We recently connected with Anthony Notarfrancesco and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Anthony thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

We bought SouthHouse in May of 2019 and over the first nine months we had to rehire a completely new front-of-house staff, revamp the menu, implement inventory systems, and try to turn around what was a failing business. If all of that wasn’t difficult enough, in March of 2020 the Covid lockdowns were put in place, completely upending everything. I had to fire the entire staff–front and back of the house–and handle everything myself. I was now a full-time line cook, prep cook, dishwasher, and bartender, in addition to running the business. I had very minimal experience in all of those things–which made buying SouthHouse in the first place crazy enough–and now I was forced into all of those roles while we waited for the lockdowns to end.

It was an absolute nightmare. Physically speaking, I was constantly exhausted–since I was the only cook I had to wait to get prep done until after business hours, in addition to getting the bar ready for take out drinks, on top of keeping up with the administrative side of things made for 18+ days, seven days a week. In terms of my mental health, it was tough doing all of that work to see the meager sales numbers at the end of each week and watching the bank account slowly dwindle. Our regulars were supporting us, for sure, but everybody was put in a tough financial position and forced to curb their spending. Plus, with only nine months under our belt our list of regulars wasn’t as long as some of the more established businesses in our neighborhood.

We were fortunate enough to get connected with a charity that paid us to cook 100 meals per week for healthcare workers. That was a lifesaver that helped us stay afloat until the Fall when some of the lockdowns were lifted. Like most business that survived we were forced to get creative. For us, that meant bottling our wing sauces and selling them online and in retail stores, which has now turned into a lucrative side business to help grow our brand.

Anthony, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Before owning SouthHouse I worked in real estate, mostly on the financing and leasing side of things. My plan had always been to buy a 2 or 3-unit property every few years and accumulate enough rental income to manage my own property management company. My first purchase was a 2-unit property next door to SouthHouse, where I lived in one unit and rented the other. I fell in love with the bar and instantly became a regular. The only problem? The business was dying. There would be many weekend nights I’d sit there with one of the few other patrons at the bar wondering why it was so slow. The staff told me the owner had it listed for sale and had all but checked out already.

The real estate side of my brain started to tick, and after a few days I reached out to the sales broker. It seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity–how often do you move next door to a bar that’s for sale and you have the ability to buy it? On top of that, I was looking for a change from my current job, so I decided to go for it. Six months later I owned a bar.

Five years later, we’re a successful neighborhood sports bar in South Philly that has regulars visiting us from all across the Philadelphia region. Our menu features the best burgers in Philly, amazing wings with sauces that we make in-house, great cheesesteaks, and a friendly staff that makes people feel welcome and want to come back again and again. We’re also known for our extensive gluten free food and drink menu. It’s not uncommon that people will drive from an hour or two away just to visit us for a gluten free cheesesteak or burger.

One of our Covid innovations–bottling our wing sauces–has taken off as well. We’re now in multiple retail locations throughout the Philly area and are selling at farmer’s markets and street festivals. That innovation, which helped us survive the pandemic lockdowns, has the potential to go national, bringing the SouthHouse brand to even bigger places.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

My last boss was infamous for holding meetings over drinks at happy hour and calling impromptu meetings early in the morning. The early morning meetings rarely had an agenda or any specific goal in mind, and the happy hour meetings would quickly devolve into long drinking sessions with little work being talked about.

Those morning meetings were not only a waste of time, but they started the day off on a sour note, feeling like you’ve already wasted the first hour (and sometimes two hours!) of your day being unproductive. Always have an agenda for a meeting and an end goal. If you don’t know what or how you want to talk about something then a meeting isn’t necessary.

While those happy hour meetings were definitely fun, it had the adverse effect of making you feel like you were ‘friends first’ with your boss, as opposed to being an employee first. There’s nothing wrong with having drinks, but do it after work is over and don’t mix the two.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Making our regulars feel like they’re a part of the SouthHouse family. For a neighborhood bar like ours it’s essential to be there and meet and get to know as many of our regulars as possible. That doesn’t mean you have to be best friends with everyone, but something as simple as greeting a person by their first and knowing a few details can really make someone feel at home and part of a community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.southhousephilly.com
• Instagram: @sohophilly
• Facebook: SouthHouse Philly
• Twitter: @sohophilly
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/southhouse-philadelphia