FringeArts & Peter Woolsey Break Ground on New Brasserie

For the final step in its transformation from a two-week festival to a bustling year-round destination for artistic and social engagement, FringeArts will join forces with acclaimed Philadelphia chef/restaurateur Peter Woolsey on a new restaurant project that will bring together cutting-edge performance art and contemporary cuisine in a fresh, vibrant setting.

Woolsey's brand-new waterfront brasserie, La Peg at FringeArts (140 N. Columbus Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19106), is set to open in conjunction with the 18th annual Philadelphia Fringe Festival (Sept. 5-21, 2014).

Designed by architect Richard Stokes and Groundswell Design Group under David Fierabend, La Peg will feature 100 interior seats, a full bar with room for 12 and an exterior space with seating for 40. In keeping with the 111-year-old building's history as an industrial pumping station, La Peg will retain a contemporary industrial aesthetic; a simple, unpretentious feel; and an affordable menu. "People associate 'brasserie' with fancy French food," Woolsey says, "but historically the concept was much more casual: Brasseries began as German-style beer halls that served comfort food and brought people together in an informal, relaxed setting. I'm looking forward to playing off the brasserie's original intention as a fun, social meeting place."

"When we were looking for a restaurant partner, we knew we needed real, enticing, delicious food and a vibrant environment for people to gather together," says Nick Stuccio, FringeArts' president and producing artistic director, of the collaboration. "We didn't want the restaurant to be an afterthought - we wanted a partner we could grow with and be dynamic with, and we're ecstatic to be working with Peter. We're two separate businesses that complement each other perfectly."

To that end, FringeArts and La Peg will be programmatic partners as well as neighbors; plans are under way to provide theater-goers and diners alike with a variety of unique, unconventional ways to experience art and cuisine simultaneously.

The restaurant's name is an homage to Woolsey's French father-in-law, whose nicknames for his daughters have stuck with the chef. "He calls my wife [local artist Peggy Woolsey] 'La Peg,' and my sister-in-law 'La Minette,'" Woolsey says. "Peggy's an artist, and this is an artistic venture, so it was a perfect fit."

FringeArts' new 10,000-square-foot waterfront building opened to the public in October 2013, featuring a 240-seat theater, rehearsal and creation studio and administrative offices. Once construction on La Peg and its shared outdoor plaza are complete, FringeArts will announce a grand opening celebration, to be held in conjunction with the 18th annual Philadelphia Fringe Festival, taking place Sept. 5-21, 2014.

FringeArts' performing arts season continues this summer with the multidisciplinary Sun Ra tribute A Beautiful Noise (June 6), a free series of work-in-progress performances by The Berserker Residents (June 8, 15, 22 and 29), monthly Scratch Nights (first Mondays) and much more. For tickets and information, call 215-413-9006 or visit fringearts.com.

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