We were heading to Center City from South Philly today and passed by the fire-damaged remains of Hawthorne's Cafe at 11th & Fitzwater. For the last several years, this place has been a favorite of ours, as it was a wonderful place to grab a unique six-pack, sit down with a tasty adult beverage, or grab brunch. And oh how wonderful was the fireplace on a chilly winter night! And the growlers, let's not forget the growlers!
As you are probably aware, the building that housed Hawthorne's experienced an electrical fire on February 21st. Looking at the property from the street, you can see the severe damage that the third floor took.
Though the fire took place on the third floor, the entire building has been rendered unusable for the time being. Between water and smoke damage, we would have to imagine that the popular bar/restaurant will have a ton of repairs to perform. We just hope the building itself can be saved.
Today, Foobooz published a newsletter update from the Hawthorne's guys confirming what we suspected- Hawthorne's will be closed for awhile. They'll be holding some fundraisers in the coming months at the Cambridge, their sister establishment, to help bring Hawthorne's back soon. In the meantime, we'll be keeping an eye on the reconstruction efforts on 11th Street, which will hopefully get underway asap.