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We thought we were all set. We found a fabulous and affordable restaurant for our rehearsal dinner.
And then I got this email from the catering manager:
Dear [Sloth],
I am sorry to tell you that we have closed. Our landlord was unwilling to work with us to build and grow a successful business.
Thank you for considering us for your rehearsal dinner and our best wishes to you and [Mr. S] for a fine, safe and healthy journey moving forward.
Ugh.
Although maybe we’re better off, because according to Philly.com, it wasn’t a landlord issue. That article says “Last month, the city cited the business for operating without food-prep and business-privilege licenses.” So it sounds like it was possibly up to some shady practices.
We honestly have no idea what to do now. We’ve spoken to so many restaurants, and they are all out of our budget. Our venue coordinator said that we had to rehearse between 1-4 pm the day before, so for one hot minute, we thought we had a solution: a rehearsal lunch! But that was dashed all to hell when we found out that two of our groomsmen won’t even be arriving in town until around noon—and that’s only if there are no flight delays (knock wood).
It seems now that our only options are to do what we didn’t want to do: have our rehearsal, drive about 30 minutes into the suburbs to our new house for dinner, and drive back 30 minutes to the hotel, where we’re staying that night. With a whole lot of out-of-towners who won’t have cars and who aren’t familiar with the area, it’s a really unattractive option, so I still plan on calling every restaurant I can possibly think of in the meantime.
Did you have any vendor cancellations? How did you work around them?
(And if any Philadelphians have a recommendation for a CHEAP [and I mean CHEAP - like $20 pp including entree, salad and dessert] restaurant that can take a party of 20-25 people, I’m listening!)
have you thought about having a much more casual rehearsal dinner? Like wings and beer, pizza and salad…or being in philly trying a philly cheesesteaks… I dunno but I feel like you could have lots of fun with it, since the wedding will be more formal.
That sucks but hopefully will be for the best in the end.
I had an event at The Dark Horse which has a few different rooms to fit diferent size groups. They worked really well with me and my tiny budget. I would give them a shot.
Good Luck!
Is there a small meeting room at the hotel you could use for the evening and have it catered? Even if it was just something easy like Jimmy Johns… I always enjoy more casual rehearsal dinners. Or look into a pizza place? Or, are there any parks around where you could rent a pavillion or a meeting room? Then, you could have it catered from somewhere in the area. Just some thoughts.
That stinks! Fingers crossed that you find a great solution!
how about mcgillin’s? it is definitely more casual but they are pretty inexpensive..
That sucks! It does, but please call La Fourno Pizza on South Street. Francis is the Filipino server there, we used to go there all the time since we lived around the block. Seriously every now and then I see the delivery guy on his bike and he waves to me. They have an upstairs room for catering and I imagine you could do food for about $20 a person (excluding drinks, but you could have people pay for their own! really!) Or you can ask to supply your own since you’ll be upstairs.
I think the owner’s name is Steve and he’s very nice too. You can tell them Christine who used to live around the corner on 7th with her husband Anthony recommended them, if you talk to Francis - he’s probably the only one there still who would remember me by name.
Good luck!
(Oh also, if they can’t do dessert for $20 a person, you could ask to bring your own cake, I’m sure they’d let you!)
Oh La Fourno also sells Italian style pasta dishes and what not. I think Al is the other owner too. It’s been a while since I’ve been there, and I saw a recent negative review on Yelp that maybe there was new management. I suggest you guys go in some night - it’s not too expensive and try it out.
Good luck!
What abotu Bridget Foy’s? I’m sure you’ve already thought of that though, b/c now that I think about it, you might’ve written about it in your hometown post…
Dinner for private parties is right around $25 I think.
And I agree with previous posters, McGillan’s, Isish Pub, Monk’s, Moriarty’s, or any pubbish place could probably work with you.
Good Luck 
I haven’t lived in Philly for awhile, but what about somewhere in china town. Like Panang or Vietnamn?
I think you should definitely take everyone to a real Phillt cheesesteak experience. That would be really memorable and way less stress! Just casual and fun!
The Mexican Post has a Fiesta package for $17 that has an app, entree & dessert. Have people pay for their own margaritas! Their website is down, but they have a few different locations in Center City.
I was always a fan of the Urban Saloon up across from ESP. And also, ditto to the PP on The Dark Horse.
Have you checked to see if your hotel has a room available to rent? Sometimes you can rent out a conference room and bring in your own food- then you can do pretty much whatever you want!
Try Slate on 22nd? St close to Rittenhouse Square. We had our after wedding brunch there. The food was awesome and the chef/owner was willing to work within our budget.
Wow… Just when you think you have things figured out. Can’t think of any restaurants that meet all of the criteria at the moment, but will second Mexican Post for tasty, cheap eats. (We patronize the DE location several times a month.)
Best of luck as the search continues!
Maybe find someplace where you can do dinner for cheap (15 pp) and then take everyone someplace cool for dessert? Like a bakery or an ice cream shop? Seems like dessert is usually more expensive at restaurants than these types of places.
Or find someplace that does more family-style serving?
How about A Full Plate in Northern Libs? Love that place, never thought it was pricey
There are a couple of great BYO restaurants in the Art Museum Area. L’oca (Corinthian and Fairmount) is an Italian restaurant that has 46 seats (we are actually hoping to have our rehearsal dinner here on May 20 but have not booked it yet) that has pasta entrees for 16-20 dollars and you can bring your own wine. Angelino’s (26th and Brown) is another BYO that is a little more casual than L’oca but the food is delicious and they have pasta entrees from 10-13/entree and that includes salad. Neither of these places have a private dining room but if you are having your dinner at like five after your rehearsal you would pretty much have the place to yourselves. Also Zorba’s(23rd and Fairmount) is a BYO greek restaurant that has entrees around the same price as Angelinos and has an upstairs dining room that you could probably use for your group. L’oca is probably the most picturesque of this group but is also the highest price. You can easily do dinner and dessert for 20pp at Angelino’s and I believe at Zorba’s as well. Let me know if you need any more suggestions!
@AliceM:
Here are the websites of these places:
http://locabistro.com/
http://www.angelinosrap.com/
http://www.zorbastavern.com/
There are tons more BYO places as well in Philly, you can totally do this!
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Ms. Sloth, Philadelphia Age and Occupation: 35, Account Manager and Fashion Blogger Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Design Admin Engagement Date: December 25, 2009 Wedding Date: May 2011 Venue: Bartram's Garden About Me: I'm an internet junkie and music snob with a good eye for a bargain. I couldn't live without thrift store shopping, cheeseburgers, sushi, Coke Zero, websites devoted to silly photos of baby animals, Photoshop, and Mr. Sloth. Speaking of which, he and I are a pair of goofball homebody nerds who love our beagle (the most ridiculously adorable dog EVER) to an embarrassing degree. We're planning a low-key and intimate yet festive and quirky outdoor wedding with DIY details and deeply personal touches, and it's all taking place in the city where we fell in love and call home: Philadelphia.
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