UPDATE: Best House’s liquor license is being transferred to the owners of Local 44. The new establishment’s name will be Clarkville Beer and it’s coming in Spring 2015, according to its Twitter account. Local 44 owners are unable to shed more light on it yet as they’re still in the process of signing the lease. We’ll update when we have more information.
The Best House Pizza at 43rd and Baltimore has closed and a new restaurant/bar will open in that spot under new owners.
We don’t have many details on the change, but a source from the Spruce Hill Community Association said that the organization is waiting to see if the new owners will request any zoning variances, which would trigger a public hearing on the project.
The previous owners took over in 2006 and changed the name of the pizzeria from The Wurst House to The Best House.
October 7th, 2014 at 9:56 am
Looks like the local 44 people took over https://twitter.com/Local44BeerBar/status/516632192098004992
October 7th, 2014 at 10:09 am
THIS IS TERRIBLE NEWS. Best House has the BEST pizza. UGH. I don’t want expensive bougie food, I want the delicious, affordable pizza I have loved for so many years.
October 7th, 2014 at 10:24 am
I appreciate local 44 but I would appreciate more concept and ownership variety even more in the neighborhood.
October 7th, 2014 at 10:42 am
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
October 7th, 2014 at 10:43 am
I didn’t even have a goodbye slice
October 7th, 2014 at 11:08 am
Good riddance. That place was a dump and full of drunken trash. I’d appreciate some diversity in business ownership as well, but Local 44 appears to run a tight business and would seem to be a decent neighbor. Hard to argue with that.
October 7th, 2014 at 11:10 am
Ugh! Where does one go now for an inexpensive brew? BH was great for taking a beer break while enjoying the park. Also it was good for enjoying the colorful people who would gather there. So we get another local 44, dockstreet, city tap house. I like those places fine, but we already have that niche. I’m going to miss getting a basic slice with the family while the adults can get a self serve malt beverage. Colonial stopped selling beer a while ago. Not happy at all.
October 7th, 2014 at 11:17 am
another melanie
One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
October 7th, 2014 at 11:19 am
I’m with Corey on this, now where are people south of Spruce supposed to get an inexpensive 6 pack?
October 7th, 2014 at 12:04 pm
^ Garden Court Eatery, Salt & Pepper, 51st and Hadfield, 52nd and Baltimore, Local 44 Bottle Shop, Dock Street (sometimes), (and does Queen of Sheba do take-out too?)
October 7th, 2014 at 12:05 pm
The beer prices were all over the place there, most local non-lagers ran $13-15. That said, it was one of the few places to get a late night slice that was decent and inexpensive. I like Local 44, but it is not priced in a way that is accessible to everyone in the neighborhood.
October 7th, 2014 at 12:38 pm
reader: try colonial! they’re great.
October 7th, 2014 at 1:24 pm
I am sad to see Best of Times/Blurst of Times go as well, but I’m willing to give L44 people the benefit of the doubt that they’ll recognize the need for a good catch-all dive at the bottom of the hill.
As for cheap/good beer in the interim, if you people aren’t frequent patrons of Pasqually’s already, I don’t even know what to say to you.
October 7th, 2014 at 1:31 pm
MDS, Steve:
Can’t get a beer there anymore though. Personally, if an establishment needs bulletproof glass, I’m not really comfortable drinking there. That includes much of the list above, and we can add pasqually’s also. A slice and a brew can be done at Allegro, but that feels too Penn campus for my taste. I basically live next to Garden Court, which has expensive take out and nothing to offer inside. BH is not easily replaceable.
October 7th, 2014 at 2:02 pm
I have felt for a while that Baltimore Ave would benefit from either some falafel or European style frites (ala European Republik at 3rd & Chestnut), or both- cheap and quick and tasty with beer. Keeping my fingers crossed.
October 7th, 2014 at 5:44 pm
Let’s hope it has a decent menu my friends are tired of hearing me complain about how mediocre the menu is at 44.
October 7th, 2014 at 6:40 pm
Damn, there goes the cheap tasty slice in the park with the kid, a regular treat, and here comes the Local 44 clientele …
October 7th, 2014 at 8:04 pm
The Best House had great pizza? Uh no, no it didn’t. Their tomato pie was good I’ll grant them that.
Colonial is kind of weird now, BUT their cheesesteak is actually pretty good (better now than under the previous owners) FWIW.
October 7th, 2014 at 9:56 pm
The Local 44 folks have been able to produce pretty good food at all of their locations around town EXCEPT at local44. Marrow Bones? Really? Fried Brussell sprouts? Really?
And while I’m here, Dollar-an-ounce beer? REALLY???
We await the coming of another over-priced and boring link in their WestPhilly chain.
October 7th, 2014 at 10:01 pm
We need a liquor popsicle store there. E.g., vodka melon sherbet on a stick.
October 7th, 2014 at 10:34 pm
Sounds like this is all in preparation for the upscale crowd that will live in the , as yet unbuilt, 4224 Baltimore luxury apartments and condos. Yawn.
October 7th, 2014 at 10:36 pm
Totally agree about Pasqually’s – excellent beer selection at affordable prices. Haven’t tried their pizza but it’s our go-to for a quick four pack with our takeout.
