Montco gets a stylish 300-seat restaurant from the team behind the Blue Bell Inn
Scott Dougherty and Bruce Goodman, who own Copper Crow in Horsham and the Blue Bell Inn in Blue Bell, are behind the transformation of Taphouse 23 in Bridgeport into Cecilia.
Tiny Bridgeport, tucked off Route 202 between King of Prussia and Norristown, has long had its food landmarks. Since 1955, it’s been the home of Suzy-Jo Donuts and Franzone’s Pizzeria.
Now comes the polished Cecilia, which opened Monday in the former Taphouse 23, following an extensive renovation by Scott Dougherty and Bruce Goodman, whose holdings include Copper Crow in Horsham and the Blue Bell Inn in Blue Bell (featured on The Inquirer’s 2024 edition of The 76).
Chef Peter Sherba, the Blue Bell Inn veteran who oversees the group’s kitchens, created Cecilia’s contemporary American menu. Early favorites during weekend previews included a wagyu French dip sandwich; a tuna tataki appetizer, whose seared rare ahi slices are topped with avocado, ponzu, Fresno chilies, and compressed pineapple; pierogies from Ambler’s Pierogie Kitchen napped in braised short rib, Cooper Sharp sauce, caramelized onions, and roasted long hots; and two hearty, autumnal entrees: a beef bourguignon-style short rib called “Meat and Potato” (the potato here is gnocchi), as well as a 12-ounce apple cider-glazed pork chop over Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. There’s brick-oven pizza, too. Prices range from the high teens for appetizers to just over $30 for mains.
The roughly 300-seat restaurant represents a substantial makeover of Taphouse 23, which closed last year. Judi Goodman, who designs the restaurant group’s interiors, shrank the main bar by about 40%, making room for banquettes and lower dining tables. The partners also installed new lighting, wall coverings, furniture, artwork, TVs, and sound equipment.
An adjoining space has been transformed into what the owners call the Greenhouse, with garage doors that can open in warmer weather. The parking lots and landscaping also were redone.
Taphouse 23 opened in 2014 under Bridgeport businessman Gary Johnson — Judi Goodman’s brother — replacing a joint called the Point. After Johnson died in 2021, his family decided to ease out of the restaurant business, Dougherty said. Cecilia is named in tribute to the Johnson children’s mother.
Dougherty said Cecilia will aim to reach beyond Bridgeport to build its customer base, drawing from Blue Bell, King of Prussia, and Conshohocken — all 10 to 20 minutes away.
Cecilia, 266 E. Fourth St., Bridgeport. Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
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