Guacamole at Cantina Feliz. (Photo courtesy of Cantina Feliz)
Cantina Feliz owner Brian Sirhal is looking forward to moving his longtime Fort Washington location into Ambler Borough.
The windows of the former Lucky Well remain covered with paper as work begins to transform the Ambler-based barbecue restaurant into an eatery specializing in Mexican cuisine.
Cantina Feliz owner Brian Sirhal is looking forward to moving his longtime Fort Washington location to the borough.
“It feels good. It’s nice to be able to come in and do something new, and just create another, hopefully exciting aspect for the community of Ambler and (the) greater Fort Washington area,” Sirhal said last week in an interview.
Sirhal, 46, of Lafayette Hill, has long had a passion for the culinary arts. While he didn’t go the chef route, he ended up in the business by way of New York’s finance industry. However, working under the umbrellas of famed names such as Rosa Mexicano, Chef Jose Garces and Distrito gave him an opportunity to “learn the restaurant business” and “(fall) in love with the culture.”
Sirhal and Tim Spinner opened Cantina Feliz back in 2011. Another location later opened in Philadelphia’s Fairmount section. More than a decade later, the premiere location is set to shut down when Ambler opens later this summer. Sirhal is moving forward with the venture solo, he said, and plans to “focus more attention on the culinary side” of the restaurant’s operations, with help from Chef Luis Villanueva.
“The biggest thing kind of doing it on your own without a partner is you have to have the ability and willingness to ask for help, and I’ve got a lot of great people that are on our team that I can ask for help with,” Sirhal said.
He said that the opportunity to open up a spot in Ambler started with a conversation in a coffee shop one Saturday morning last year. He ran into Chad Rosenthal, former owner of The Lucky Well. Sirhal remembered Rosenthal expressing his interest in trying something different, which piqued Sirhal’s interest.
“I would love to be in Ambler, and that’s just really because I’ve seen the growth of Ambler over the last 10, 15 years of being close by, and in the area,” he said. “My wife and I will go out in Ambler, and just seeing the vibrancy and the foot traffic, it’s pretty amazing, and while we’ve done quite well where we are, we wanted to be where all the action is.”
Recalling the conversation, he said Rosenthal told him if he had an interest in the building to call him. Sirhal said he called Rosenthal a couple days later, and purchased the building in spring 2023.
“The timing worked well for both of us,” he said.
The Lucky Well’s last day of operation was Dec. 31, 2023, and Rosenthal went on to open Rosey’s, a Vietnamese sandwich shop, in early 2024.
Now Sirhal has the keys and plans to revamp the space. A dumpster is situated outside the Butler Avenue establishment as work begins on clearing out items left behind.
“Everyone’s coming in, they’re asking when are you opening? It’s been very positive. A lot of people are excited,” Sirhal said.
Sirhal said he’s working on the project’s redesign, ordering tile samples, kitchen equipment and reconfiguring the space to better accommodate the approximately 120-person seating occupancy.
The signature bar will stay as Sirhal said “it’s about twice the size of what we have now,” comparing the Ambler and Fort Washington locations. He said he’d like to swap the existing subway tiles for a more vibrant design.
Along with the bar, the restaurant’s layout includes a dining area and private dining space. Sirhal said he’d like to “divide up the rooms a little bit,” installing half walls, banquettes and tables. Along with painting, as well as replacing ceiling tiles and light fixtures, Sirhal said he plans to remove the stage. While it’s unclear how much the overall renovation will cost, Sirhal anticipated new kitchen equipment would be the biggest expense.
“The biggest thing is once we get in here and figure out the kitchen layout … that will help determine exactly what’s going to be on the menu and how we execute,” Sirhal said.
Cantina Feliz has roughly 50 employees, and Sirhal said he anticipates that figure will be comparable at the new location, with an addition of more bartenders.
Looking at the food, Sirhal expects the menu will be similar to that of the Fort Washington and Fairmount locations, but a more condensed version with “core” items, while they get up to speed. The hours of operation are not yet known.
“What we’ll do is expand on that as we get our legs under us,” he said. “But the biggest thing for us is execution, and that’s always a priority in making sure the food is as consistent as possible, and I think that’s what’s done really well for us over the years is that we’ve maintained the level of consistency.”
Sirhal said most of the feedback has been positive, but he’s heard some concerns about parking in Ambler, but he wasn’t too worried. As work continues in downtown Ambler over the next few months he’s looking forward to opening the doors of the new Cantina Feliz.
“I think we’re looking forward to integrating into the business community. So many great businesses, great people in this area,” Sirhal said, adding that “we know the community well, but it’s nice to be in the downtown area.”
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between Wissahickon Now and The Ambler Gazette. To read more stories like this, visit the Ambler Gazette.
