PRETZELS & PINTS- North Park 

This North Park gem is one the friendliest (for kids & adults!) and funnest places in town and still a personal favorite hang out spot of mine. I would frequent this local watering hole & pretzel spot every Friday after school with my boys. We’d walk over with friends and start our weekend a little early! Needless to say, I became fast friends with the folks at Pretzels & Pints and when the owner needed some ideas on their outdoor patio I was happy to help and dive in!

 

2020 marked for an interesting year for restaurants and bars that had to stop their normal activities abruptly. It was inspiring and amazing to see how they all adapted so quickly to keep their businesses running during a world-wide pandemic and shut down. Many started taking phone orders and then scrambled to create a seamless process for SAFE ordering and pick up. Deliveries spiked and others quickly built outdoor parklets to start accommodating outdoor seating (permits, what permits?). Many got CREATIVE with how they handed over food orders & goods and we were allowed to take alcohol TO-GO, what?!

 

Once the height of the pandemic passed and people SLOWLY made their way back into establishments, I swung by Pretzels & Pints for one of each item and to check in to see how everyone was doing. First thing I noticed was that he had slowly expanded his outdoor space during the pandemic; he too DIY’d outdoor furniture & fencing to get people outside. The original outdoor space was maybe about 4 feet wide x 12 feet long, but he was able to negotiate taking over much of the parking lot to create more outdoor space for his bar.  During conversation, the owner mentioned how he wanted to build out a better and more functional space; I said I could totally help. I created the space & plan and he was going to take care of the construction portion when the time was right. Great!

 

We added elements that were must haves: TVs for those Eagles fans, shade, fans, and better furniture “design” & arrangement and flow. A little paint (Philly’s colors, obvi) on the exterior, greenery and reutilizing old barrels as planters that previously served as table bases (I was vocally anti about barrels as table bases, haha: why are my knees off to the side?!). I personally loved the DIY tables, benches & chairs, it made it feel like I was hanging at a friend’s house, but something more uniform was needed to make the flow better and fit more people.

 

Can’t wait til they tackle this project, I’ll be cheersing with them when it’s ready!