Mural City Cellars opens community-focused wine garden in Fishtown

Mural City Cellars, in partnership with the Fishtown Kensington Area Business Improvement District, is set to open a neighborhood-focused wine garden on Frankford Ave. in Fishtown on Thursday.

What to expect: Owners Nicholas Ducos and Francesca Galarus tell Axios that the family-friendly space will have a "homey, eclectic vibe" with about 12 wines available by the glass, beers from Human Robot and Triple Bottom and plenty of non-alcoholic options.

• It plans to host events and pop-ups with other community businesses, like Monarch Yoga, Filipino food truck Tabachoy, cult favorite 1-900-ICE-CREAM and the first edition of Philly Queer Flea, in collaboration with Queer Candle Co.
• "The neighborhood gave us a chance to make this space, so we want it to be beneficial not just for us, but other small businesses in the neighborhood as well," Ducos says.
• The move will radically expand the space available for the winery, which so far has served customers in the 1,200-square-foot building that also functions as its production facility.

The backdrop: MCC, known for its Community Supported Winery program, first heard about the opportunity to use the space, owned by the New Kensington Community Development Corporation, on Instagram.

• It beat out Tired Hands Brewing Company, which occupied the space pre-COVID, after a public feedback period.

• "The support was much larger than we ever had anticipated. We're a two-person operation. We just started the business a year and a half ago," Galarus says.
• "To get put in a run-up against a big brewery that has national acclaim and have the community rally behind us — this small little couple — is honestly very surprising, very endearing, very overwhelming," she adds.

If you go: 2211-17 Frankford Ave. The initial opening hours for the garden are Thursdays and Fridays from 4-10pm and Saturdays from 12-10pm. Check its Instagram for updates if there's rain in the forecast.