The Blue Bell Inn's operators have opened Cecilia, a 300-seat restaurant in Bridgeport.

The contemporary American restaurant at 266 E. 4th St. opened Sept. 22 in the former Taphouse 23 space, according to Patch. Cecilia is owned by 1743 Hospitality, the Blue Bell-based group co-founded by Scott Dougherty and Bruce Goodman that also operates the Copper Crow in Horsham and the Country House at Bluestone in Blue Bell.

Cecilia is the group's fourth restaurant. Dougherty started at the Blue Bell Inn as a busboy in 1990, took over as owner in 2012 and led a multimillion-dollar renovation before reopening it in 2014, according to a Suburban Life Magazine profile.

The Bridgeport location has a family connection. Taphouse 23 was built and owned by Gary Johnson, a Bridgeport businessman who opened it in 2014. Johnson died in 2021, and his family later decided to leave the restaurant business, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Johnson is the brother of Judi Goodman, Bruce Goodman's wife. The restaurant's name honors Johnson's mother, Cecilia.

Judi Goodman led the interior redesign, shrinking the main bar by about 40% to add banquettes and lower dining tables, the Inquirer reported. An adjoining space was converted into what the owners call the Greenhouse, featuring garage doors that can open in warmer weather. The outdoor patio, which seats more than 160, was preserved from the Taphouse 23 era.

Chef Peter Sherba, who oversees kitchens across the 1743 Hospitality portfolio and is a Blue Bell Inn veteran, created Cecilia's menu. Appetizers are priced in the high teens, with main courses just over $30. The restaurant also offers brick-oven pizza.

"I'm excited to create a good-quality product that fits in our brand that will live up to the reputation that we've built with our other businesses … Bridgeport's revival is coming along nicely these days, so I think that it's a good time for this to happen," Dougherty said in February, when the Bridgeport project was first announced.

Dougherty told the Inquirer that Cecilia will aim to draw diners from Blue Bell, King of Prussia and Conshohocken, all 10 to 20 minutes away.

Cecilia is open Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.