The All-New 1970’s Inspired Restaurant, Percy is Opening in Fishtown Featuring Outdoor Seating and a “Sound Lounge”
The team behind Forîn Cafe – Seth Kligerman, Kyle Horne, and Will Landicho – are opening Percy, a new 1970s-inspired restaurant with a bar, lounge, and listening room at 1700 North Front Street on the Fishtown/Kensington border, with a target opening date of Friday, May 9th. The project comes from BIKCG Hospitality Group, which is best known for their three Forîn Cafe locations.
The 4,000 square-foot restaurant will feature 100 indoor seats, including 55 in the dining room, 20 in the bar area, and another 25 in the lounge, as well as 10 additional outdoor seats in an open-air courtyard area connected to Fishtown Urby, as Percy is in partnership with Urby and will be located in the new apartment building’s ground floor retail space. The restaurant will be open seven days a week, with a daytime menu featured daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner service offered Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. The bar and “sound lounge” will be open Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. until midnight. Chef Jack Smith, formerly of a.kitchen+bar, was tapped as Percy’s Executive Chef. Percy will feature counter café service with house-made pastries, bread, and a variety of coffee drinks. Reservations for brunch and dinner will be available on Resy, available 30 days out, but walk-ins are always welcome. Reservations go live on Monday, April 21st at midnight.
Percy is named after a soundtrack album by The Kinks, which is one of Kligerman and Horne’s favorite English rock bands. The interior of the restaurant features a hallway that pays homage to the Percy team’s favorite musicians and artists.
The restaurant was designed with ample light and mid-century tones by Shawn Hausman Design, who has designed a number of Stephen Starr restaurants, including Parc, Dandelion, and Butcher & Singer. Percy has a different take than the spaces found at Forin. It features a bold European design with modern touches and details like hand-blown glass, black-and-white checkered floor tiles, a plethora of natural light, and inspiration from various artists. Artist collaborators include Ian Chapin, who created Percy’s custom light fixtures and circular DJ booths on the sound lounge; flower bud vases made in Philly by Cloud9 Clay; and brand identity, including a friendly “under the El Pigeon” logo from Jonathan Cammisa.
“We are in love with this space,” said Kligerman, who is a long-time Fishtown resident. “When we began conceptualizing this space, we went in with intentions to create something beautiful, welcoming, community-focused, and a place where people would walk by and want to walk in just to check out the interior. Percy will be a place for guests to not just come for food and drink, but also to lounge, enjoy music, and experience our vibrant nightlife.”
A preview of Percy’s signature dishes include a Philly Special breakfast platter featuring two eggs any style, Pullman bread with jam, home fries, and a choice of KP’s bacon or a house-made duck l’orange-style sausage link; Smith’s dad’s ricotta pancakes topped with a cinnamon sugar whipped compound butter; a chopped cheese with Cooper sharp folded into a KP’s Fine Meats butcher blend burger patty for a nice grilled cheese crust, with a relish-like giardiniera along with house-made hot sauce used to make a spicy creamy aioli, all served on a house-made brioche bun; a play on a cobb salad with cupped butterhead lettuce layered and tossed with lemon, olive oil, salt, and pickled shallots, topped with saltwater preserved Golden Roma tomatoes, bacon crumble, a dairy-free blue cheese vinaigrette, shaved cured egg yolk, and chives; and a barramundi made with cilantro and charred onion curry.
On Percy’s brunch menu, you will also find a “Philly” play on a Croque Monsieur, with roast pork, broccoli rabe, provolone, an egg, and a side salad; a Caramelized Onion Spanish omelette with roasted pepper piperade, served with a side salad; a mushroom toast with Boursin, roasted chicories, and black garlic; a potato latke with everything spice gravlax, crème fraiche, and caviar; beignets with dulce de leche and powdered sugar; and much more. Percy’s dinner menu includes Jonah crab croquettes; a parsnip velouté; scallop crudo; miso brown butter gnocchi with carrot velouté, Chinese broccoli, and pickled Fresno peppers; and a ribeye with duck fat fries, a green salad, and béarnaise.
“We were searching for an ambitious chef to take on this ambitious project, and we knew that Chef Smith was the man for the job,” said Kligerman. “We’ve known about Jack for several years, and his resume speaks for itself. We believe he is the perfect chef for this job.”
“I took my years of cooking experiences and boiled it down to these brunch and dinner menus for Percy,” said the 30-year-old Smith. “For anyone who knows me, they can see the inspiration of my culinary career in every single dish on this menu. I am so excited to bring global flavors, locally produced, and farm-sourced ingredients to a really exciting menu that covers a lot of ground.”
Purveyors include Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative (seasonal produce), Montgomery County’s Campo Rosso Farm (greens and peppers), Port Richmond’s KP’s (burger blends, ducks, chicken, beef, and pork), and Samuels Seafood for specialty fish.
Percy’s bar program will feature Pennsylvania wine, beer, and spirits, with wines-by-the-glass coming from Schuylkill County’s Galen Glen Winery. There will also be wines from Mural City Cellars and Pray Tell Wines, both local to Fishtown. Featured local breweries include Carbon Copy, Sacred Vice, Tröegs, and others, with eight beers on tap daily. A number of specialty cocktails will be featured, as will several classic beverages including a variety of martini options.
For after dinner, a sizable vintage sound lounge will host guests for late-night drinks and music with a fireplace, a circular DJ booth, and top-of-the-line quality Altec Lansing speakers. Lounge hours will be Thursday through Saturday nights with a late-night menu and live DJs from 10 p.m. until midnight.
