Craft beer take-out establishment considers Roxborough location

A high-end beer take-out establishment with two downtown locations is looking to move to Roxborough, NewsWorks has confirmed.

At next week’s meeting of the Central Roxborough Civic Association, The Foodery will present plans to move into the building that is now home to the Roxborough Development Corporation, at 6148 Ridge Ave.

“We are looking to bring quality craft beer to more locations in the city,” said Glen O’Neill with The Foodery in an email on Friday. “We are excited to explore opportunities in Roxborough, but can’t confirm any specifics at this time.”

Currently The Foodery has two stores, at 324 S. 10th St. in Washington Square West, and at 837 N. 2nd St. in Northern Liberties, where hundreds of varieties of small-batch and imported beer are sold, along with sandwiches and light fare.

An earlier plan, discussed in 2009, would have brought The Foodery to Manayunk but was dropped after neighborhood objections to any additional beer retailers surfaced in that already-tap friendly area.

However, as the craft beer craze has continued to grow, that attitude seems to have shifted: In April, the Manayunk Neighborhood Council gave its approval to a plan by the owners of South Philadelphia’s Hawthornes Beer Boutique for a similar take-out on Main Street.

Bernard Guet, executive director of the Roxborough Development Corp., said yesterday the Foodery would compliment other changes taking place on Ridge Avenue as the neighborhood becomes more attractive to the many professionals and young families who are moving in.

“They don’t sell Budweiser,” Guet said. “This kind of business is growing rapidly, and it’s really an outstanding product.” It’s a business that could bring after-work and evening commercial traffic to Ridge Avenue, while not being open until 2 a.m. like a bar, he said.

The building, once home to the Roxborough Farmer’s Market, is already zoned for commercial use but the Foodery owners would need a retail liquor license and may need a zoning variance for the food operation, Guet said.

As for where the RDC will move, Guet said they would likely redevelop another building in the area and perhaps — as it did with the Crossroads Coffeehouse location at 6156 Ridge Ave. — then lease it for use by another small business. The RDC still owns that building, the longtime home to Forster’s Shoes.

The Central Roxborough Civic Association will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at the Leverington Presbyterian Church, 6301 Ridge Ave.

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Contact Amy Z. Quinn at azquinn@planphilly.com