With business lagging, a Delco destination restaurant reinvents itself

Rosemary, the stylish bistro that opened 16 months ago in up-and-coming Ridley Park, may have had the food, drinks, and atmosphere dialed in.

But the customer count and revenue have not been there, said owner Philip Breen. Starting Friday, Rosemary has a new focus. Its menu — the most ambitious in the Delaware County town, with a 12-ounce ribeye for $50, among dinner entrees in the $20-to-$34 range — is being retooled to become “more conscientious of the economics,” Breen said. “People identified us as a special-occasion restaurant or a destination.”

All told, Breen said, prices overall will be 40% lower. The average dinner tab, now about $56 per person for an entree and alcoholic drink, will be closer to $35. “We’re still focusing on hospitality,” Breen said.

Chef George Sabatino, who has been on board since March following the departure of opening chef Elijah Milligan, will execute the new menu, which will include starters such as crab cakes ($22) and butternut squash soup ($12) and sandwiches such as pesto chicken on house-made ciabatta with burrata ($18) and a cheesesteak French dip ($22).

“I know ‘cheesesteak’ doesn’t sound like the most amazing thing in the world, but our cheesesteak is going to be sliced filet with roasted garlic on the roll, duck-fat onions, and Cooper sharp,” Breen said.

Initially, pastas will remain on the menu but will come off in favor of pizzas. Sabatino is a longtime pizzaiolo who created pizzas for a concept called Good Luck Pizza Co. in Center City during the pandemic. The bar will remain as it is, though Breen and Sabatino intend to make happy hour a priority.

Critics have been generous with praise, but “I didn’t get into this for accolades,” said Breen, who lives nearby with his family and intended Rosemary as a neighborhood restaurant. “I have people that come almost every week... It’s just not at the clip that we needed it to be at.”

Breen was a manager at Condesa in Center City in March 2020 when he and his family moved into Ridley Park from Secane. Days after they settled on the house, Condesa closed temporarily because of COVID-19 and Breen was out of work.

Strolling through town with his young son, he passed the shuttered Burgundy Lounge, a onetime barroom and pool hall. Seeing an opportunity, he bought the building, investing $2 million to create Rosemary, which has a dining room, a 12-seat bar, a greenhouse room for additional dining, and outdoor dining in a landscaped back yard.

The streamlined menu will require fewer kitchen workers. Breen said the decision to lay off six of the 14 people was “gut-wrenching.”

“We had gotten to a point with this culture where it’s amazing,” Breen said. “So this for me is the saddest part of all.”