Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. ‘speakeasy’ to reopen in a hidden location near Rittenhouse Square

In its new location, the Franklin will accept reservations. It will also offer vodka, which early management had deemed boring.

Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.'s new location is at 1718 Schubert Alley (also known as Latimer Street).Read moreJASON ELLIOTT

by Michael Klein

Published April 20, 2022, 9:28 a.m. ET

After closing at the height of the pandemic, Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co., one of Philadelphia’s early upscale speakeasy-style bars, will reopen in a handsome new location near Rittenhouse Square Friday.

Like the previous location on 18th Street, the 90-seat Franklin will be unmarked. But finding this spot will require a bit of additional sleuthing. It’s on a back alley a half-block from Rittenhouse Square at 1718 Latimer St., tucked into the rear of the 1715 Rittenhouse Hotel. (To further confuse your GPS, management is using “1718 Schubert Alley” as the address.)

Hotel operators are working with the Franklin management, including general manager Alison Hangen, head bartender Andrew Peterson, and principal bartender Wei Wei Weintraub. Drinks are priced from $15 to $23.

In a first, reservations will be accepted via Resy. And in another first, vodka will be offered — but not common brands such as Tito’s. The Franklin had never sold vodka because an early manager deemed it boring.

They’ve added equipment to allow the making of infusions, syrups, aromatics, and bitters in-house. Smoke-filled bubbles can be added to cocktails, as Instagram is now a thing.

Art Deco-inspired interiors are designed by Christina Boschetti of Widell + Boschetti. There are VIP rooms, a scotch room, and a wine room, all of which can be booked.

The food menu is currently limited to cheese boards from Third Wheel Cheese Co. Patrons get a comp snack of nuts and a small low-alcohol cocktail to start. In the coming months, the Franklin will offer small plates and weekend brunch. It’s also trying to minimize waste by using leather coasters and metal straws.

A bar with history

The bar’s name came from history, not finance. Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. was South Philadelphia boxer-turned-bootlegger Max “Boo Boo” Hoff’s front for his massive alcohol ring during Prohibition.

Franklin founders Christopher Gali and Christopher Doggett retained New York consultants Death & Co. to create the menu and vibe in the subterranean venue that was Bar Noir. The Franklin expanded upstairs with a tiki room in 2013.

Shortly after the Franklin’s opening, it made Bon Appétit’s “Top 10 Best New Cocktail Bars” and GQ’s “Top 25 Cocktail Bars in America.”

In an attempt to weather the pandemic, management offered cocktails to go, creating a “tasting menu” of pizzelle cookies and 3 Musketeers candy bars to satisfy the state law requiring the sale of food with alcohol. But the Franklin closed in May.

Hours 5 p.m.-midnight Sunday to Thursday, 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.