A total renovation at Field House; Hard Rock expanding
More beer. More local. Bigger TVs.
Field House, the sports-theme tavern along Filbert Street across from Reading Terminal Market, is closed pending a top-to-bottom, guts-and-all renovation.
When the dust settles, the Field House - owned for six years by Brian Harrington and Gary Cardi - will retain its sports-bar motif, but will assume more of a "local" feel as it tries to grab tourists seeking a Philly experience while visiting the Convention Center.
A stepped-up beer program from Andy Farrell of the sibling City Tap House in University City will result in 40 beers on tap - of which "85 to 90 percent will be within a hundred miles," he told me.
Food will be ramped up, with local favorites added to the menu. Reopening is expected by Labor Day.
Next door at 12th and Market Streets, meanwhile, the Hard Rock Cafe is expanding. On Sept. 12, the existing space will close and customers will be served in the new section. Plan is to overhaul the "old" portion and reopen the entire shebang by Thanksgiving.