May 10, 2023
Provided Image/Kory Aversa
Al Pastor, the suburban Mexican restaurant and tequila bar, will open a second location in Havertown, Delaware County, this by this summer. The new restaurant replaces Conshohocken Brewing's Town Tap and will have a 100-seat outdoor margarita garden.
Al Pastor, the Mexican restaurant and tequila bar that opened in Exton in 2016, is set to expand, opening a second location in Delaware County by summertime.
Like the original Chester County location, the new restaurant, at 13 W. Benedict Ave. in Havertown, features a menu with 15 types of tacos and a selection of tequila cocktails. While Al Pastor's Exton restaurant offers outdoor dining, the new spot will have seating for 100 on its outdoor patio and margarita garden.
Al Pastor is moving into the space previously occupied by Town Tap by Conshohocken Brewing Co., which closed in early December. It is expected to open by late June or early July, its owners with the Stove and Co. restaurant group said.
The inspiration for the restaurant's food comes from the origins of al pastor, a dish that that was created after Lebanese immigrants came to Mexico in the 1930s and introduced gyros made with lamb and spices cooked on a vertical spit. Mexican cooks began using the vertical spit to grill seasoned pork and eventually marinated pork prepared with pineapple.
Many of the dishes on Al Pastor's menu are intended to eaten by hand and are shareable. Among its roster of tacos are five different birria tacos, and the menu also includes nachos, Mexican fried rice, tuna ceviche tostadas, tater tots with dragon sauce, Mexican street corn salad, gazpacho, burritos and churros.
The bar will serve classic margaritas, on the rocks or frozen, plus nine flavored versions of the cocktail. The drink menu also will have a small selection of Spanish and American wines, beers from Conshohocken Brewing Co. and a rotation of 12 other breweries, speciality cocktails, and zero-proof mocktails.
When Al Pastor Havertown opens it will offer a menu of Mexican street foods, like tacos, nachos and street corn salad.
Al Pastor's 3,000-square-foot Delco restaurant in will have 100 indoor seats in addition to its outdoor seating, and 15 spots at the tequila bar. The property's kitchen and dining room are being renovated, and the margarita garden will have five big-screen TVs, wooden pergolas, flowers and cobblestone pavers. When it's warm, lawn and table games will be set up outside.
The Stove and Co. team intends for Al Pastor to be reminiscent of a modern cantina and beer garden, like those found Center City. Its design will be colorful and festive, with vintage Mexican movie posters on the walls and Puebla-inspired decorative accents.
Al Pastor Havertown will be the eighth restaurant by Stove and Co. co-founders Justin Weather and Joe Monnich – and the fifth the duo has opened since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stove and Co.'s other businesses include Joey Chops in Malvern, Good Bad and Ugly in West Chester, DePaul's Table in Ardmore, Al Pastor in Exton, Revival Pizza Pub in Exton Springs and Stove and Tap locations in West Chester and Lansdale.
For updates about Al Pastor Havertown's opening date, follow the restaurant on Instagram.
