SIN (as in ‘Steak Italian Nightlife’) hopes to bring ‘vibe dining’ to Philly

There’s fine dining and fast-casual dining.

Now comes Justin Veasey, promising “vibe dining” at SIN, the bar-restaurant he is opening Thursday in Northern Liberties.

“I eat out in New York, Boston, and Vegas, and usually either steak or Italian,” said Veasey, 30, a real estate investor and erstwhile bartender. One of his favorites is STK, the clubby steakhouse chain. “I want to eat, get a good experience, and then have a DJ. But there isn’t anything like that in Philly. I’ll go to Del Frisco’s [for a steak dinner] and then where do I go? They don’t have music there. There’s no night scene.”

Five years ago, he decided to remedy this shortcoming and assemble his favorite features (”steak,” “Italian,” “nightlife”) under the acronym SIN. He added “Philadelphia” to the branding because, as he said with native South Philly swagger, he expects to take it national.

He found partners and a Center City location, and then the pandemic killed the project, he said.

Veasey and new partners (business executive Mike Connors and radiologist William Muhr Jr.) found space on the ground floor of the Beverly, a new 51-unit apartment building across Second Street from the Piazza and Piazza Alta. It’s among the fastest-growing sections of the city.

» READ MORE: Northern Liberties is getting a restaurant, food hall, and deli

The fancy Italian steakhouse, done up in silver, gray, and black, has a marble-topped DJ booth on the side of the dining room, just off the bar. Executive chef Steve Kim, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and was a chef de cuisine under Jose Garces at 24 and Amada, last worked at Bankroll in Center City. The Italian entrees include linguine and clams (white, $24), linguine and clams (red, $28), chicken Parm ($33), pork Milanese ($45), and branzino over ratatouille and whipped potato ($38). Steaks start at $55 for an 8-ounce filet and include a 14-ounce New York strip for $61.

Veasey said SIN’s vibe would serve different ages. “If you’re older, you can come here and eat and there will be a little bit of music starting at 7, 8 o’clock. Then you go home. If you’re in your 30s to 40, you go out, you have a couple of drinks, stay till 10, and then you go home.” At 10, the volume rises. “If you’re younger, you could stay,” he said. The DJs will work Thursdays to Saturdays, reading the room. “If one night you see the crowd’s older, you’ll hear more memories, ’80s, ’90s, maybe ’70s,” he said. Later in the night, the music will be hip hop from 2000 to 2010.

Veasey, whose previous stops include bartending at Del Frisco’s and operating the pre-pandemic Center City sports bar Stats on 17th, notes that there is no dance floor.

A further feature of vibe dining, as Veasey puts it, is the closeness of tables. He expects people at adjacent tables to socialize, “even if someone’s socially awkward. The music will break the ice.”

Hours will be 4 to 11 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 4 to 11:30 p.m. Thursday, and 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The kitchen will close at 10 p.m.