For Phil Osika, Lil Phil's is a dream come true and measure of his ability to make something positive from what could have been a devestating loss.
"Where I was working before, they decided to close it down and transfer everything to another, smaller site. So, I took early retirement, but I'm a little too old to go back in the job market and a little too young to draw my pension. And I've always wanted to own a neighborhood bar, you know, where you live upstairs," Osika explains.
The Canton resident, who once lived above the Green Turtle in Fells Point, says everything just came together for him once he made the decision to open the bar.
"This used to be Wee Peter's Pub, a place I went when I first moved from Fell's Point to Canton. I'd go there and shoot pool. I'd gotten to know a lot of people down here and was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. And, the name Lil Phil's is sort of take off of Wee Peter's Pub," he says.
Osika sees Lil Phil's, located at 706 S Broadway, as a neighborhood bar for locals who want to escape the hordes of college-aged drinkers and the theme bars that have become common in Fells Point and enjoy a game of pool. "I already have a good number of regulars and its starting to become a little like 'Cheers' where everybody knows your name and the bartender knows what you're drinking, right off the bat."
Drinks include six beers on tap, including Stella Artois, Blue Moon and Yuengling. Osika has just started a daily Happy Hour from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. week nights during which 24 ounce drafts are the same price as a pint.
In December, according to Osika, hopes to open the kitchen and begin serving light bar fare.
"This is something I'd always looked at doing. Now, I have the opportunity and don't have to wonder 'what if'"
Source: Phil Osika, Lil Phil's
Writer: Walaika Haskins