February is an exciting month at The 700. Upstairs @ The 700 will expand its nightlife offerings to include Wednesday and Thursday evenings starting on the 12th of the month. On Wednesday evenings, Upstairs @ The 700 will host a weekly open-mic featuring many of the city’s new up and coming comedians. On Thursday the 13th, DJ Aura will kickoff our Thursday night dance parties . Check out the event listings for details on these and all of the other events being held at The 700.
Our December weekends are fire.
Situated on the corner of 2nd and Fairmount long before Northern Liberties became whatever the hell one would call it today (ask Sey and he readily refers to the then battered-and-sparsely lived in neighborhood as “not tainted”), Wunder, who lived in Old City at the time, explained the direction for his bar-playhouse, which he referred to as “kitsch without being hokey.”
In a former life, Wunder was a bartender at Khyber and played a fish while shirtless in an earlier incarnation of Mel’s Rockpile. He also served a stint as the suave DJ and host of Rat Pack nights at Silk City. To top it off, he became a bar owner and scene explorer.
All of this made him a revolutionary.
COURTESY THE 700 AND SEAN AND GINA BUTLER GALLIERA
It’s a homecoming for the husband and wife duo, who’ve spent the past two decades in Los Angeles. Before decamping for California, they were part of the crew that helped lead Philly’s early gastropub boom — Sean as a bartender at the Khyber and Trocadero, and Gina as his trusty sidekick who always kept the party going.
“As a couple, they share a great capacity for ridiculousness and fun,” said Tracy Stanton, who cofounded The 700 with partner Kurt Wunder in 1997. “When they would come in the bar, I knew a great time was coming.”
The Butler-Gallieras made a point of stopping through every time they were in town, which was at least once a year to visit family in the area, they said. Gina had already been considering moving away from the pharma industry when they heard The 700 was for sale.
“Oh my gosh everything’s coming together,” she recalled thinking, explaining that the move out west was always supposed to be temporary. “How can we say no to this opportunity?”
A visit over the Christmas holiday solidified the couple’s intentions.