Photos courtesy of Jake’s & Cooper’s Wine Bar
Bruce Cooper awoke to a phone call from the fire department at 5 a.m. one morning in July to learn that his restaurant had been struck by a water main break. As he drove across Green Lane Bridge on July 15, he could see numerous emergency vehicles, their lights and crews and immediately feared the worst.
The basement of his popular Manayunk restaurant, Jake’s & Cooper’s Wine Bar, was flooded, the sidewalk crumbled to pieces, and water, mud and rock entirely altered the surrounding landscape.
“Seeing my refrigerator floating in seven feet of water was shocking,” Cooper recalls. In the aftermath, he had a moment of clarity. “After 29 years on Main Street, I soon realized that this was the perfect opportunity to rethink everything we do at the restaurant.”
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In January, Jake’s and Cooper’s will emerge better than ever. The restaurant opted to transform some of its long-standing programs during its downtime. Changes included a menu revamp, including new items for lunch, dinner, happy hour and dessert. The most significant change comes in the form of a brand new wine program. Cooper hand-selected more than 50 wines from around the globe to include on the menu. The restaurant has also doubled its draft beer system, increasing from six to 12 taps, and will now offer two new draft wines.
Some of the restaurant’s signature staples, such as crab cakes, short rib pizza and burgers, will remain on the menu. Notable changes include the addition of hand-selected cheeses from local farms, fresh pasta made by hand, and a seasonal facelift to entrees and small plates.
Jake’s and Cooper’s Wine Bar will reopen in January.
4365 Main St., Manayunk, www.jakesandcoopers.com
