now to have a deal done and already have shovels in the ground to make it happen."

Once completed, each of the four floors will offer a unique vibe for customers. The ground floor, which opens out to the trails and canal, will feature a gourmet kitchen surrounded by glass windows, so customers can watch the chefs at work. It can also be rented out for private events.

The first floor, which will be at Main Street level, will hold the brewing operations as well as what Petracca calls a "high-end hotel lounge cafe." It will open early in the mornings to serve coffee and function as a workspace. Later in the afternoon, the menu will hold tapas and small plates, and alcohol will be served. While the menu is not ironed out, Petracca believes a certain local breakfast favorite will make the cut.

"We are from Jersey; we did bring the pork roll egg and cheese sandwich to our brunch menu in Fishtown, so we're gonna offer that in Manayunk as well," he said.

The second floor will offer an "elevated dining experience," and will have private rooms where events can be held simultaneously without having to shut down the brewery. This is a feature Petracca says he is excited to bring over from his Colts Neck location, as the Fishtown space is small for private events.

Up on the rooftop terrace, which faces the canal, there will be a bar, skylights, live plants, brick oven pizza and games. There will also be glass windows that can slide up or down to allow in fresh air or shield from the elements.

"(The rooftop) is really a great experience for young families to go and be able to spend some time and the kids have fun as well up there," Petracca said. "Something for everybody is kind of what we're focusing in on."

While Petracca and his team prefer the "older architecture" that the former bank boasts, he also admits it's a lot of work rebuilding the space into what they envision — hence the projected fall 2025 opening date. They are redoing everything from water to electrical, installing multiple bathrooms on each floor and putting in an elevator system that will run from the ground floor to the rooftop, ensuring the entire brewery is handicap-accessible. There are also some quirky challenges that come from renovating an old bank.

"We are in the process of demo," Petracca said. "And we have to demo the safe on the ground floor, which is literally 6-foot deep concrete walls. It's a lot of fun."

Converting a historic space into a brewery is not an uncommon task for the Source Brewing team. In fact, the other two locations also opened within centuries-old buildings. The original Source Farmhouse Brewery location in Colts Neck, which opened in 2019, is located in a two-story dairy barn that was built in the 1800s. Fishtown's Source Urban Brewery, which opened in 2021 amid the "pretty scary" early days of the pandemic and presented the company's first foray into serving food on-site, is located in a building that acted as a women's hosiery factory in the 19th century, according to Petracca. The Manayunk location will also be called Source Urban Brewery.

"It's kind of funny, all three of our locations now are in historic buildings," Petracca said. "It's become part of our brand DNA to find these gems that have been forgotten, and then trying to restore them."

Petracca, who grew up in North Jersey, describes his path to opening a group of breweries as "non-conventional." He spent 20 years in the corporate world before inventing a beer-dispensing technology in 2015. He crowdfunded the venture, raising $1.5 million. Then, in 2016, he appeared on "Shark Tank" to pitch Fizzics, the beer-pouring device that he claimed enhanced a beer's flavor by preserving the aromatic compounds in its foam. He landed a $2 million investment from Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban. The product was sold on QVC and in Bed Bath & Beyond. He left the company in 2017, bringing Philly-native brewer Taylor with him to launch Source Brewing.

As for what's on tap in Manayunk, Petracca said future customers can expect the offerings to far surpass the 32 different beers that the Fishtown location has on tap. There will be German lagers, IPAs, farmhouse-style saison and even cocktail-inspired beers. The brewery previously put out a spicy margarita flavored beer which Petracca said customers "went nuts for." Liquor and wine will also be served. Petracca said the team is working with local farmers to ensure that the food and drinks on the seasonally changing menus will be "farm-to-table" and "farm-to-glass," respectively.

"The one thing we want to make sure is that anyone coming through the door, they'll find something that they like," Petracca said.

Most importantly, Petracca hopes that the newest Source Brewing location will preserve the historic aura of its new home, and provide customers with unforgettable experiences as they eat, drink and hang out.

"We're super excited," Petracca said. "We love saving these historic landmarks and then really opening them up to the communities where they can come in and share some of that history and drink authentic beers in a truly authentic environment, which is something that we strive to do. We'll have great beer; we'll have great food. But it's the overall experience that the customers feel when they walk through the door, is where we try to emphasize our focus."

11 June, 2024