Grace Tavern turns a roast pork into a neighborhood rally
There’s a notable kind of Philly logic where the quickest way to build community is to feed it—and Grace Tavern is leaning into that truth all month long with Pork for the Park, a March fundraiser that feels as natural as a cold beer after work. Throughout March, Grace Tavern at 2229 Grays Ferry Avenue will donate proceeds from roast pork sandwich sales to benefit Triangle Plaza, the small park located directly across the street in Grays Ferry.
The goal is to raise capital for improvements that make the space safer and more usable, including lighting and safety enhancements, while also supporting live music and other programming designed to get neighbors outside and together.
The charm of this kind of effort is how unpretentious it is. Grace Tavern isn’t asking you to navigate a gala, a silent auction, or a complicated pledge drive. It’s saying: come in, order something that tastes like Philadelphia, and let that choice ripple outward into the block you live on. The result is a fundraiser that doesn’t feel separate from real life—it is real life, just pointed in the right direction.
Grace Tavern’s Pork for the Park sandwich is all killer, no filler
The fundraising engine here is a $12 roast pork sandwich that reads like a South Philly love letter: roasted pork, long hots, pork jus, and melted provolone, built on a grilled Mighty Bread Co. baguette. It’s the kind of sandwich you order once and then immediately start plotting when you can come back for the second run—especially when you remember every bite is also backing improvements across the street.
And because Grace Tavern already operates like a true neighborhood institution, it’s easy to fold the fundraiser into your routine. Grace Tavern is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., with the kitchen serving until midnight, which means you can support the cause at lunch, late-night, or anywhere in between.
The broader menu makes it even easier to turn this into a regular stop: a carefully curated draft beer program, half-priced burgers daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 10 p.m. to midnight, an all-day egg sandwich, chili with grilled bread, a rotating selection of tin fish, and bar snacks like bowls of olives plus house-made chips and dip. In other words, even if you came for the roast pork, you’ll find a lot of reasons to linger—and that’s exactly how neighborhood places earn their keep.
Grace Tavern backs Triangle Plaza and the push to make it permanent
Triangle Plaza sits at the intersection of 23rd and South Streets and is overseen by the South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA). The park has existed for more than a decade, but the City of Philadelphia still considers it a temporary public space, which is where the stakes get real. To help secure grant funding and formalize the plaza’s future, SOSNA created the Grays Ferry Triangles Gateway Project in 2022, proposing $3 million in improvements aimed at making the area more pedestrian-friendly, reducing traffic flow, and encouraging more public gatherings and events.
After the city received a $1.6 million grant to fund improvements proposed by SOSNA, the neighborhood association must raise $30,000 from the community to begin the design phase—meaning local participation isn’t just nice, it’s essential.
As operating partner Brian Moyer puts it, “Our goal is to support neighborhood programming while bringing residents together through great food and local music,” and “Grace Tavern has long been committed to supporting the South of South community, and we’re honored to collaborate with the Association on an event that helps activate the park and celebrate our community.” It’s the kind of quote that doesn’t feel like marketing because it lines up perfectly with what a great bar does at its best: it becomes a hub.
Grace Tavern’s Pork for the Park campaign runs through Tuesday, March 31, making March a smart month to turn a casual sandwich habit into something that helps Triangle Plaza feel safer, brighter, and more alive.
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