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The Goat comes to Rittenhouse from the Fergie’s crew

The former Oh! Shea's is being positioned as a middle-of-the-road option that's not a dive or too bougie.

Reuben burger on sesame brioche at the Goat.
Reuben burger on sesame brioche at the Goat.Read moreMICHAEL KLEIN / Staff

Fergus Carey and Jim McNamara, business partners at Fergie’s, say they’re aiming at an underserved middle-of-the-road audience in Rittenhouse with the Goat, opening Jan. 23 at 1907 Sansom St. in the former Oh! Shea’s.

That is, neither dive-y nor bougie — much as it is at Fergie’s crosstown or the new Fairview, which Carey just opened in Spring Garden with longtime employees Dave Dollinger and Shane Dodd.

By the numbers, the fresh-looking Goat has 2 bars, 118 seats, 2 fireplaces, and a few quirky design details, including a nonfunctional push-button pay phone labeled “ye olde antique” (with a dinosaur painted beneath it, no less) and an R-rated light fixture resembling a skateboard, carved into a female form, whose on-off switches resemble nipples.

The Goat is named after the statue in Rittenhouse Square a block away, with a nod to the “greatest of all time” acronym.

Chef Adrian Geronimo, whose brother Geraldo is chef at Fergie’s, executes a varied menu with vegetarian- and vegan-friendly elements such as a Reuben burger, angry mussels, and seitan bulgogi bowl.

Bars offer eight drafts (craft beer and a cider), plus ciders and beers by the bottle and can, and a dozen wines by the glass. It’s not opening with a list of specialty cocktails, per se, aside from one called the Pink Goat, which has gin, elderflower liqueur, grapefruit juice, a dash of cranberry, and Prosecco ($12).

After Jan. 23′s opening at 7 p.m., the hours will be 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, with the kitchen opening till midnight. Lunch and weekend brunch will start in coming weeks.