Local Stir Fry Restaurant Expanding To Main Line

BRYN MAWR, PA — The Main Line's food scene later this year will welcome a new spot for a bite to eat with the area's first Wokworks location.

Wokworks is opening its fifth brick-and-mortar outpost this fall at 5 Franklin St. in Bryn Mawr, the former 9Round Fitness location.

The local chain offers made-to-order rice and noodle stir-fry dishes that feature locally sourced ingredients. Other menu items include crispy spring rolls, Koren fried chicken wings, dumplings, and more.

"Everyone is keen on high quality," Brennan Foxman, who founded and owns Wokworks with his with Samantha, said of Main Line residents. "And speed is important because everyone around here is busy."

From physicians to college students, lawyers to dog walkers, Wokworks aims to offer fresh meals quickly to on-the-go Main Liners.

"We make everything from scratch," he said. "Some sauces, the like chili garlic, are made of four sub-sauces and take days to make."

He went on to say if you order a dish with broccoli, that broccoli was more than likely delivered to the location that same day and cooked fresh to order.

The Brennans founded Wokworks in 2012, and the concept has since gained a dedicated customer base after opening locations in Fishtown and Margate, New Jersey in addition to its trucks, carts, and grocery store locations.

The duo have been eyeing markets for expansion for a while, and they jumped on the opportunity to set up shop in Bryn Mawr, just blocks from where the two began their relationship.

"It feels like a homecoming," he said of being so close to Villanova University.

Wokwoks, Brennan said, will offer a new dining option for the university community, students, staffers, and faculty alike.

"Villanova is an amazing community," he said. "The staples, like pizza joints and hoagie shops, are there, but we're offering more variety. "I think they're going to love the product and enjoy the food."

The Fishtown location sees plenty of business on weekend nights thanks to patrons of the neighborhood's many bar options. Brennan said the new location will also provide sustenance for the bar crowd on weekend nights, as it plans to be open until 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

As for the rest of the week, the Bryn Mawr location will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

While some diners at the new location may be familiar with Wokworks, they will find a few differences while visiting the Bryn Mawr outpost.

First is seating. Brennan said the space will feature six booths, tables, and outdoor seating, which is not typical of other locations.

"We want to make an environment we would have wanted to go to when we were here," he said.

And, it will employ "Wendy," Wokworks’ custom-built, battery-powered, wok-flipping robot that has a patent pending.

Developed over the past three years and powered by an AI brain on the edge, Wendy replicates real wok techniques.

Brennan said Wendy will help bring prices down while also allowing chefs to earn more pay.

Wendy is not aimed to replace chefs, he said. Rather, Wendy will augment their work.

The device is fully modular and clips onto gas burner ranges.

As for the wok cooking technique, Wendy has been trained to use ancient wok skills, maintaining traditional methods that have endured for hundreds of years.

"We're really trying to keep Wendy disciplined to the ancient technique, building advanced tech that can go on top of [the technique] instead of changing the way it's done," Brennan said.

Other Wendy units will ideally be rolled out at other Wokworks locations in the future.

The Bryn Mawr storefront will employ 10 to 20 workers, most of them full-time, Brennan said.

Learn more about Wokworks online here.