After months of preparation and a top-to-bottom overhaul, Rooster’s of 294 N Keswick Avenue in Glenside is nearing completion.
Co-owner Matt Moyer is hoping for a soft opening by Thursday, November 14, assuming the final stretch goes to plan.
“If the kitchen and the service is ready, we might do a soft opening late next week. We have some more testing and training, but we’re getting there,” Moyer, a Glenside native, Keswick Village resident, and a 2000 graduate of Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote, said.
Signage, dark doors and maroon awnings now line the building’s exterior. The bar, tables, and countertops are ready to go, and a backroom dining area’s wall is covered with vintage photos courtesy of Friends of Bishop McDevitt, La Salle College High School, and Glenside Weldon Fire Department.
“It’s a lot of historic images of Glenside past. The roots are tied in,” Moyer said.
A 210-inch “Rooster-vision” video wall is flickering above the bar, which features 14 taps and an LED face.
While the food and drink menus are still being fine-tuned, the restaurant slash pub plans to offer draft and canned beers, cocktails, and wine, along with plenty of appetizers, sandwiches, sides, entrees, desserts, and a kids’ menu.
Newly appointed general manager JC Sager of Flourtown says each food item will be made in-house.
“We’re going to do a few dishes at a time, but we’re thrilled with the menu. Our team spent a lot of time in the market trying to get a feel for how to fine-tune the options,” Sager said. “We have nothing frozen.”
Worth highlighting are Rooster’s pastrami and Swiss eggroll, beer-battered cheese curds, tuna tacos, spicy fried chicken sandwich, shaved ribeye cheesesteak, blackened salmon BLT, and fresh seafood (including oysters, mussels, clams, and Baltimore-style crab legs).
“We think our best entrees are going to be the shrimp and grits, our blackened tuna steak, and our buttermilk fried chicken,” Moyer said. “We also have a whole wing menu with six house-made sauces in portions of 5, 10, 20 or more. We’ve been testing our wings for awhile. We’re looking to have some of the best wings around.”
Moyer took a few items for a test-drive via private events over the weekend, and said the feedback was entirely positive.
“The buzz is really at a high level,” he said. “The community is very excited and behind us. We want an affordable pub with the best service you can find. We very much want to be a great place for brunch. We’ve expanded our hours and if the market is there, all night. We want great service, great food, and a great beverage program. It’s going to be a level of service that isn’t typical of your neighborhood pub. That’s going to be our calling card and our foundation.”
Rooster’s is fully staffed. Moyer and company have received roughly 300 applicants for jobs “which says a lot. That’s been humbling and we take that very seriously. The vast majority are hyperlocal.”
Weekday hours will be Monday through Friday from 11:00am “until the volume dies down.” Weekend brunch will kick off on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:00am.
“In the time I’ve been here, people seem to be crazy excited about the fact that it’s a local bar owned by a local resident. We’re going to be catering to the local community. It’ll be a home away from home for the residents and surrounding areas,” Sager said.
We will be in touch once an official date is announced. For more on Rooster’s, you can visit their website.
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