A Man Full of Trouble, Philly’s Oldest Surviving Revolutionary-Era Bar, Is Open for the First Time in Decades

Colonial Philly was bursting with bars but only A Man Full of Trouble survives to this day.

The newly renovated Man Full of Trouble Tavern in Philadelphia's Society Hill neighborhood is now reopened. Tyger Williams/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

By Mike Newall From The Philadelphia Inquirer

When Dan Wheeler bought A Man Full of Trouble in 2021, he hoped to breathe life back into Philly’s only surviving Revolutionary-era drinking spot, which had sat shuttered to the public for decades. Wheeler, 60, dreamed of restoring the charming brick building in the shadows of the Society Hill Towers into a neighborhood hub with flowing suds and a museum to celebrate the colorful tavern with a colorful name.