Liberty Point eyes spring opening at Penn’s Landing as Philly’s ‘largest restaurant’

A 28,000-square-foot restaurant is coming to Penn’s Landing this spring.

Situated next to the Independence Seaport Museum, wrapping around the waterfront, will be a multi-level restaurant and entertainment venue called Liberty Point that can host up to 1,400 people.

FCM Hospitality on Wednesday announced plans for the space along with owner Avram Hornik.

Liberty Point joins Hornik’s growing portfolio of Philadelphia venues. The waterfront alone is already home to five of Hornik’s establishments, including Craft Hall, Unleashed Bark and Beer, Morgan’s Pier, River Beer Garden pop-up, The Garden at Cherry Street Pier.

“There’s always something happening at Penn’s Landing,” Hornik said in a statement, calling it the top summer destination in the city.

The restaurateur, whom a Philadelphia Parks & Recreation official once dubbed the “godfather of beer gardens,” is known for kickstarting the city’s beer garden craze when he partnered with Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to launch the Parks on Tap pop-up in 2013.

Hornik presently owns Philadelphia’s largest restaurant: Craft Hall on Columbus Boulevard. He stands to break his own record with Liberty Point, billed as “the single largest restaurant in Philly modern history.”

The complex will feature a permanent stage for live music, DJs, and other entertainment, plus five bars that span from inside to outside via boat, stage, and “sky” (read: elevated rooftop bar).

A large swath of the waterfront space — 25,000 square feet of it — will be outdoors, including a dog-friendly first-level.

The venture is five years in the making, FCM Hospitality said. The restaurant’s opening, originally slated for last spring, was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now under construction, Liberty Point is set to open in April.

The hospitality group says Liberty Point will create 150 jobs to start.