A 19th century brick building in Brewerytown that once was a cold storage facility for F.A. Poth Brewing Co. is now home to a new Rival Bros. Coffee shop, which will anchor the lofts at the renovated complex.
Rival Bros. opened Monday at 31st and Jefferson streets, its third outpost in Philadelphia, after previously announcing plans to expand there in 2022.
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The new shop is designed to reflect the industrial history of the building, which was constructed in 1870 in the Rundbogenstil (round arch) style with help from architect Otto C. Frank. Poth Brewing Co., led by German born brewer, F.A. Poth, once produced thousands barrels of beer each year, but it was heavily impacted by the lasting effects of Prohibition. The brewery closed in 1936.
Rival Bros. was founded in 2011 by former chef Jonathan Adams and La Colombe brand veteran Damien Pileggi. The company is known for its daily roasted beans that come from its facility in the city's Frankford location. Their other shops in Fitler Square and East Passyunk offer drip coffee, Chemex bars and a variety of espresso beverages, in addition to pastries and other toasts. They also partner with New Liberty Distillery at Enswell, which reimagined their former Rittenhouse store as a European-style cafe, restaurant and cocktail concept.
The new shop in Brewerytown includes a selection of breakfast sandwiches along with pastries from Mighty Bread Co. They plan to offer made-to-order sandwiches and salads in the near future.
For decades after the closure of Poth Brewing Co., the imposing building sat vacant. It served briefly as a cold storage facility for the now-defunct Red Bell Brewing Co. in the late 1990s and early 2000s. When that venture collapsed, the building became a canvas for graffiti artists and urban explorers.
The renovation of the property was undertaken by adaptive reuse experts MMPartners, whose other projects have included Fairmount's AF Bornot Dye Works building and the Corinthian in Francisville. Poth Brewery Lofts, completed in February, has 132 apartments, 25,000 square feet of commercial space and an event space. Some of the graffiti it accumulated over the years was left inside the building. Last year, the project received a Preservation Achievement Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
Initial hours at Rival Bros. will be Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.