Business & Tech

34 East Tavern: New Cuisine for a Renewed Ambler

The new Ambler bar and restaurant will open June 26 at the old Wyndham Hotel at Butler Avenue and Spring Garden Street. It offers some food and drink fare at this weekend's Ambler Arts & Music Festival.

The 1893-dedicated former Wyndham Hotel is the only thing old about 34 East Tavern.

In fact, the new bar and restaurant at Butler and Spring Garden in downtown Ambler—ready to pour drafts from its 24 taps and satisfy diners with a homey, comforting atmosphere come June 26—is nothing but new.

New ownership, new floors, new decor, new paint, new jukebox, 12 new HDTVs, new executive chef in Upper Gwynedd resident Sean Ciccarone, new menu with homemade cuisine, new kitchen equipment, new RAMP-certified and trained staff—34 East Tavern hopes to be very welcoming to a new clientele.

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"If you had seen it when we first walked in," said Ciccarone, "it's like night and day."

While it boasts new, it also takes a role in the new renaissance of Ambler Borough.

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Eager customers need not wait for June 26 to get a taste of 34 East Tavern. The restaurant will be selling corn, burgers and beer at its outside beer garden and grill during this weekend's Ambler Arts & Music Festival.

The revival of Wyndham Hotel into 34 East begins in May 2012 with the collapse of the wall of the former Finn McCool's. The bar shut down and, at one time, had every intention of reopening, but it never happened.

Now, 34 East, LLC is bringing a family-oriented restaurant and gastro tavern to Ambler.

"We want it to be family oriented. This is not some shot-and-a-beer bar," said manager Jack Del Conte. "Soon, we'll have Sunday brunch for those after church. We just got involved with the borough and joined the Ambler Main Street group. We are 100 percent new."

Ciccarone sees 34 East as joining the ranks of other new restaurants poised to open in the area, like chef Chad Rosenthal's The Lucky Well in the old Shanachie location.

"There's a huge resurgence in the revitalization of Ambler, and we want to be a part of that," said Ciccarone, who trained at and graduated from the Art Institute of Philadelphia's culinary program. "We work hand-in-hand with a lot of local elements, be it the theaters or churches."

Over the past five months, Del Conte and Ciccarone have helped usher in 34 East as the new element to Ambler's revitalization.

"There's no place in Ambler that has the history that this place does," Del Conte said.

Del Conte still gets the feeling of the old days when he steps into the building. He remembered when it was Wyndham Hotel with its downstairs barbershop.

"We needed to revamp it," Ciccarone said, who has brought in his experience as a former chef at Iron Abbey in Horsham and Creed's in King of Prussia.

Revamping didn't stop at the four historic walls of 34 East Tavern; it is evident in its proposed menu.

"Everything, for the most part, is fresh, in-house, made on premises," Ciccarone said. "From our soups to our sauces. We even grind our own meat for the burgers and cut our own fries."

The large cuisine, made by uniform-wearing culinary artists, offers many choices that will leave patrons wiping their mouths with the linen napkins and rubbing their stuffed bellies.

Start off with some of Ciccarone's favorite items, like the gorgonzola potato chips, loaded fries, jumbo lump crab quesadilla or 34 East wings.

Then, move on to the eclectic entrees, such as magret duck risotto, jumo lump crab cakes, rainbow trout or the turkey meatloaf.

34 East's menu also offers pastas, like crab arrabiata and meatballs, and sandwiches, like tavern cheesesteaks and The 34 Burger, a house ground blend of chuck, brisket and shortrib. There's even a children's menu.

"We keep it homey," said Ciccarone, who came up with the selections on the menu. "There's a comforting feel to the food."

He said it's all food he would eat himself.

"It's not fufu food. It's food for the masses," he said. "I took a lot of old classics and put a tweak on them."

Ciccarone said food and freshness will be the draw to 34 East Tavern. There is respect and recognition for its local competitors, he said.

"We don't want to alienate anybody in town," he said, adding that management looks to invite councilmembers, local law enforcement and the like to a sneak preview event prior to June 26.

"We find a compromise where we all feel we can welcome families, theatergoers and business owners," Ciccarone said. "There is a lot of competition in the area. We want to draw from the neighboring community, like Doylestown and the Main Line, and help each other out."

Del Conte and Ciccarone said there is entertainment planned periodically at 34 East Tavern, like acoustic sets. Don't expect any DJs or loud events—the walls may be historic, but they are thin to the outside.

The plus, Del Conte said, is the opportunity for outdoor seating at 34 East Tavern. He said they could easily fit 40 to 50 patrons on the patio fronting Butler Avenue. There's also the full intention of opening the second floor within the next two years.

"Our hours are convenient for diners," said Ciccarone.

The kitchen is planned to close at 11 p.m. between Mondays and Wednesdays, at midnight between Thursdays and Saturdays, and at 9 p.m. on Sundays.

"We know how it feels when it's late and you're hungry," Ciccarone said. "We'll have a limited bar menu, but late night food."

Ciccarone said 34 East Tavern will be that place that boils over with a sense of community.

"You won't feel like an outcast," he said. "The menu won't scare you. You won't feel like you are sitting at the bar by yourself. We're a tavern, but we're a step way above that."

When it comes down to it, he said, it's all about Ambler.

"At the end of the day," he said, "everybody wants to see the success of this town."

Learn more about 34 East Tavern at its Facebook page at this link.


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