You may have noticed new street signs popping up outside of businesses in and around Cedar Park in the past few months. So here’s the scoop. The signs are part of a project, “Humble Beginnings,” sponsored by the National Street Service, according to the project coordinator and West Philly resident Brian Cirksey.

Three signs have been posted along Baltimore Ave from 47th to 50th so far, by Vientiane Cafe, Talking Heads hair salon, and Satellite Cafe. These businesses were able to tell their unique stories of how they began (humble beginnings), via in-person visits, phone calls, and emails, and this information was translated into these historical marker signs.  Continue Reading

Centennial Village, the mixed-use rental project with 51 units of affordable housing and 7,227 square feet of commercial space, officially opened in West Parkside on Thursday with a grand opening ceremony. Community members, City and State officials, project funders, and Centennial Village new residents were in attendance.

The project has transformed 52nd Street between Columbia and Parkside Avenues and nearby areas by rejuvenating 44 formerly vacant lots and buildings. It includes a 30-unit apartment building, a mixed-use building with six residential units and two commercial spaces, and the renovation and new construction of seven single-family homes and one duplex.  Continue Reading

Food service establishments are often high energy consumers due to using refrigeration and other 24/7 equipment and utilities are often their biggest expense every month. A new turnkey energy efficiency program, offered by the Philadelphia Energy Authority, helps small businesses in West Philly, such as corner and grocery stores, bars and restaurants, save money. The program is in partnership with West Philadelphia Financial Services Institution and Lime Energy.

Eligible businesses will receive a free energy assessment and will be provided grants, rebates and financing to install new, energy-efficient equipment that will help reduce monthly utility costs by up to 30 percent.  Continue Reading

Photo from Taco Angeleno’s Facebook page.

Taco Angeleno, the popular Mexican food truck that operates in Cedar Park May through October, is not going to reopen this spring, according to an announcement on the business’s Facebook page.

“Dear taco buds, as Summer vibes draw near I want to sadly inform you that Taco Angeleno will be closed until further notice,” the Facebook post reads. “We’ve enjoyed getting to know all of you loyal and kind taco lovers but running a small business is full of unique challenges and they force us to change sometimes. We’re not sure what’s to come next but please stay tuned to discover how we will serve West Philly in the future.”  Continue Reading

Former Graphic Arts Inc. building at 41st and Chestnut (Photo West Philly Local).

Last August, we reported that Amazon had bought the former Graphic Arts Inc. building at 41st and Chestnut, but we weren’t certain to what use the e-commerce giant was going to put the 35,000 square-foot space. Now, we know: Prime Now LLC has applied for, and been granted, a permit to operate a “food establishment” on that site.

Prime Now is a service that Amazon operates in some urban areas — not Philadelphia yet — that features two-hour delivery for commonplace household goods, from groceries to socks to electronics. Amazon has also hinted that it might be expanding Prime Now into the restaurant delivery arena. As such, this new service is positioned to compete directly with supermarket and convenience delivery services like Instacart and GoPuff, as well as food delivery services like Grubhub, Caviar and Eat24.  Continue Reading

In 2016, we reported on the possibility that Loco Pez, the cash-only Fishtown taqueria, was opening a new location at 47th and Baltimore, in the spot that the Carrot Cake Man used to occupy in the old Montrose building. What ever happened to that plan? According to a local realtor’s website, Loco Pez signed a lease for the space in early 2016, but since then progress has been erratic.

For many months there was little to no activity, then eventually various construction permits for a sit-down restaurant appeared in the window, but construction seemed to stall as of late last Autumn. The location’s liquor license is in “safekeeping” status, which means that it’s still attached to that location, but not currently active. Only in the last few weeks have local residents reported renewed activity inside the space.  Continue Reading