July 28, 2019

Poe's Sandwich Joint in Fishtown has closed after only eight months in business

By Virginia Streva
PhillyVoice Staff

Brian Hickey/PhillyVoice

Poe's Sandwich Joint in Fishtown has closed, effective immediately, the owner announced. The spot at the cross-section of Frankford Ave. and Marlborough St. opened in December 2018.

Despite its growing popularity, Poe's Sandwich Joint in Fishtown has closed after only eight months in business, the owner, Richard Tamaccio Jr., announced on Sunday.

The popular sandwich spot at Frankford Ave. and Marlborough St. is closed, effective immediately. The sandwich spot opened in December of last year by Tamaccio, also known as N.A. Poe. He took to Instagram to announce the restaurant's closure and explain what happened.

While business may have been booming, the owner was struggling financially. He was also unable to renegotiate the lease at their current location at 1429 Marlborough St.

He said, "I'm not gonna bulls**t you anymore because I consider us friends now. I took out a loan to open Poe's that, let's say, to put it lightly, was not FDIC insured. It has unfortunately left me in a tenuous financial situation, to say the very least. That grim reality coupled with the fact that I was unable to renegotiate a long-term lease in the current location has left me no choice but to close the restaurant."

The shop sported many beloved menu items, including the "Uncle Tony," an artisanal Philly cheesesteak with gouda whiz, "The Hamiliton," a chicken cutlet sandwich with bacon, French fries, and ranch, and an assortment of fry orders, including loaded fries and funnel cake fries.

While Tamaccio isn't certain what he will do next, he joked becoming a mailman or working for the PPA. (If the tickets are sandwiches, you can sign us up for that.)

He added, "We had a lot of fun meeting ya and feeding ya. It was a wild ride that I will never forget."

View this post on Instagram

Hey guys, I’m not gonna bullshit you anymore because I consider us friends now. I took out a loan to open Poe’s that let’s just say, to put it lightly, was not FDIC insured. It has unfortunately left me in a tenuous financial situation to say the very least. That grim reality, coupled with the fact that I was unable to renegotiate a long term lease in the current location, has left me no choice but to close the restaurant. This is effective immediately. I wanna thank everyone in Fishtown that has warmly embraced my business, my family and our lighthearted pothead ethos. I’m gonna need some time away from the serotonin sucking social media shitshow while I try to wrap my head around this situation and figure out my next move. Maybe I’ll become a mailman, or a transit cop, or get a job at the PPA and spend my days ticketing cars on Frankford Ave. Who knows?!?!?! We’ll see which way the wind blows. Anyways, we had a lot of fun meeting ya and feeding ya. It was a wild ride that I will never forget. 💜💚💜💚 xoxopoe

A post shared by Poe’s Sandwich Joint (@poessandwichjoint) on Jul 28, 2019 at 5:05am PDT