Openings

The Boilermaker Replaces Blue Bear Tavern

The Boilermaker
The Boilermaker Photo: Collin Keefe

The Boilermaker is the name, and as you can probably guess from the moniker, shots and beers are the game for this new pub that Farmers’ Cabinet’s owners quietly opened in the former home of Blue Bear Tavern Saturday. They turned it around in just nine days, transforming the space from Blue Bear’s rehab to a more rustic affair with exposed bricks, picnic table seating and a medieval-meets-gothic vibe dramatically lit mostly by candlelight. The bar and restaurant features 28 taps downstairs dedicated to mostly American craft brews and “visiting” imports. Upstairs, a second bar pours 12 Pennsylvania beers exclusively, and offers a selection of traditional American cocktails, inspired by Cobblers and Sazeracs.

The food is being handled by Farmers’ Cabinet executive chef Steve Forte, who’s drawn up a menu of comfort-y dishes, like house-smoked and hand-carved meats, hamburgers, hot dogs and rotisserie chicken.

The specialty though is the house’s namesake: a shot and a beer. But rather than simply drop a jigger of rot-gut hooch into a mug of macro-brewed swill, the Boilermaker’s peeps have carefully come up with a selection of spirits to pair with some of the house’s 40 brews.

Now up and running, The Boilermaker’s regular hours will be 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, with food served every night until 1:30 a.m.

Boiler Maker, 216 South 11th St., (215) 922-3427

Earlier: Say So Long to Blue Bear Tavern
Related: Farmers’ Cabinet Project at Sixth and Spring Garden Is Dead

The Boilermaker Replaces Blue Bear Tavern