LONDON (AP) — A stuffed Phillie Phanatic mascot doll sits perched atop a New England Patriots helmet near a shrine to Nick Foles.
The cuddly toy's legs cover most, but not all, of the choice messages written in marker on the vandalized silver helmet. Tom Brady is a favorite target.
Welcome to Passyunk Avenue.
The dive bar named after a well-known south Philadelphia street has become a go-to spot for curious British sports fans as well as traveling Eagles supporters — especially this week ahead of the team’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
For Eagles' season-ticket holder Mark Servodidio, in town with his wife and friends for the game Sunday, it’s the little things — like a Cabrini University jersey on the ceiling — that make the difference.
“You have all these little nuances. You can tell this is really a true hardcore Philadelphia-fandom pub,” he said. “When you get here, you really have to take a walk around and look. All these things have such meaning.”
How Philly is this jawn? Very.
Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and 76ers paraphernalia — all donated by visitors over the years — cover the walls and ceilings. Cheesesteaks are on the menu. Episodes of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” run on a TV above the front bar. U.S. dollar bills with written messages — think Brady, again, and the Dallas Cowboys — are pinned to the walls. There’s an unopened DVD set of “Rocky” movies.
The hole-in-the-wall spot in swanky Fitzrovia — filmmaker Guy Ritchie owns a restaurant nearby — opened in 2018, and they’ve added several other London locations.
Each one features a
Foles bar. Each location’s Wi-Fi password includes Foles. If anyone needs reminding, Foles was the backup quarterback who led the Eagles to a 41-33 victory over Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl concluding the 2017 season. Foles’ MVP performance included a touchdown reception on a play named “ Philly Special.”
Had enough Foles? Philly hasn’t — at the Fitzrovia location there’s an inspirational Foles quote on the staircase descending to Foles bar. On the staircase, don’t miss the People magazine cover of Princess Diana wearing a green-and-white Eagles varsity bomber jacket.
It’s all the brainchild of J.P. Teti, Passyunk’s founder and managing director. He grew up in New Jersey with connections to Philadelphia — his Italian great grandparents settled in South Philly. While working a corporate job in London, he had discovered “you can’t get hoagies, you can’t get cheese steaks, chicken parms.”
He got some seed money and opened in Fitzrovia.
“I imagined this business to be this culturally immersive outpost that when you walk through the front door, you are someplace else for a little while,” said Teti, adding he hopes it’s a place people “can connect with emotionally, whether they’re from Philadelphia or not.”
Travis and Jason Kelce recorded an episode of their podcast at the Fitzrovia location in 2024 during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Chiefs tight end Travis and Swift got married this past summer.
The brothers had arrived for the session early in the morning, explained Jessi Riley, manager and “cultural ambassador” at Passyunk. A brief awkward moment turned comical. Riley had been planning a Taylor Swift after-party for post-concert regulars and had a cardboard cutout of the singer when Travis showed up.
“I’m like, ‘Sorry about the girlfriend, I’m having a Taylor Swift after-party,'" Riley said. "And he said ‘As am I.’”
The brothers later tried the cheesesteaks.
"Travis had two before 11 a.m., so I think that’s a pretty good sign," she said.
Jason spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the Eagles. His wife, Kylie, took a $100 bill from Jason — he didn’t have anything smaller, Riley said, wrote a message on it and posted it on the wall during the visit. She wrote “Go Birds!” and “Go Cabrini!” along with a Dallas-related dispatch.
The Passyunk bars are hosting Eagles events all weekend and Teti said there will be a “victory parade” on Monday with a brass band. The Fitzrovia location was the only one open in 2018 and was packed when the Eagles beat the Jags 24-18 at Wembley Stadium.
Over at the much larger Waterloo location, local Eagles fan Gareth Smith said there’s a natural affinity for the team among Britons.
“It’s one of the biggest-supported teams over here,” said Smith, one of the hosts of The Franchise Tag podcast. “A lot of British people can associate with Philadelphia. It’s a working-class city. It’s also not the most popular. Being English, we’re not the most popular worldwide. There’s a lot of similarities."
There's also the attitude of the fan base, he said.
"The sheer case of ‘we don’t care what anyone else thinks.’ That resonates quite nicely with the UK.”
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