Forest & Main Brewing Co. will debut its new Fishtown taproom on Friday, marking the small craft brewer's first venture outside Ambler.
The restaurant at 1416 Frankford Ave. is taking over the former space of Cheu Noodle Bar in a building that once served as a police horse stable. Owners Daniel Endicott and Gerard Olson, who founded Forest & Main in 2012, have teamed up with James Beard-nominated chef Dane DeMarco, of Haddonfield's BYOB Gass & Main, for the food menu.
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Forest & Main is known for its farmhouse-style saisons and English ales that were originally brewed out of a Victorian house on Main Street in Ambler. In 2021, Endicott and Olson moved brewing operations to another Main Street storefront — allowing for more barrel-aged beers — and reopened the taproom in a space nearby on Butler Street.
The opening beer list at the Fishtown taproom will feature a house lager, pilsner and Festbier on a side pull Lukr faucet that serves up foam-heavy beers. The bar also has three hand pulls that will be used to serve English-style ales and seven other drafts, including the brewery's Cult Vibes mixed culture Saison and Lady Saison farmhouse ale.
The menu from DeMarco, a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist for best chef in the Mid-Atlantic region, will have a mix of burgers, hot dogs, pizza breads and jumbo soft pretzels. They'll also have a cheesesteak served with sliced ribeye, beer cheese wiz, caramelized onions, hoagie relish and Fritos. DeMarco's former stops in the restaurant industry include stints at Second District Brewing, South Philadelphia Tap Room and the former Hawthornes.
The taproom in Fishtown will have seating for 35 people, including 10 at the bar. Hours will be Wednesdays through Mondays from 4 p.m. to midnight.