October 7th, 2014 at 10:38 pm
Can’t say that I’ll miss Best House with its crew of largely harmless drunks and dingy bathrooms. Let’s hope the new owners manage to do something a little more memorable (and tasty) than Local 44 on that corner. It’s over-priced and mediocre, though they do have good beer.
October 7th, 2014 at 10:51 pm
This is great news, the old “Best house” was a dirty place with shady owners, it’s hasn’t been good since it was the “Wurst House”.
Local 44 took a corner that has been nothing but a collection of nasty dive bars and made it a stable business with a neighborhood feel.
Amazing how people forget the crackheads and muggings that used to happen weekly at 43rd and Baltimore.
The the pizza sucked at the Best House anyway.
October 8th, 2014 at 6:49 am
I personally know Franz, the owner of Best House, and his family. He is not “shady.” He is a good, responsible man who cares for his extended family.
October 8th, 2014 at 8:36 am
I’m excited, kinda. I remember when Local 44 opened up and the food was awesome. The burgers alone were so good, you’d run your fries in the drippings. But now, the food SUCKS. The burger is OK-ish. Last time we went, the gnocchi were drowning in a pool of grease and the pork sandwich had a hair in it. If you are reading this, management, please bring back and maintain the quality of your food!
October 8th, 2014 at 10:53 am
Resurrection Ale House always had excellent and not crazy-overpriced food; I could never understand why the owners couldn’t come close to that at Local 44.
October 8th, 2014 at 11:03 am
There’s an affordable bottle shop nearby, right next to Mill Creek Tavern on 4200 block of Chester. Literally a block and a turn away.
October 8th, 2014 at 11:57 pm
^Until they close it down and reopen as a boujie tapas house with $15 cocktails.
October 9th, 2014 at 12:43 pm
Haha @TexHex! I also know the owner and his family definitely NOT shady people. I hope they are moving on to bigger and better things!
October 9th, 2014 at 2:52 pm
I also know the Best House owner, and he’s a good guy.
October 9th, 2014 at 4:02 pm
According to their website, Resurrection Ale House (which was owned by same people who own Local 44) is closed, I’m curious if this is related, and possibly a move for them?
October 9th, 2014 at 4:30 pm
This has a little bit of info. It looks like they’re either going to sell chicken at Local44 or at the new place.
http://philly.eater.com/2014/7/31/6178125/resurrection-ale-house-closing-in-september
October 12th, 2014 at 2:12 pm
The Penntrification of bottle shops continues….
October 12th, 2014 at 2:40 pm
“Licenses that last fall sold for $60,000 to $65,000 are now fetching $85,000 and perhaps more, according to lawyers who specialize in the transactions. That is more the double the asking price for a license in 2002, when they sold for $35,000.”
“The number of licenses for each municipality was set after Prohibition by the legislature, which based it on population.
The LCB counts about 1,440 active restaurant/bar licenses in Philadelphia County, down from 1,543 in 2011 and 2,112 in 1997. Some of these so-called R licenses are in safekeeping – perhaps awaiting a sale – but others have been withdrawn permanently because of liens and violations incurred by their owners.”
The above are excerpts from a February 2013 Philadelphia Inquirer article. Few business owners are going to make a nearly six-figure investment on a liquor license alone and then sell drinks on the low end of the price range. Think of the margins and volume on which that kind of business depends. Most new bar and restaurant owners have “investors” to pay back whether they’re friends and family or banks through loans or even maxed out credit cards.
Decry it as Penntrification all you want but the real reason we’re seeing these kinds of changeovers is because of Pennsylvania’s messed-up liquor laws.
On the other side of it, you have the Watusi II which has a new owner who spent so much money acquiring the property and liquor license he doesn’t have any leftover to make the much-needed structural stabilization improvements to the building. So he’s going to sell low-priced drinks as the building slowly collapses around him. Not exactly a win for drinkers and the neighborhood either.
October 12th, 2014 at 7:39 pm
This is terrible news indeed! Too many yuppies moving into West Philly. The neighborhood is changing, and not for the better. I remember when it was the Wurst House. I bought many a late night pizza there, and beers to drink in Clark Park,or just sitting out on the corner benches watching the people go by. Now just another overpriced hipster/ yuppie bar. What a shame.
October 13th, 2014 at 1:07 pm
Boooooooooooooooooo progress!!! Seriously, Best House sucked and was way overpriced for something like Bud or lager. I welcome anything else that moves into the space. Also, I propose for anyone lamenting the loss of “character” of the neighbor to be drafted into the soon-to-be established Philadelphia Resettlement Program. You and your ilk will be resettled (forcefully) into new, untainted–and above all–“real” locales like Olney, Nicetown, and Strawberry Mansion, where you are guaranteed to not be within a 3 mile radius of a food-coop, bottle shop, or dog-walking business.
October 29th, 2014 at 12:36 pm
My view is that a liquor license should represent a set of regulations and criteria and not a commodity to be sold on a market. If I had my way, businesses apply for a LL would have to meet various application requirements, pay a reasonable fee. If they pass inspection, they get a LL. If not then no. I don’t believe LL’s should be fixed in number. They should not cost $80K+.
September 2nd, 2018 at 6:58 am
I worked at the Wurst House in the 80s and it was great. Bebert, Wiley, Ray, Doug, Woodie, Danny, Gary, Z, Jay, Joe, Mark were all awesome to work with. I miss those guys and miss the real Wurst House