Franklins East Falls - Former Thumpers Grill

**sleeisme** · 06-27-2011, 03:00 PM

My husband (who takes the train to work every day) noticed that they are working on the former Thumpers on Cresson. Anyone know when/what, etc.? Very excited.

**Lucho** · 06-27-2011, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by sleeisme

My husband (who takes the train to work every day) noticed that they are working on the former Thumpers on Cresson. Anyone know when/what, etc.? Very excited.

Don't get too excited......this location doesn't work.

**alex** · 06-28-2011, 10:27 AM

When it was Thumpers, there was one smaller room on the Cresson-facing side and a much bigger room in the back.

The building can hold a lot of people, which is a problem for the location. It's difficult to get that many people to come to a place in a residential neighborhood on a not-so-visible street, plus the neighbors will have it shut down if it draws that many customers. I don't remember whether it was as Thumpers or the previous incarnation, but there were previous owners who had some kind of beer deal on Wednesday nights. It got crowded, and at 2:15 on Thursday mornings there were usually cars driving the wrong way on one-way streets in the surrounding blocks and a lot of vandalism to residents' cars, plants, etc.

The place could work if they just had the smaller front room open as a bar/restaurant and did something else with the big room – maybe an office or something that can make money without the need for so much traffic.

**philly57** · 06-28-2011, 11:30 AM

Where is this place? I don't think you can automatically assume everyone knows. Thanks.

**D-man** · 06-28-2011, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by philly57

Where is this place? I don't think you can automatically assume everyone knows. Thanks.

This was mentioned in another thread (maybe they should be merged?).

Thumpers was located on Cressen Street in East Falls, near the EF train station. It's an odd looking building, with an outdoor deck.

ETA: Here's the other thread:
http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/fo...on-street.html

**FrankStar** · 06-28-2011, 12:25 PM

Obviously, it's going to be a Wegman's.

**alex** · 06-28-2011, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by philly57

Where is this place? I don't think you can automatically assume everyone knows. Thanks.

East Falls, corner of Cresson and Bowman, which is near Indian Queen.

**philly57** · 06-28-2011, 01:15 PM

Oh. I guess Thumpers is from a different generation. If the thread had been called, "Former Four Horseman" I would have known

**billy ross** · 06-28-2011, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by philly57

Oh. I guess Thumpers is from a different generation. If the thread had been called, "Former Four Horseman" I would have known

Former Italian Club.

**Kiks** · 06-29-2011, 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by FrankStar

Obviously, it's going to be a Wegman's.

If Only!

**PASnow** · 08-08-2011, 03:28 PM

I spoke with someone checking this place out about a year ago while walking my dog, and pretty sure I saw him the other day. Pretty sure he runs Mc Kinley Tavern up in Abington. It's a smaller corner bar there, but he was looking to make this more concentrated on good food due to the larger size. Seemed like a nice guy with reasonable plans & ideas, not $1 Bud night on Wednesdays like it was under the Horseman.

Anyway, I was wondering if he chose against obtaining it but pretty sure I just saw the same guy.

**The Rox** · 08-08-2011, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by PASnow

I spoke with someone checking this place out about a year ago while walking my dog, and pretty sure I saw him the other day. Pretty sure he runs Mc Kinley Tavern up in Abington. It's a smaller corner bar there, but he was looking to make this more concentrated on good food due to the larger size. Seemed like a nice guy with reasonable plans & ideas, not $1 Bud night on Wednesdays like it was under the Horseman.

Anyway, I was wondering if he chose against obtaining it but pretty sure I just saw the same guy.

Thanks for sharing, PASnow.

I used to go to this place when I was in college.

Anybody remember when it was called "Arena's"? Pretty awesome spot back then.

**frogbite66** · 08-09-2011, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by The Rox

Thanks for sharing, PASnow.

I used to go to this place when I was in college.

Anybody remember when it was called "Arena's"? Pretty awesome spot back then.

I liked Arena's.Was great for Flyers games!

**Mike D** · 09-14-2011, 09:12 AM

Yesterday, they were putting up banners announcing 'Coming Soon' with the name of the place. I'm sorry but the name is rather uninspired and unoriginal to me. FRANKLIN'S.

Really?

A name like that leaves a bit less to be desired. Hopefully, I'm wrong and is a wonderful establishment with more than just an emphasis on drinking.

**Malloy** · 09-14-2011, 09:56 AM

That would be great. Falls Taproom seems like it has hit its stride - Buckets was never this busy. Another win in the area would be great.

Shame Johnny Ms is still sucking. The Yelp reviews are consistently awful. I wonder if the manager is aware of Yelp and the impact it can have.

Originally Posted by PASnow

I spoke with someone checking this place out about a year ago while walking my dog, and pretty sure I saw him the other day. Pretty sure he runs Mc Kinley Tavern up in Abington. It's a smaller corner bar there, but he was looking to make this more concentrated on good food due to the larger size. Seemed like a nice guy with reasonable plans & ideas, not $1 Bud night on Wednesdays like it was under the Horseman.

Anyway, I was wondering if he chose against obtaining it but pretty sure I just saw the same guy.

**billy ross** · 09-14-2011, 10:35 AM

I hear the manager left because he wasn't getting paid. My source is a little suspect, though.

The new guy on Cresson has a well-thought-of but secret place in Elkins Park.

**friendlynerd** · 09-14-2011, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by Malloy

Shame Johnny Ms is still sucking. The Yelp reviews are consistently awful. I wonder if the manager is aware of Yelp and the impact it can have.

I'm new to East Falls and of course we tried it - I'm really sad to say the food, drinks, and service were all mediocre at best. And I could handle mediocre in exchange for low prices but to top it all off the prices were, in my view, astronomically high.

Truly disappointing.

**The Count** · 09-14-2011, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by friendlynerd

I'm new to East Falls and of course we tried it - I'm really sad to say the food, drinks, and service were all mediocre at best. And I could handle mediocre in exchange for low prices but to top it all off the prices were, in my view, astronomically high.

Truly disappointing.

Apparently Mañanas is one of those places that doesn't have to be good to survive.

Outdoor seating, frozen margaritas, and a big red pepper is all you need.

Every couple years you hear some noise about how they know their food is awful and they're going to make big changes but nothing ever happens.

I have high hopes for Franklin's. I love the quadruple punch of Epicure, Murphy's, Cranky's, and Franklin's serving the residents who live up the hill.

**alex** · 09-14-2011, 11:42 AM

Talked to a neighbor about this last night while our dogs were playing. He said that he saw the owner and chatted with him for bit, and that it's going to be a sports bar. Not really my thing, but if they have good beer and good food I'll go because the location is super-convenient for me.

Here's the thing about that spot - as we all know, it's really big. The last owners said they wanted it to be nicer than a $1-Bud kind of bar, but I guess they felt like they had to move toward that to get the traffic they needed to fill it up. Which then turned into a mess for the neighborhood, because all of the very drunk kids leaving at 2A had to pee somewhere on their way home, and many of them were too drunk to remember that Cresson is a one-way street.

I would LOVE for this place to be a valuable addition to the neighborhood, and I hope that a good version of it can do well. I will definitely visit soon after it opens.

**Lucho** · 09-14-2011, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by the count

i have high hopes for franklin's. I love the quadruple punch of epicure, murphy's, cranky's, and franklin's serving the residents who live up the hill.

really?????