April 05, 2024

Grand Opening: New Brunch Cafe Expands to Philly with Smoked Lattes, Tempura Fried Scrapple and Tons of Heart

April 05, 2024/ Almost Home General/ Kory Aversa

One of New Jersey's most popular brunch hot spots and coffee shops will make its grand debut in Old City Philadelphia starting next week. Robert Doran and partners Glu Hospitality present the grand opening of Almost Home General at 205 Race Street, in the former home of United by Blue, at the base of Bridge on Race apartments. Almost Home brings Old City District, a brand new breakfast, lunch and brunch cafe and coffee shop that offers unique and fun coffee and food paired with amazing customer service, priority on local ingredients and small businesses, and a welcome and ‘almost home’ vibe. The spacious and lofty 3,000 square foot space features seating for 60 guests.

November 15, 2022

Bagels and Co. Celebrates Grand Opening in Fishtown with Free Bagels and Coffee

November 15, 2022/ Bagels and Co. / Kory Aversa

Bagels and Co. is about to take over Philadelphia with a citywide expansion that will see six new bagel and coffee shops expand to six new locations. Glu Hospitality and co-owners Derek Gibbons and Tim Lu announce that the popular Northern Liberties-based bagel, coffee, lunch and deli shop will now open new locations in Fishtown, Brewerytown, Temple Campus, Rittenhouse, Midtown Village and Center City. The first new location is now ready! Bagels and Co. Fishtown will grand open this Friday, November 18th, with a free bagel and cream cheese giveaway between 8:00am to 10:00am and no purchase necessary. On Saturday, November 19th the grand opening continues with free coffee from 9:00am to 11:00am.

August 12, 2022

Philly Sushi Whisperer Chef Kevin Yanaga and Glu Hospitality Debut Omakase by Yanaga in Fishtown

August 12, 2022/ Omakase by Yanaga/ Lexie Fleege

Philly's Sushi Whisperer Kevin Yanaga and Glu Hospitality announce the grand opening of Omakase by Yanaga in Fishtown at 1832 Frankford Avenue. Omakase is a Japanese cuisine style “menu” that is completely left in the hands of the Chef. Chef Yanaga will be preparing his Kaiseki style Omakase, in the intimate and exclusive eight-seat dining area attached to the already existing Izakaya by Yanaga restaurant. Through the discrete double doors to the back of Izakaya, each guest will enter a unique tasting room where they will sit facing Chef around a custom sushi bar, where Chef will perform his culinary craft nightly. Every diner will spend the 90 minute experience with the Chef watching his artistry, sharing stories and learning about the dishes. All 25 courses served will be specially selected by Yanaga. No two experiences are ever the same. Alongside the exclusive dining experience, sake and wine pairings tailored to the experience will be offered, as well as tea service and unique cocktails. Omakase by Yanaga is open Thursday through Saturday, with seatings at 6:00pm and 8:30pm. Reservations are required in advance.

May 24, 2022

Glu Hospitality and Temple Announce New Restaurant for Former Draught Horse

May 24, 2022/ The Peabody/ Lexie Fleege

Glu Hospitality and Temple University are proud to announce a brand new modern grill and sports bar in the former home of The Draught Horse. The Peabody will make its grand debut this fall at 1431 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, on the west side of Broad Street. The 6,000 square foot space will have 40 seats at the bar and another 150 in the dining area. A large private dining space can hold 50 guests and be split into two for private parties. There will also be outdoor seating on Cecil B. Moore. The menu will feature American cuisine presented by Executive Chef Chino Chang with a wide variety of appetizers, sandwiches, salads, entrees and more. The drink menu will include signature and seasonal cocktails designed by Glu's award winning beverage team that is known for cocktails at Leda and the Swan, Vesper Center City and Figo. In addition to cocktails, look for ten draft lines pouring, plus bottles and cans, with craft beer, popular domestic selections, ciders, hard seltzers and more. The food and drink menus are designed to cater to students, faculty, family, alumni and neighbors. When opened, The Peabody will offer lunch, happy hour and dinner seven days a week, with weekend brunch service.

February 10, 2022

Celebrate National Margarita Day with Specials at Eight Philadelphia and Suburb Restaurants

February 10, 2022/ Anejo Philadelphia/ Kory Aversa

Philadelphia and Suburban restaurants and bars will celebrate the region’s love of margs with National Margarita Day on Taco Tuesday, February 22, 2022. From classic to flavored, on the rocks to frozen, from salt rims to sugar, and everything in between, area restaurants will roll out specials and features all day with everything from $5 margaritas, $20 flights, bottomless tacos, food features, take-home kits, and much more. Save the date and come thirsty and hungry for National Margarita Day this year on Taco Tuesday. In the city, look for specials and deals at Añejo Philly, Buena Onda, Rosy’s Taco Bar, Cantina, Cantina Dos Segundos and Tradesmans. In the suburbs, get your margs on at Al Pastor in Exton and Lola’s Garden in Ardmore’s Suburban Square. On the Saturday before, Sueño is part of the Philadelphia Margarita Crawl that will feature all day specials at participating Center City restaurants.

