As of the last week of October, two things have actually changed on Fishtown's restaurant map this fall. A bagel counter opened at 1500 Frankford Avenue, and it closes by mid-afternoon. A 12-year-old Mexican bar on Girard Avenue that stayed open late for concert crowds has closed. Everything else that was promised for Fishtown this fall is still a forecast. Almost all of those forecasts are dinner, cocktail or after-dark places.
So far, the fall has given the neighborhood more mornings and fewer nights. The places that would bring the evenings back don't have opening dates yet.
The one confirmed opening keeps bakery hours
Call Your Mother, the Washington, D.C.-based bagel and deli chain, soft-opened at 1500 Frankford Ave. on a Tuesday morning in early September. The Philadelphia Inquirer covered it on Sept. 9. The posted hours run from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.
The Inquirer described the menu as nine bagel flavors and 19 all-day sandwiches. Highlights include the Jetski, built on brisket and pastrami, the Thunderbird breakfast sandwich, and a fall meatball-and-marinara special. The same story said reactions in the neighborhood were mixed. Some neighbors asked whether Fishtown needed another bagel shop.
Fishtown was the chain's first Philadelphia location. The company's locations page now also lists a Rittenhouse shop at 262 S. 19th St. A third location at the Jessup House at 12th and Sansom is expected in early 2027, according to the Inquirer.
That makes the fall's only confirmed new Frankford Avenue kitchen a place that has stopped serving before most people leave work.
The confirmed closing kept concert hours
On Oct. 15, the Inquirer reported that Sancho Pistola's at 19 W. Girard Ave. had closed after service the previous Sunday. It had been there 12 years. It opened in January 2014 at Girard Avenue and Leopard Street, in the former Bubba's Texas BBQ space. The Inquirer said its fish tacos, ceviche and other seafood drew a late-night crowd, partly from nearby concerts.
The partners said the restaurant was still drawing customers. With the lease nearing its end, they chose not to commit to another five years while still paying down debt from the pandemic years. They also spoke well of their landlord. They still run Pistola's Del Sur on East Passyunk Avenue. No new tenant has been announced for the Girard Avenue space.
The September opening serves breakfast. The October closing took away a place people went after a show. The rest of this fall's Fishtown pipeline is aimed at the evening hours that closing left open.
The rest of the list leans toward evening, and none of it has a date
The Inquirer's fall forecast, published Sept. 9, listed several Fishtown and Frankford Avenue projects with fall targets. None of them has announced a firm opening date. Here is where each stands as of this week.
| Project | Address | What it is | Latest stated target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adda | 1700 Frankford Ave. | Regional Indian cooking from New York's Unapologetic Foods | October, originally fall 2025 |
| Kato | 1832 Frankford Ave. | Jay Ho's restaurant inspired by his Taiwanese father's cooking | Late fall |
| Top Dog Cocktails | 2012 Frankford Ave. | Vinyl listening cocktail bar | This fall |
| Philly Curio | 2240 Frankford Ave. | Restaurant-bar built around a collection of curiosities | October soft open or November, depending on the outlet |
| Edd's & Flo's Artisan Bakery Café | Fishtown, address not announced | Lancaster bakery-café relocating | Spring 2027 |
Adda has the longest wait behind it. It's coming from Unapologetic Foods, the New York group behind Dhamaka, Semma and the original Adda. It will sit across from the 19125 post office and serve regional dishes in an informal room. The Inquirer's fall 2025 roundup listed 53 restaurants, and all but three opened. Adda is one of the three, a full year behind.
Kato is moving into the former Izakaya Fishtown space. Ho, the chef-owner of Mei Mei, plans to keep the front bar. The rear sushi counter will give way to more seating that can double as a private dining area. The menu also draws on Korean, Thai and Vietnamese cooking.
Top Dog Cocktails is inspired by Japanese jazz kissas. The Inquirer described the 350-square-foot space as "arguably the neighborhood's smallest bar." It will have a 15-seat bar, a two-turntable DJ station and retail, with a 750-square-foot sibling planned for Kennett Square.
Philly Curio comes from Troy Timpel, founder of the Tattoo Arts Convention. The plan centers on his private collection: tribal masks, skeletal displays, taxidermy, and glass-topped tables holding preserved animals. The kitchen is planning Cajun-Creole small plates, with rattlesnake mentioned. The Inquirer put the address in Kensington and gave November as the target. Two days later, Hoodline reported an October soft opening.
Edd's & Flo's is the one daytime project on the list, and it's the furthest out. WhatNow reported that owners Meghan Young and Sebastian Schuck are moving their Lancaster bakery to Fishtown. They had a letter of intent on a space while they finalized a lease, and they hope to reopen by spring 2027. The Lancaster Ledger reported that the shop at 47 N. Queen St. would close Sept. 20.
Taken together, four dinner-or-drinks rooms on Frankford are still waiting to open, and the Girard Avenue spot that used to serve the late crowd is empty.
What the evenings have between now and the Freeze
Until one of those kitchens sets a date, these are the fixed points on Fishtown's calendar.
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m. The Fishtown Beer Runners hold their Frankford Hall -o- ween Run. It starts at Palmer Park at Frankford and Palmer and finishes at Frankford Hall, 1210 Frankford Ave., with a costume parade and contest.
- Saturday, Oct. 31. Third Eye Blind plays a Halloween show at The Fillmore Philadelphia. That's the kind of concert night Sancho Pistola's used to catch on the way out.
- Sunday, Nov. 1. This is the last day for the Museum of the Philadelphian, a free 300-square-foot pop-up micromuseum at 454 E. Girard Ave. that opened Sept. 25, according to Technical.ly.
- Saturday, Dec. 12. The Fishtown Freeze and Holiday Shopping Spree returns for its eighth year. Expect dozens of ice sculptures by Ice Sculpture Philly along Frankford Avenue, live carving demonstrations, photos with Santa at Frankford Hall, and a Pop-Up Makers Market at Mural City Garden. A free Holiday Trolley runs from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday's activities run from noon to 8 p.m., and admission is free. That night, Strand of Oaks plays a sold-out show at Johnny Brenda's, with doors at 8 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 13, noon to 6 p.m. The Shopping Spree finishes its second day. At more than 20 participating retailers, your first purchase earns 5% off the next one, then 10%, then 15%. Once you reach 15%, that discount applies at any participating store for the rest of the day.
The Freeze is about seven weeks away. The Inquirer gave Kato, Philly Curio and Top Dog targets ranging from this fall to late fall. If even one of them opens by Dec. 12, Freeze night will be the first real test of whether Frankford's new evening options can fill the late hours Girard Avenue just lost.
If you live in Fishtown and want to know how these openings and closings are showing up on the blocks around your home, Barbara Sontag Feldman is glad to talk it through, whenever you're ready. Let's Connect.
