A cocktail lounge inspired by Japan’s vinyl listening bars is set to come to Swarthmore
The Stylus Room hopes to offer crafted cocktails, natural wines, small bites, and an “intentionally calm” atmosphere at 110 Park Ave.
A new cocktail lounge and vinyl listening space is on tap for downtown Swarthmore.
Swarthmore’s borough council earlier this month approved a liquor license transfer for The Stylus Room, a small cocktail lounge set to move into 110 Park Ave. The 1,400-square-foot lounge aims to combine a high-fidelity vinyl system with crafted cocktails, natural wines, small bites, and an “intentionally calm” atmosphere built around music and conversation, owner Greg Hoy told the council on March 9.
Hoy described The Stylus Room as a “communal living room” for the people of Swarthmore.
The Stylus Room’s liquor license was transferred from the shuttered Slowdown Grillpub in Aston.
Liquor licenses in Pennsylvania can be transferred between municipalities within the same county. If, like Swarthmore, a municipality already has more than one liquor license per 3,000 residents, the local governing body where the license seeks to move has to vote to approve the transfer, following a public hearing. Swarthmore Borough Council’s approval paves the way for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to officially green light The Stylus Room’s license transfer.
The lounge, inspired by the intimate record bars spread across Japan, is set to seat around 30 people. According to Hoy, there will be no dance floor, no TVs showing sports, no amplified live music, and no standing, and the bar will close by 11 p.m. every night.
The Stylus Room is designed to be a watering hole for the people of Swarthmore who have “very few places to gather in the evening that feel intentional,” Hoy said.
“We’re not drawing a regional crowd. We’re here to serve the neighborhood,” he said.
In addition to its evening cocktail service, The Stylus Room plans to offer a family-friendly brunch service on the weekends to coincide with events like the Swarthmore Farmers Market (there may be some ambient, outdoor music during brunch, Hoy said).
Hoy is the director of operations for We The Collective, a creative agency focused on gaming and entertainment brands. He’s also a former trustee of the Swarthmore Centennial Foundation and the former co-publisher of The Swarthmorean, Swarthmore’s community newspaper. Hoy is behind Shutdown BBQ, a roving barbecue joint that pops up in and around Swarthmore.
The Stylus Room plans to open on the ground level of 110 Park, a five-story luxury condominium complex in downtown Swarthmore. Hoy is currently under contract to buy the development’s sole retail space for The Stylus Room, pending final requirements and borough permitting, he said in an email.
110 Park, which is currently under construction, has drawn ire from some residents concerned about the development’s impact on traffic safety and Swarthmore’s small-town ambiance.
Some attendees at the March 9 council meeting harkened back to borough’s long history as a “dry town,” questioning if Swarthmore’s commercial corridor needs another place to buy alcohol.
“We already have four businesses with liquor licenses packed into essentially two blocks in our small town center area,” said resident Susan Wright, speaking in opposition to the project.
Others described The Stylus Room as a much-needed infusion of energy into Swarthmore’s downtown, helping invigorate the borough’s commercial core.
“I think we’re very close to getting a critical mass in the town center that we’ve all really wanted for a long time,” said Kevin Scott. “I’ve been out at night several times, and it just has a nice vibe to it, and I think this project will just further that.”
“We talk a lot about vibrancy in our town center. This is it,” said council member Janna Garland. “This is the definition of it.”
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