A family-owned Philly cheesesteak spot that built a devoted following at its outdoor tiki bar has not yet reopened the Elliott Museum’s upstairs restaurant and plans to do so, possibly in January. Philly Down South plans to elevate its menu as it reopens the museum’s upstairs restaurant, according to reporting by Cheryl Smith in the dining section of Treasure Coast Newspapers.
Philly Down South is known for its Philly cheesesteaks in Stuart, Florida, a specialty rooted in more than two decades of operation as a family-owned restaurant in Croydon, Pennsylvania, before the owners relocated their Philadelphia-inspired comfort food menu to South Florida, according to Discover Martin. That Pennsylvania pedigree has carried over to the museum campus, where the operator now serves as the exclusive in-house caterer and full-service beverage provider for every private venue rental and special event hosted at the Elliott Museum, per the Historical Society of Martin County.
From Tiki Hut to Upstairs Dining Room
The momentum for the reopening traces back to the outdoor Tiki Hut, which built a local following by hosting weekly live music, comedy shows, and community events. Those gatherings have run with no cover charges or raised food prices, the Oceanographic Society notes. That grassroots popularity appears to have set the stage for the more ambitious move upstairs, where Philly Down South now plans to bring sophisticated dinner service back to its second-floor restaurant inside the museum.
The planned reopening would bring dinner service back to the museum’s upstairs restaurant…