Philly restaurants staying open late: Not just cheesesteaks & diners

When David Chan began keeping his Chinatown restaurant open into the wee hours in 1992, he knew of only a handful of other Center City eateries that did the same. The after-midnight scene was reserved for 24-hour diners, the cheesesteak giants in South Philly, and pizza by the slice.

But steadily over the years, Philadelphia has become a late-night city, or at least a later-night one, with an increasing number of restaurants offering food and drink until midnight, and a number cooking until 2 a.m.

The change is most clear at the city's core. Late-night Chinatown stalwarts like David's Mai Lai Wah and Shiao Lan Kung have since been joined by others, like K-Top, Red Kings 2, and Ken's Seafood.

Misconduct Tavern, which has two locations, offers its full menu until 1 a.m., and Barbuzzo, Zavino, and Tredici Enoteca, on happening 13th Street, cook until midnight seven days a week. Newcomer Charlie was a sinner. in Midtown Village serves small plates until 2 a.m. Midtown II in Center City, open round the clock for decades, is now one of multiple places offering food after last call at 2 a.m., including Underdogs, which features hot dogs, just as you'd expect.

"It's the continued maturation of Philadelphia as a dining destination," said Scott Steenrod, vice president of restaurant operations for the Garces Group. "It's going to evolve as the city does."

Center City is getting more street traffic into the wee hours, a credit to better lighting, lower crime, and a tremendous growth in sidewalk eateries - from none in 1995 to 167 in 2005 to 369 in 2015. There are more transportation options to and from downtown, both private - Uber - and public: In June 2014, SEPTA launched a pilot program offering overnight weekend service on the Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines. It was such a success the agency decided to continue the service indefinitely, prompting general manager Joseph Casey to comment that SEPTA was proud to be part of "Philadelphia's late-night renaissance."

The changing residential population of the city's downtown may also be spurring this change: Population numbers compiled by the Center City District show almost half of the 48,000 residents in the area bordered by Vine and Pine Streets and the rivers are millennials ages 20 to 34. More than 60 percent of those households are composed of single persons.

"As certain neighborhoods expand, an increasing number of late-night attractions - from theaters to music - have increased late-night foot traffic," said Michelle Shannon, vice president of marketing and communications for the district.

Michael Duffy, general manager at Valanni, said the growing number of late-night eaters he had seen was a "younger professional crowd."

"People are working much later these days and getting out and about later," he said. "We have a late-night menu that goes until 1 a.m. It has been very successful."

Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of the tourism promotion group Visit Philadelphia, suspects the growing number of overnight leisure visitors in the city has contributed to the increase in foot traffic: that percentage increased by more than 80 percent between 1997 (7.3 million) and 2013 (13.4 million), according to Visit Philly's figures.

"More visitors want to stay over and continue their experience. It's fun to be part of the scene or watch the scene. The food and the scene go together," she said.

There are also more restaurants in general, meaning more restaurant workers. Some of the newest dining spots south of the city's core - like the Industry in Pennsport and American Sardine Bar in Point Breeze - opened intending to cater to midnight munchers, many of whom work in the hospitality industry.

"When we opened, we knew we wanted to take care of the folks that take care of us when we go out," said Mikey Brennan, manager of the Industry, which takes its name from the familiar way those in restaurants refer to their business. "We wanted to be the spot that you could still be able to sit down and have a nice meal even if your shift didn't get done until 12 a.m. Our kitchen stays open until 1 a.m. every night. You can order a well-done steak at 12:59 and be able to sit down and enjoy it in a nice atmosphere."

When the Industry opened in June 2012, the surrounding late-night dining scene "was pretty dim," said Brennan, who also manages the Good Dog Bar.

"There was a Wawa and that was about all you would be getting after 9:30, 10. When we first looked at this neighborhood, we started talking to some of the other folks in the biz and realized just how many of them lived in South Philly." Brennan saw an opportunity to offer restaurant workers "something good close to home," he said.

And while the food truck scene in the city has exploded, current statutes require the mobile units to stop serving at midnight, said Rob Mitchell, president of the Philly Mobile Food Association. He'd like to see that change, and to see a new law that was passed in May allow food trucks to gather together on designated pieces of private property for "pop-up" type events announced via social media. And that seems to be happening despite the city's rule: More than one foodie has reported getting truck grub in hot spots throughout the city after hours.

