Seasonal bar Tinsel returns to Midtown Village for Christmas in July
Sights and sounds of the holidays at a sidewalk bar in Center City.
We need a little Christmas now, and bar owner Teddy Sourias is delivering.
Sourias and his crew are reviving Tinsel, their Christmastime pop-up at 116 S. 12th St. in Midtown Village, starting at 3 p.m. Friday, July 17. Ending date has not been set, but it is expected to run through August.
This is an outdoor operation only. The facades of the buildings on the west side of 12th Street just north of Sansom have been decorated, and tables have been spaced along the sidewalk in front of the Sourias-owned Finn McCool’s as well as his newest holding, the former Midtown restaurant at 114 S. 12th St.
The ghost of Christmas present admittedly will look different in this era of social distancing. In Christmases past, folks stood elbow to elbow inside Tinsel, admiring thousands of decorations and lights. Sourias in the fall had also decorated the space in a Halloween theme.
Meanwhile, Sourias is planning to open a sweet shop called Luku Ma in the former Midtown to sell traditional loukoumades, which are fried honey balls offered with eight toppings. Go Popcorn, an unrelated popcorn shop next door, is expected to start selling holiday-theme snacks.
Tinsel’s menu, still in the works, will include frozen cocktails and spiked ice pops. It will be first come, first served.
For those not in the Christmas spirit, there will be generic tables on Finn McCool’s Sansom Street frontage available by reservation (215-923-3090).