More Than A Bar

from West Reading Avenues Spring 2022

The Art Room - It’s All About

By Allison Favila

When Kacie and Chris Griffith met (“forever ago,” as she described it), they always knew they wanted to work together in the hospitality industry, although they weren’t exactly sure what form it would take. As they worked together at a bar, traveled, and soaked up knowledge about spirits and cocktails, their vision became clear.

In late 2019, they dove into obtaining licenses and finding the perfect location. After what Kacie described as a “series of fortunate events,” they found and were able to occupy the former bakery space at 713 Penn Avenue. They poured themselves into renovating the space, painting it the same colors they love in their own house, and installing beautiful plants and pillows and chairs – it truly feels like a cozy home.

The Bar Cart’s specialty is the craft cocktail. Each one is made with a Pennsylvania spirit, and they update the list every week, focusing on local agriculture and highlighting the uniqueness of local liquor brands. In the spirit of putting a local or personal twist on the classics, each week’s menu includes a modified Old Fashioned. They have a beautiful selection of bitters that they also expertly use in many of their delicious creations. Foodies love chic, modern restaurants, and The Bar Cart is the equivalent place for cocktail lovers.

But if craft cocktails aren’t your thing, they offer other PA products as well! Their cider comes from a fifth-generation farming family in Gettysburg, who approach their cider making almost like winemakers, experimenting with apple blends and pressing everything fresh. The wine at the Cart is from Stony Run, who grows their fruit in PA and pours lots of love into their products. There is also a rotating, local beer selection from small PA breweries – stop in, check out the current list, and ask the bartenders about it!

Besides being able to drink some amazing PA spirits and beautifully crafted cocktails, one of the things that sets The Bar Cart apart is that it’s also a bottle shop. You can purchase the PA brands used in the drinks, including Kinsey whiskeys, Revivalist gin, Manatawny Still Works, and many more. If you love a cocktail, the staff will happily jot down the recipe, show you how to make it, and help you purchase the spirits and

bitters needed (then you can make it at home, snap a photo, and post it to let them know you are enjoying their recipes)!

Another thing that sets The Bar Cart apart is their amazing events. Because the owners are passionate about education, they have brought in brand reps and master distillers to conduct tastings and “talk nerdy about whiskey” (kind of a perfect night in my book!). They will happily talk to you in depth about your cocktail, from the types of barrels the liquor was aged in, to where the fruits or herbs came from, to what flavors the bitters will bring out. They are also doing pop-ups with local restaurants and local artists, and have been using the theme of the pop-up as inspiration for that week’s cocktail menu – for example, during a collaboration with Terrain Textures foraged art pieces, they infused gin with porcini mushrooms and created an umami sour!

The Bar Cart already has a special place in my heart, and I can’t wait to see what they do next. To keep up with their cocktail menus, their exciting events, their opening hours, new products and merch, and yes, also with Kacie and Chris’s adorable dog Reggie, find them on Facebook (The Bar Cart PA) and Instagram (@thebarcart_pa). Cheers!