There are also a growing number of options for those living and working beyond downtown, including Standard Tap and North Third in Northern Liberties, Joe's Steaks in Fishtown, and Pizza Wings Steaks in West Philadelphia. The scene will continue to evolve as the city does. Kathryn Wiggins, who manages South Philly Tap Room and American Sardine Bar, said she'd also seen a shift in late-night eating trends at the establishments, both of which offer sustenance until 2 a.m. Business at the Tap Room has gone down but sales at the Sardine Bar are growing steadily.

"A lot of it is the nature of the neighborhood, and the neighborhood around ASB has more renters and more people in the industry," she said. "The Tap Room's neighborhood has gotten a little older. They've bought their house, had a few kids, got married. They don't come out at 1 a.m. anymore."

But a lot of other people are coming out at 1 a.m., and later. Chan, of David's Mai Lai Wah, lives in the Northeast but he sometimes heads south after work. And even though there are a lot more options, some habits die hard.

"I go to Pat's and get cheesesteak," he says, lowering his voice. "Sometimes I go across the street to Geno's . . . I do that, eat there, and they come here, too."

LATE-NIGHT EATS

Here is a selection of late-night spots cooking until at least midnight. Hours specify how late the kitchen is open. Check before you go, as hours can change.

Chinatown

K-Top (911 Race St.)
4 am Fri to Sun, to 3 am Mon to Thurs

David's Mai Lai Wah (1001 Race St.)
4 am. Fri, Saturday; to 3 am all other days

Shiao Lan Kung (930 Race St.)
to 2 am Sun to Thurs; to 3 am Fri and Sat, closed Mon

Banana Leaf (1009 Arch St.)
to 1 am

Ken's Seafood (1004 Race St.)
to 3 am

Penang's, 177 N. 10th St.
to midnight

Tai Lake (134 N. 10th St.)
to 3 am

Center City

Barbuzzo (110 S. 13th St.)
to midnight daily

Monk's Cafe (264 S. 16th St.)
to 1 am daily

Pub & Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.)
to 1 am daily

Midtown II Restaurant (122-124 S. 11th St.)
24 hours

Midtown III Restaurant (28 S. 18th St)
24 hours

Tredici Enoteca (114 S. 13th St.)
to midnight daily

Good Dog (224 S. 15th St.)
to 1 am daily.

Zavino Pizzeria (112 S. 13th St.)
to midnight daily

Village Whiskey (118 S. 20th St.)
to 1 am Fri, Sat; to midnight Tues to Thurs.

Misconduct Tavern (1511 Locust St.)
to 1 am

Misconduct Tavern (1801 JFK Blvd.)
to 1:30 am

Underdogs (132 S. 17th St.)
to 3 a.m. Fri, Sat.

Tavern on Camac (243 S. Camac St.)
to 1:45 am every day but Tues.

Valanni
(1229 Spruce St.)
to 1 am

Just outside CC

North 3rd (3rd & Brown Sts.)
to midnight Sun to Wed; to 1 am Thurs to Sat

The Abbaye (637 N. 3rd St.)
to midnight Thurs, Fri, Sat

Standard Tap (901 N. 2nd St.)
to 1 am

Johnny Brenda's (1201 N. Frankford Ave.)
to 1 am daily

South Philly Tap Room (1509 Mifflin St.)
to 1 am daily

Buckminster's (1200 S. 21st St.)
to midnight Sun to Thurs; to 1 am Fri, Sat

Royal Tavern (937 E. Passyunk Ave.)
to 1 am daily

The Industry (1401-03 Moyamensing Ave.)
1 am daily

American Sardine Bar (1800 Federal St.)
to 1 am daily

Alla Spina (1410 Mt. Vernon St.)
Open until 10 p.m. Sunday, to midnight Mon to Thurs, to 1 am Fri, Sat

Joe's Steaks (1 Girard Ave.)
to 12 am Thurs, to 3 am Fri, Sat

Pizza Wings Steaks  (3235 Powelton Ave.)
to 1 am

24/7 Diners

Melrose Diner & Bakery (1501 Snyder Ave.)

South Street Diner (140 South St.)

Mayfair Diner (7373 Frankford Ave.)

Four Seasons Diner (2811 Cottman Ave.)

Broad Street Diner (1135 S. Broad St.)

The cheese steak-eries

Pat's King of Steaks (1301 E. Passyunk Ave.)
open 24 hours

Geno's Steaks (1219 S. Ninth St.)
open 24 hours