INSIDE BAKE’N BACON, THE NEW BLACK-OWNED RESTAURANT IN SOUTH PHILLY

South Philly is now the home of a vibrant Black-owned restaurant that’s the city’s first bacon-themed restaurant.

On Thursday, Bake’n Bacon opened its doors for a soft launch in South Philly (1148 S. 11th Street), with a grand opening next Thursday, December 14th. The 2,500 square feet restaurant that seats 86 diners has a dining room, full-service bar, and an upcoming private space upstairs.

For owners Justin Coleman and Kelvin Anderson, two Black chefs/entrepreneurs from New Jersey, this moment is full-circle after previously introducing Bake’n Bacon as a food truck in 2019.

“It has been a long journey and it feels so good to finally open and welcome guests,” Coleman says after soft-opening the restaurant on his 39th birthday. “I have been looking forward to finally meeting and welcoming our neighbors, as well as guests from around the region. The next chapter for Bake’N Bacon begins now and I am so thankful to everyone for their patience and support.”

The restaurant’s interior design was by Coleman, who described it as being “street and sweet.” “Street” as in the artistic graffiti in the dining room with affirmations (such as “follow your dreams,” “good enough,” and “love”) pained on the walls. “Sweet” as in the colorful paisley flower design in the bar area. This is a stark contrast from the previous gastropub Devil’s Den that was in the space for years.

“Black excellence, diversity, and inclusion is embraced here,” Anderson said of their diverse staff and atmosphere. “We want to give people an opportunity to be successful and be their true selves here.”

Diners can expect to try their pork board, various loaded mac dishes, bacon-centric entrées (such as their hang’n bacon, bacon brisket burger, and pound cake with bacon caramel sauce), chicken bowtie pasta, brisket burnt ends, and more. For fans of their food truck, they have an entire section of the menu that feature their “food truck favorites” (that includes their bacon brisket, bacon pesto sandwich, bacon trio and more). Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free dining options are also available.

Bake’n Bacon has a full-service bar that will open soon as they receive their liquor license (which they expect to arrive any day now). There’s a wide variety of wines, beers, and festive cocktails such as the Sparrow (a rye whiskey cocktail in honor of Coleman’s deceased younger brother Derek, who inspired the restaurant), the 22-23 (made with silver rum, French orange liqueur, macadamia orgeat, peach oleo, lime), the 2019 (made with blanco tequila, French orange liqueur, smoked bacon sea salt rim), and more.

“Down the road, I look forward to introducing a bacon beer collaboration with Evil Genius Beer Company and I especially can’t wait to debut brunch in the new year once we have dinner service under our belts,” Coleman says on upcoming happenings at the restaurant. “We have some other big surprises in store for the upstairs level with expansion plans later in spring of 2024.”

Bake’n Bacon is now open and temporarily BYOB until the bar can fully launch (they currently have a mocktail bar available for diners). Their grand opening is next Thursday, December 14th at 5 pm, with regular service on Wednesdays at 5 pm to 10 pm, Thursdays at 5 pm to 11 pm, and Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 4 pm to 11 pm. They are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Reservations will soon be able to be made online via Resy, but for now — walk-ins and reservations via phone (267-222-0084) are accepted.

2023-12-08T07:45:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd