In June, the Blue Warbler opened with a soft launch of its all-day hybrid restaurant, bar, and cafe model.

Chestnut Hill’s newest restaurant sits at 8001 Germantown Ave. at the former Wendy Concannon gallery next to businesses like Cider Belly Hard Cider and Baker Street Bread Co.

Fred Mogul, owner of the Blue Warbler, described the opening as “energetic” as the restaurant transitions out of the soft-launch phase.

“So many people wanted to come and be there for the first night that they practically ate us out of house and home in a fantastic way,” Mogul told the Local. “It’s a good problem to have. I called it a sort of happy hurricane. I wasn’t anything but thrilled with the quality of food, the service, the reception, the drinks. They were just putting smiles on people’s faces.”

Opening his first restaurant, Mogul, whose background is in radio, said he is thrilled with the reactions he’s received to the menu and is excited to expand with specials and drinks that “just narrowly missed the cuts in our tastings.”

The menu, which takes inspiration from Mediterranean, Jewish, Middle Eastern, and American dishes, offers skewers, sharable plates, salads, and sandwiches for dinner. For breakfast, the menu features staples like pancakes and omelets, with the lunch menu featuring sandwiches like the “Pastorius” with crispy-fried tofu, herb mayo and shredded lettuce on a sweet potato bun.

When asked his favorite menu item, Mogul said, “On the dinner menu, we have this vegan meatloaf platter that comes with fries and these wonderful grilled summer beans, and the meatloaf itself is really flavorful and has this great sauce. I just think it’s so hearty and delicious and fun.”

Included in the menu are gluten-free and vegan options, including the fries with a vegan aioli with piri piri peppers.

Soon after opening, Mogul said the fries became very popular among customers.

The hybrid style offers a walk-up experience Monday through Friday, and a sit-down experience Wednesday through Sunday. The cafe in the front offers coffees, teas, pastries, and other food and drinks to go, while the sit-down section offers an expanded menu.

“We have two distinct styles, and we’re sort of straddling these two different worlds in this hybrid system. … We’re still fine-tuning the crossover time from morning to night,” Mogul said. “We’d love to be able to retain this casual weekday service on a smaller scale [during the weekend] in the back down the road.”

He added, “The outpouring of interest and enthusiasm from the neighborhood has just been all we could have hoped for. … It’s really been very exciting to see just how much people are finding their way here and filling us up.”

Entering the Blue Warbler, the cafe/bar section occupies the front with seating toward the back. Photographs decorate the walls in much of the restaurant’s space, a nod to the gallery that once occupied the space.

As Mogul continues to work out details of the operation, he hopes to phase in the outdoor seating section and potential weekend walk-up service in the back.

“It’s been thrilling to go from these inspiration boards and the whole conceptual exercise, and just to see it finally come to be, and have come to really exceed expectations,” Mogul said. “I said to the staff on the first night, like the theme is exceeding expectations, so we’re just trying to do that, day in and day out.”