Point Breeze Pop-Up Beer Garden “Concerns” Prompt Community Meeting Tonight

An anonymous flyer says the Point Breeze pop-up will attract people "who will be walking all around our neighborhoods drunk, like they own the neighborhood."

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The City Council race between Kenyatta Johnson and Ori Feibush may be over, but tensions in Philadelphia’s Point Breeze neighborhood aren’t going away anytime soon.

Last month, a pop-up beer garden opened in Point Breeze. Now, Democratic state Rep. Jordan Harris is set to host a community meeting tonight at 6 p.m. to discuss “community concerns about the pop-up.”

You’ll recall that state legislators expressed “grave concern” about beer gardens last year, but nothing really came of that after residents hounded them with phone calls in support of the operations. Of course, plenty of people aren’t fans of pop-up beer gardens.

Case in point: The Point Breeze Pop Up’s Facebook page posted a flyer about Harris’s meeting, writing alongside it, “So THIS is happening tonight. Please, if you can, please come to this meeting and help support a positive community event.” The flyer, which is not signed by any individual or group, urges residents to “stop the outdoor beer garden by NEW Bolder’s founder, developer, and Ori Feibush’s partner, John Longacre.”

It goes on, “Remember this is the MAN who wants to change the name of Point Breeze to NEW BOLD. Don’t be fool. This is a Trick to take over our community. … This will bring in New Comers who will be drinking from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. They will be walking all around our neighborhoods drunk, like they own the neighborhood.”

Longacre, who opened South Philadelphia Tap Room and the American Sardine Bar, is behind the pop-up. However, according the Point Breeze Pop Up’s Facebook, that’s about all that’s true about the flyer.

It writes in response:

Let us be %10000000 clear on a few things: We are absolutely NOT working with Ori Feibush. We are Team Kenyatta Johnson all the way. John Longacre DOES NOT want to, nor is he trying to change the name of Point Breeze to New Bold (or Newbold or anything else). The Point Breeze Pop Up NEVER opens up before noon – and that’s on Saturday and Sunday. On Thursday and Friday it opens up at 4pm. NOBODY is walking around Point Breeze drunk – at least not as a result from visiting the PBPU.

So, this meeting should be interesting.