December 03, 2021

Get Frozen In Northern Liberties As Figo Debuts A New Igloo Dining Experience

December 03, 2021/ Figo/ Guest User

Glu Hospitality invites you to get frozen in Northern Liberties with the debut of the city's newest and most lavish Igloo experience, plus the return of Princess Brunches at the Igloos, and a brand-new heated cocktail garden. Starting this week, partners Derek Gibbons and Tim Lu bring a new holiday and winter experience to Northern Liberties Restaurant Row with the debut of enchanting and weather-proof sparkling Igloos at Figo Ristorante (1033 N. 2nd Street). The Igloos at Figo are neary 12 feet wide, seat up to eight people, and feature over a hundred clear sustainable panels, a table-top fire pit, festive decor, and a view of the night stars and the new Northern Liberties Christmas Tree. Along with the Igloos, Glu brings back Enchanted in Northern Liberties: Princess Brunches at the Igloos at Figo in partnership and a pivot with A Dash of Magic Events, running every Saturday and Sunday through New Year's Eve. Families can "Igloo-distance" themselves from other families and the Princess, as she goes Igloo to Igloo, and table to table, and interacts and delights young children. Appearances confirmed so far include Cinderella, Beauty Queen (inspired by Belle), Snow Queen (inspired by Frozen/ Elsa) and more! Figo and Glu also announce a brand-new outdoor winterized Holiday Cocktail Garden with heated, covered indoor-outdoor seating for up to 50 guests, which is great for private parties as well as nightly dining.

November 10, 2021

A Magical Night of Mystery and Deception Debuts at the Speakeasy at Vesper Center City

November 10, 2021/ Vesper Center City/ Guest User

Vesper Center City announces the debut of Deceptions: A Magical Night of Mystery and Deception featuring the many talents of Mervant the Deceptionist. After pivoting during the pandemic, Mervant has become a top celebrity on AirBnb where he booked over 700 virtual performances. Now, he will take his show live and in-person with help from Glu Hospitality and producers Smoke and Mirrors. This new performance experience will take place in Vesper's hidden speakeasy every Thursday and every Saturday night at 6:30pm, with doors opening at 6:00pm, starting November 18th and 20th. Audiences should come ready to be dazzled with a combination of illusion, deception and mentalism. Seating is intimate and limited to only 40 people at a time, so don’t miss your chance to experience this one-of-a-kind show, unique to downtown Philly. Cocktails and small bites are available before, during and after the performance.

October 12, 2021

Figo Ristorante and Figo Pizzeria to Debut in Northern Liberties by Glu Hospitality

October 12, 2021/ Figo Ristorante and Figo Pizzeria/ Guest User

Glu Hospitality and partners Derek Gibbons and Tim Lu announce the grand opening of Figo Ristorante and Figo Pizzeria this Friday, October 15th at 1033 N. 2nd Street. The two side-by-side restaurants will debut in the heart of the Northern Liberties Restaurant Row, in the former home of Darling's Diner and Wahlburgers, next to the Piazza. When opened, Figo will be the largest restaurant in the Northern Liberties Business Improvement District, offering nearly 10,000 square feet of space and 250+ seats. Figo Ristorante will be a full service restaurant, kitchen, bar and outdoor patio offering Italian cuisine by Chef Hee "Chino" Chang, with craft cocktails, espresso martini flights, Italian soda flights, two dozen taps, and over two dozen wines by the glass, bottle and flight. Opening services will include dinner, indoor dining, outdoor dining, delivery and take-out, with late night, happy hour and brunch service to be launched later in the fall. Next door, at the North end of the property, Figo Pizzeria will offer pizza pies and stuffed hoagies with lunch, mid-day and dinner service, with cafe seating outside and take-out/pick-up and delivery.

September 09, 2021

Touchdown! Top Philadelphia Restaurants with Game Day Grub for Football and Eagles Season

September 09, 2021/ Vesper Center City/ Guest User

Football season is back! Get ready to bleed green with 12 Philadelphia restaurants and bars with the best game day grub, watch parties, football specials and season features. America's ONLY 155 foot long TV is back for sports viewing action again in Bucks County at the Parx Sportsbook - with the state of the art, one of a kind giant TV unlike any other. Vesper Center City returns as the place to be with three floors, no cover and 36 giant televisions - with the sound on - plus DJ and major vibes. Germantown Garden Grill - the region's ONLY open-air steakhouse that took over Vesper Pool returns with 120 outdoor seats, 20 TVs, mini sports viewing rooms outside and more. This Sunday, Evil Genius will also host a street-long block party and tailgate event all day on Front Street in Fishtown. Plus, look for info below from Tradesmans, BRU Craft & Wurst, Sonny's Cocktail Joint, SET No Libs, and many more. I have included media quality images for all places below too!

August 30, 2021

Philly's Sushi Whisperer Kevin Yanaga Debuts Izakaya by Yanaga in Fishtown

August 30, 2021/ Izakaya by Yanaga/ Guest User

Glu Hospitality and Philly's Sushi Whisperer Kevin Yanaga announce the opening of Izakaya by Yanaga in Fishtown at 1832 Frankford Avenue. Yanaga brings over 10 years of experience in the the top sushi restaurants in the region, including at Izakaya at Borgata, Double Knot, Pod, Morimoto and Zama. After working with Stephen Starr, Michael Schulson and some of the biggest names in the business, Yanaga will now open his very first restaurant as Executive Chef and Partner. For his first outing, Yanaga will debut two concepts under one roof. Izakaya by Yanaga will open first just in time for fall dining season, followed by chef's tasting room Omakase by Yanaga in late fall. Izakaya will open for a Labor Day Weekend preview on Thursday, September 2 to Saturday, September 4, 2021, from 5:00pm to 10:00pm nightly.