A new coffee shop, Greenstreet Coffee, is opening on Saturday, May 22 at 4533 Baltimore Ave., the location formerly occupied by Renata’s Kitchen.

The shop will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and invites everyone to check out their menu of “espresso drinks, drip coffee from Congo, cold brew, Metropolitan Bakery pastries, Kismet Bagels, High Fidelity Gluten and Vegan quiche and cookies and Okie Dokie donuts,” according to co-founder Chris Molieri.

Greenstreet Coffee is a Philadelphia-based small batch coffee roastery located in Point Breeze. The company also has another coffee shop in Center City. Continue Reading

Many small local businesses have been hit very hard by the pandemic, but they’re holding on and some even have some exciting news to share with the community:

Lil Pop Shop Partners with Weckerly’s Ice Cream

From left to right: Weckerly’s owners Andy Satinsky and Jen Weckerle, and Lil Pop Shop owner Jeanne Chang (Photo by Megan Kelly).

West Philly’s Lil Pop Shop and Fishtown’s Weckerly’s Ice Cream, have recently announced a new partnership. Starting this Friday, April 16, Lil Pop Shop customers will be able to enjoy a variety of scoops and other ice cream treats from Weckerly’s. Over in Fishtown, Weckerly’s flagship shop (9 W. Girard Ave.) will offer a selection of Lil Pop Shop’s small-batch fruit and cream based-pops. Continue Reading

Here are a couple of new grant opportunities for West Philadelphia businesses and organizations who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest.

• University City District (UCD) has partnered with several neighborhood associations to offer $15,000 in small business and non-profit grants. UCD and five neighborhood associations – Garden Court Community Association, the Walnut Hill Community Association, the Spruce Hill Community Association, the Powelton Village Civic Association, and Cedar Park Neighbors – will select 15 brick-and-mortar businesses/organizations (up to three in each neighborhood) from the list of applicants to offer them $1,000 grants.  Continue Reading

Good news for West Philly green thumbs! After being closed to customers since last spring due to the COVID pandemic, Greensgrow Farms is set to reopen its West Philly hub, Greensgrow West this winter.

Greensgrow West, located at 5123 Baltimore Ave., is scheduled to reopen on February 27th with the following hours: Thursday-Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.. Like many other businesses, Greensgrow has been hit hard by the pandemic and after reopening Greensgrow West will first carry limited selection of items.  Continue Reading

The city is lifting some more coronavirus restrictions imposed on businesses on Nov. 20 due to a spike in new cases. Starting this Saturday, Jan. 16, limited indoor dining at restaurants is allowed to resume. Restaurants can reopen at 25 percent capacity and are allowed to seat only up to four people from the same household at one table. Indoor catering events and entertainment are still not allowed.

“Everyone must wear a mask at all times, especially when they are sitting and eating,” Philadelphia Public Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said on Tuesday when announcing loosening of indoor dining restrictions. Here’s what this means:  Continue Reading

Vagrant Coffee owners Josh Dew (left) and Jared Cate (Photo from Vagrant’s Instagram page).

A new cafe, Vagrant Coffee, has recently opened on 45th and Baltimore, at the former Milk & Honey location. The owners, Joshua Dew and Jared Cate, are entrepreneurs from Baltimore who already have three Vagrant locations there. It’s a relatively young business, started in 2017, and Vagrant Coffee in West Philly is their first venture outside of Baltimore.

Vagrant Coffee is also known for bringing their mobile equipment (mobile coffee and espresso bars) to parties, events and even offices. One of the reasons why they chose the name “Vagrant” was to emphasize their mobility.

Apart from their specialty coffee and in-house made pastries, the new coffee shop offers breakfast, sandwiches and salads, all available for pick-up only at this time due to COVID restrictions. There is some outdoor seating, too.

You can check out their menu and order online here.

Vagrant Coffee is open Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat & Sun 8 a.m.-6 p.m.