Mike "Scoats" Scotese, owner of the Grey Lodge Pub and Hop Angel Brauhaus, kicks off 2011 Philly Beer Week with the Hammer of Glory. Photo/Gina Benigno

Well-known in the Northeast, well-explored by Philadelphia’s beer drinkers, and  once recognized by Esquire as one of the best places to drink in the country, the Grey Lodge Pub has made it onto another national list.

Draft Magazine tallied up the 100 best beer bars in the country, broken down by geographic region. Philadelphia has six of the Northeast U.S. bars worth visiting, and one happens to be Mayfair’s own Grey Lodge. Owner Mike “Scoats” Scotese is a Mayfair Business Association member and also owns Fox Chase’s Hop Angel Brauhaus. continue reading »

Mike "Scoats" Scotese, owner of the Grey Lodge Pub and Hop Angel Brauhaus, kicks off Philly Beer Week with the Hammer of Glory.

The Hammer of Glory, what many Philadelphians refer to as the “HOG,” left Fox Chase’s Hop Angel Brauhaus early Friday morning to kick off Philly Beer Week 2011.

Philly Beer Week is a 10-day celebration of what is arguably considered “America’s Best Beer Drinking City.”  Mike “Scoats” Scotese is one of the masterminds behind this celebration.  Scoats helped start Beer Week four years ago and calls himself one of the “founding fathers” of the Hammer of Glory tour.

Now in its third year, the giant hammer made its way to 21 establishments throughout Philadelphia in what Scoats described as the “most unconventional ways possible.” At the end of its journey, the hammer was used to tap the first keg, signaling the official start of Philly Beer Week 2011. continue reading »

This is part of ongoing coverage in “District 172: The Politics of Change after State Rep. John Perzel,” a collaborative effort with Philadelphia Neighborhoods funded by J-Lab.

After John Perzel, the former speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, was charged with misusing public funds, he lost the seat he had held for more than 30 years in the 172nd District to Democrat Kevin Boyle.

Despite the scandal surrounding Perzel, people are divided about whether a powerful politician was better than a new representative in the Northeast district.

John McClogan, a Walton Park Civic  Association member, said he thinks a tainted Perzel is better than a newly elected representative.

“It’s a shame,” he said. “It’s the people who are suffering.”

McClogan said he thinks there is a big difference between Perzel and Boyle.

“Perzel was the speaker of the house. Boyle is just the representative. He doesn’t have the clout that Perzel had,” McClogan said. continue reading »

This is part of ongoing coverage in “District 172: The Politics of Change after State Rep. John Perzel,” a collaborative effort with Philadelphia Neighborhoods funded by J-Lab.

Change is relative. That seemed to be the message from long-time locals living and working near Frankford Avenue in Mayfair.

The heart of Mayfair, Frankford Avenue has certainly gained a few nail salons and lost a few retail outlets over the years, but not all locals believe these changes to be monumental — or even for the worse.

“People have all these memories of Mayfair as a golden age. It hasn’t really changed that much,” said Mike “Scoats” Scotese, president of the Mayfair Business Association and owner of Frankford Avenue’s Grey Lodge (as well as Fox Chase’s Hop Angel Brauhaus).

Joe Veneziale disagreed. “There’s no retail on the street anymore,” said the owner of Giggles Gifts. “Thirty, 35, 40 years ago, there was nothing but retail stores on the avenue. You could get anything you wanted.”
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Photo by Christopher Wink.

For the sixth year in a row, Father Judge High School hosted a successful Taste of Northeast Philly event Saturday.

Held every year in the Holmesburg school’s cafeteria and gym, the event boasts food from dozens of area restaurants, in addition to beer, raffles, live music and, this year, the Phillies game on a giant projection screen. The event is an impressive showcase of the best foods our region has to offer. continue reading »

The former Blue Ox Bistro at 7980 Oxford Ave. in Fox Chase, where the Grey Lodge owner is expanding. Click to enlarge.

The word from Scoats, owner of Mayfair’s popular Grey Lodge Pub, is that Hop Angel is now open. continue reading »

The former Blue Ox Bistro at 7980 Oxford Ave. in Fox Chase, where the Grey Lodge owner is expanding. Click to enlarge.

The horizon for the opening of Hop Angel Brauhaus, the re-imagined Blue Ox Bistro in Fox Chase from Grey Lodge publican Mike “Scoats” Scotese and partner Pat McGinley, has become clearer.

The project is on schedule and due for a soft opening in September and a grand opening in October, says Scoats. The pair has been leading cosmetic work to the historic 7980 Oxford Ave. location, which has nearly 330 years of history as a pub.

“The renovation will involve more sweat than cash,” Scoats says.

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Mayfair's popular Grey Lodge Pub serves an even larger crowd during Beer Week.

However, executive director of the annual festivities Don Russell wants more.

“The Northeast is lagging with craft beer and their participation in Beer Week, but Three Monkeys and the Grey Lodge have done spectacularly,” Russell said. continue reading »

Northeast Philadelphia Now meeting at the John Perzel Community Center on Monday, June 21, 2010.

The beginnings of a coalition to unite the neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia around a common agenda stemming from quality of life crimes took another humble step inside a Mayfair recreation center Tuesday night.

Just a handful of attendees cycled in and out of the John Perzel Community Center for the second meeting for the Northeast Philadelphia Now initiative, corralled by Mayfair Town Watch Founder John Vearling, and the conversation roamed wildly. The pitch is to bring various and sundry community leaders together to develop cohesive strategies to supplement stretched police details and maintain the family-first reputation that has been a Northeast staple since its post-World War II boom.

“Our question is what can we do in the Northeast and what can we do now,” Vearling said. “Whatever the rest of the city does, I don’t care. I want to fix the problems in the Northeast.”

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The Mayfair Business Association‘s third annual Mayfair May Fair and the second annual Fallen Heroes 5K Run were held on Saturday.

The event kicked off with the 5K run at 8:30 a.m. at Sackett Street and Ryan Avenue. Runners traveled around Pennypack Park and Abraham Lincoln High School, and finished at the Mayfair Memorial Playground at Rowland Avenue and Vista Street.

Mayfair Civic Association President Joe DeFelice said roughly just under 300 people ran the race. They raised a little more than $10,000. continue reading »