Easton brewer signs lease for bar off East Passyunk

Separatist Beer Project, the onetime gypsy brewer from Easton known until recently as Sole Artisan Ales, says it has signed a lease for what it calls "a concept bar and beer experience" in South Philadelphia.

Joe Fay, who owns Separatist with his wife, Laura, said the location is a new mixed-use building at 12th and Morris Streets, on the doorstep of the East Passyunk strip. The bar could open as soon as August.

Separatist, which collaborates with Free Will Brewing for much of its production, opened a bar in Easton last year.

Fay said the new bar would serve its beer plus wines and coffee. He described the look as "modern Scandinavian." The basement, with 10-foot ceilings, will be a kind of rathskeller, with barrel- and bottle-aging and a large table to be used for special events.

The site once was the home of Artisan Boulanger Patissier, whose building was razed after it moved in 2013 to 1218 Mifflin St. Restaurateur Chris Scarduzio initially planned to open a restaurant in the new building, owned by Steve and Tamar Olitsky.