Coyle’s keeps the business in the family

Walk into Coyle’s Cafe in Roxborough on just about any night and one is almost certain to find one of the nine Coyle siblings there, either working or enjoying a drink after their shift.

For 12 years, the Coyle family has owned and operated the restaurant and bar on Ridge Avenue, which boasts of being a friendly, affordable neighborhood bar and restaurant. 

But it’s just as bustling as any eating and drinking establishment a few blocks down on Main Street in Manayunk on their bingo Wednesdays, Quizzo Thursdays and Karaoke Fridays.

The one difference with Coyle’s is that, often, the liveliest people in the rooms are members of the Coyle family, laughing with patrons as they drink beer, eat pizza and play Quizzo.

Colleen Coyle says their Quizzo nights on Thursday and Karaoke Fridays have been drawing in local customers and younger college kids.

The patrons have also helped Colleen and her siblings give back to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Roxborough and Manayunk, which her sister, Teresa Coyle, is an active member.

It’s a cause the Coyle family has supported for nine years. Coyle’s Cafe recently held a casino night on May 14 where patrons paid $25 for food and beer and $100 worth of chips. In the end, Coyle’s had raised $1,800 to donate to the local Relay for Life effort.

And after karaoke night on Saturday, May 21, Colleen went to Roxborough High school to camp out for the Relay for Life fundraiser with her friends and family, only to return to Coyle’s Cafe in time to work their Sunday brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

When pressed about if she’s seen any trends and changes happening in Roxborough, where Colleen Coyle has lived her whole life, she says things are still pretty much the same.

Except, Coyle says, a growing number of college students from St. Joseph’s and Philadelphia University are moving into the neighborhood. And for that reason, there are more taxis – which makes it easier for people bar hopping in Manayunk to trek up to Ridge Avenue.

“I grew up in Manayunk, so I’m used to walking up the hills,” Coyle says.