Palmyra, PA

Rising Sun Bar & Kitchen expansion began as a vision to expand their preexisting restaurant and underutilized side yard to include an auxiliary bar connected by an open air patio for outdoor dining.

The new bar adaptively reused the neighboring historic 1800s era 2-story home that had been converted to apartments decades ago. While half of the building was demolished due to disrepair, the remaining building was stripped down to its original shell. Selective interior demolition revealed an 1800s era brick bearing wall shell encapsulating a timber post and beam second floor and roof structure that were retained to maintain existing character. Window openings were revitalized with modern window framing and new brick surrounds to meld the exterior appearance with the adjacent restaurant and to fill the 2-story bar with daylight.

The bar was also designed to blur the boundary of indoor versus outdoor seating for year-round use. Three large operable folding glass walls open to an exterior bar that is an extension to the interior bar, tucked under a timber framed porch that flanks the bar and restaurant patio.

The patio, although adjacent to a highly-traveled state road, is buffered from the street by a reclaimed brownstone wall and a linear timber trellis to provide a secure yet inviting seating environment set over artificial turf and permeable pavers.

Rising Sun Bar & Kitchen provides a balance between old and new, rustic and modern, and provides a fresh air atmosphere for social gathering hub for Palmyra, PA.