Lost Time Brewing is opening a second Philadelphia taproom at 1519 Ridge Avenue in Fairmount, with a grand opening running from Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18. Doors open at 3 p.m. Friday, giving the Kensington-born brewery its first expansion beyond the original taproom that made it a neighborhood name less than two years ago.
The new spot will pour 16 taps, including two side-pull taps, featuring Lost Time's own beers, lagers, and seasonal releases, according to Breweries in PA. Beyond beer, the taproom will also offer spirits, ready-to-drink cocktails, wine, and cider, broadening the pour list well past what a typical brewpub might stock. Rather than running a full kitchen, the Ridge Avenue location will work with rotating food vendors, a model increasingly common among small craft operations trying to keep overhead manageable.
The Fairmount space is built for a crowd without feeling like a warehouse: about 45 indoor seats, bar seating for roughly 12 more, and an outdoor courtyard that will offer additional room once the weather cooperates. It's a far more intimate footprint than a production facility, which tracks with how the brewery has described this location as a place to pour, not to brew.
From a Kensington Flatiron to a Second Storefront
Lost Time Brewing opened its original taproom at 2145 N. Front Street in Kensington in November 2024, inside a three-story 1910 flatiron building whose exterior famously played Mighty Mick's Gym in the Rocky film franchise, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. That building previously housed a dollar store before developers converted it into apartments with a ground-floor taproom, per the same report. The brewery leaned into that cinematic pedigree with Mickey's Lager, a house specialty packaged with artwork depicting the historic gym building, as noted by Breweries in PA.
The Inquirer's reporting also identifies the team behind the brand: partners Matt Iannelli and Andrew Mattes, along with head brewer Jake Dean. Dean oversees the brewery's recipes and brewing process, while Iannelli and Mattes handle business and taproom operations, the outlet reports. Lost Time does not brew on premises; contract breweries make its beer under Jake Dean’s direction, according to the Inquirer.
A Property With Its Own Backstory
The 1519 Ridge Avenue storefront wasn't always destined for Lost Time. Lancaster-based Our Town Brewery announced plans in April 2023 for a Philadelphia taproom and outdoor beer garden at that address, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The address sits in Francisville, an area with a history of redevelopment and new construction, per Hidden City Philadelphia. The new taproom also lands near neighborhood staples including Bar Hygge, Urban Saloon, Libertee Grounds, The Met Philadelphia, and Eastern State Penitentiary, according to a Zillow property listing for the surrounding block.
Expansion Amid a Shrinking Industry
Lost Time's move to a second taproom comes amid changes in Pennsylvania's craft beer industry. Pennsylvania held onto its ranking as the second-largest craft beer state in the country for both production volume and economic impact, contributing $4.89 billion across 538 operating craft breweries, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
State officials have also stepped in with direct support: in May 2026, the agriculture department announced $1.36 million in grant funding spread across nine projects to support sales, marketing, and agricultural partnerships tied to Pennsylvania's craft brewing industry. The taproom's mix of cocktails and wine alongside beer broadens its beverage lineup.
