Ambler’s Lucky Well will close and be replaced by Fort Washington’s Cantina Feliz

Long-running Mexican restaurant Cantina Feliz will move five minutes from Fort Washington to downtown Ambler. It will take over the building now occupied by the Lucky Well, whose owner is shifting his barbecue restaurant to off-premises catering and events.

Lucky Well owner Chad Rosenthal said the restaurant — which features live blues — would close at the end of the year. He said his business partner has sold the building at 111 E. Butler Ave. to Brian Sirhal, Cantina Feliz’s owner.

Cantina Feliz will remain open on Bethlehem Pike until the Ambler space is ready next spring, said Sirhal, who opened the Fort Washington restaurant 11 years ago with chef Tim Spinner, who has since left the partnership to own Taqueria Amor in Manayunk. Sirhal also owns La Calaca Feliz in Fairmount.

The new location will mean higher visibility on Ambler’s main street, more private dining space, and a bar twice the size of the current Fort Washington bar. Sirhal also noted the financial benefits of owning the building. “I just love what’s happened in Ambler over the last 10 years,” Sirhal said. “Just having foot traffic and being in a downtown setting is going to make a difference, I think.”

No future tenant has been announced for Cantina Feliz, on the former site of Alison two and Marita’s Cantina.

Rosenthal, who opened the Lucky Well in 2013, said he would pivot to private events and continue his Lucky Well restaurant incubator in Philadelphia. He also said he would open a scaled-down barbecue restaurant at 41st and Chestnut Streets in University City in early 2024.

Ambler’s thriving restaurant scene spans the fancy (La Provence and Bridget’s Steakhouse) to the midrange (Melody’s Vietnam, Geronimo’s, and From the Boot) and the casual (such as El Limon, KC’s Alley, and Sweet Briar Cafe).

The Lucky Well, one of the larger restaurants in town, replaced the Shanachie Irish Pub.

Rosenthal — who started with smaller Rosey’s BBQ locations in Ambler and Jenkintown, and later operated two Banh Street banh mi shops — said he would lead a group creating barbecue-theme experiences and events. Barbecue, with its high food costs, lends itself better to off-premises gatherings than a traditional restaurant, he said. Through the bar of his Lucky Well location at 990 Spring Garden St. in Philadelphia, he has an off-premises liquor license. He also has a mobile smoker.

“We do a ton of events and catering and weddings, and we make money doing it because the overhead is low,” Rosenthal said.