Mighty Bread Co. is now a beer company, too

In addition to the toasts, salads, sandwiches, and snacks on the cafe menu at Mighty Bread Co. in South Philadelphia, customers can now get a beer.

Mighty Bread’s own beer, specifically.

Awhile back, owner Chris DiPiazza was ruminating about the similarities between bread and beer. “Fermentation is something that we know a lot about,” he said. “We wanted to see what those kinds of inspired-type beers could be.”

DiPiazza asked himself: Why not open a brewery? Under Pennsylvania law, he wouldn’t even have to buy the equipment. He could obtain a brewery license — a process that eventually took a year — and contract with an existing brewery to produce beer from his recipe.

Amici del Pane (“bread friends”), the first under Mighty Bread Beer Co.’s new brand, was rolled out last week. DiPiazza describes it as a semolina Italian pilsner, made with the same durum wheat used in Mighty’s popular semolina loaf. Mighty is offering it on tap, and in four-packs of cans to go. Staff pours the beer, as well as three wines from Mural City Cellars, from a station on the side; there is no bar. At brunch daily, Mighty offers Bloody Marys and mimosas. (The brewery license allows Mighty Bread to offer Pennsylvania wines and spirits, as well.)

“We don’t want to be a night spot,” said DiPiazza, who, as he hopes to keep peace with neighbors on his rowhouse block, is not expanding hours. “We like the Italian idea of a cafe where it’s ‘your place’ throughout the day. You go and you meet people in the afternoon for a drink, but it’s not a bar. You can bring your kids, you get a little something to eat, and then you go home. You’re not staying there late.”

The next step, starting Sept. 12, will be aperitivo from 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays. Besides the breads and pastries, that menu will be made up of small plates such as olives with bay leaf and orange; marinated mussels with salsa verde and a baguette; a charcuterie plate; scallop toast with fermented aji chili butter; and peppers and anchovies (”Jimmy Nardellos, really good anchovies, crispy bread and herbs”).

DiPiazza, who previously owned an IT company, dabbled in bread-baking before he took courses to improve his game. In 2015, he started Mighty Bread, working out of West Philadelphia’s Center for Culinary Enterprises. In 2017, he took 450 square feet of a former commercial laundry at 1211 Gerritt St., on a rowhouse block, to bake bread, which he sold mostly at wholesale. He opened every other Saturday for retail sales. During the pandemic, Mighty Bread sold breads, as well as produce boxes and grocery items, through a takeout window without missing a day.

In 2021, he opened the 30-seat cafe, serving breakfast sandwiches and pastries in the morning, sandwiches and toasts into the afternoon, and brunch on weekends, plus pantry items.

Mighty Bread, nominated for a James Beard Award last year, has expanded within the building to 7,000 square feet — 15 times the original space, including a 12-seat courtyard.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Closed Tuesday.