When Fine-Drawn Hospitality first thought of the idea of the city’s first-ever virtual food hall, the original goal was to bring diversity to the takeout experience for those at home, and the options are more diverse than you would think—especially now.
The Commons first opened back in the summer, and The Post at Cira Green and Walnut Street Café serves as home to a creative collection of rotating ghost kitchen restaurants. According to the release, the decision to introduce a virtual food hall to The Post and Walnut Street Café was born out of a desire to better serve and adapt to the community’s needs. Using data and analytics on the back-end, Branden McRill and team will be able to assess what consumers really want and deliver on just that. Concepts that succeed can become permanent, with the opportunity to scale into their own brick and mortar locations. Speaking of tech, guests dining in or ordering pick-up can order from multiple vendors within The Commons all on one convenient tab.
“The Commons is our way of offering our guests abundant choices right now,” shared restaurateur McRill in a statement at the time of opening. “In a new world that requires flexibility and optionality, The Commons is here to give our guests choices and to put control and the decisions back in their hands.”
The Commons opened up with four restaurant concepts with The Post and Walnut Street Cafe’s menu also available in addition to the new ghost kitchens.
Agea from Walnut Street Cafe’s Jack Peterson is inspired by the spirit of the Aegean Islands boasting abundant salads, fresh couscous bowls and pita sandwiches; Philadelphia Wing Shop is a high-end bar food from Chef Brandon Gibson-Boyd that features nearly every type of wing you could imagine; Ghost Chicken was conceived by Walnut Street Cafe and takes influence from Parisian rotisserie markets; while The Post brings their own spin on an extensive menu of Philly’s best bar snacks. Lastly, Walnut Street Cafe also offers up their own fare with standout menu items including the crispy buttermilk fried chicken sandwich (with a brioche bun, pickled slaw, spicy mayo, pickle chips and french fries) and the definite standout, the Lancaster beer can chicken (a roasted half chicken with barley risotto, cipollini onion and chicken jus).
However, recently, the new concept aimed to please foodies and make family dinner night decisions that much easier, has also added a very sweet and new option to their arsenal of cuisines. Maude & Mabel’s Fine Creamery is The Common’s latest ghost kitchen concept, and Philadelphians can order up from the new eatery while mixing and matching with the other kitchens.
The new addition to The Commons is now available for delivery via Caviar, Doordash and GrubHub, and pick-up out of Fine-Drawn’s The Post in University City. Maude & Mabel’s “blends nostalgic ice cream shop charm with modern and utterly inventive flavors, playful pints and unforgettable flavor combinations.”
Their listed can’t-miss flavors include Eggnog with egg nog ice cream with Gingerbread cookie butter for a taste of the season, M&M for a creative combination of matcha ice cream with a miso-caramel swirl and for an over-the-top Willy Wonka-esque experience, The Golden Ticket featuring dark chocolate ice cream with crushed Wonka Bar, caramel, Nerds and gold leaf.
Diversity isn’t the only thing being served up though, The Commons is also trying to be resourceful when adding up costs. According to the release, since small restaurants pay big fees on delivery, The Commons will extend a 5% discount on pick-up orders as a thank you for shopping small.
The Commons is open Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m. To learn more about The Commons, visit thecommonsphl.com
