Opening Alert: Indoor Beer Garden William Street Common Just Popped Up Out of Nowhere

Avram Hornik is ready to lift the veil on William Street Common, a new West Philly beer hall that got its first press mention just two days ago, when Zagat Philly broke news of the project. Ex-Koo Zee Doo chef David Gilberg, fresh off last season at Hornik's Morgan's Pier, has drawn up a comfort-food menu of snacks and sandwiches, including pork belly poutine, "snack bacon," eggplant parm, and a staple Portuguese pork sandwich called a bifana.

To keep bar tabs simple, drink prices follow a flat-rate scheme: all drinks are $5, beer pitchers are $15, and wine carafes are $20. On weekends, look for a prix fixe brunch that includes three cocktails (mix and match from Irish coffee, mimosas, beer, and more), unlimited coffee and doughnuts, and a choice of entree for $22.33 per person.

And in keeping with the growing national trend to eliminate tips or otherwise reconceive of how we compensate restaurant workers, William Street Common will also try to simplify gratuities. You can read a deeply detailed explanation on their site, but simply put, it translates to a 20% service charge being automatically added to your check (unlike Girard, another no-tip-required restaurant, there is no option here to add an additional tip).

The funds generated by the service charge will be matched by management to create a pool from which they'll pay both front-of-house and back-of-house wages — all employees are guaranteed a wage of $15 per hour no matter what, but if the pool runs a surplus, they do still have an opportunity to make more.

Current hours are 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The bar's site notes that weekday hours will be added beginning Monday, March 2, when it will begin opening at the crack of 8 a.m. UPDATED: Check the official site for the most recent hours, which are still being sorted out in the early days.

William Street Common, 3900 Chestnut St., (215) 397-4693, now open.