Photo from Taco Taco’s Facebook page.

A new Mexican restaurant, Taco Taco, quietly opened last month in the former Honest Tom’s Plant Based Taco Shop location at 261 S. 44th Street. According to a recent report, Honest Tom’s longtime kitchen staff members – Alvaro, Maria and Eli – took over the space after former owner Tom McCusker left at the end of July to start a new business, Fruitadelphia.

The new restaurant is no longer vegan, although it still features some vegan items, like BIFF (a walnut-based “meat”) tacos and burritos. The new owners brought back the old menu, including breakfast on the weekends, which Honest Tom’s used to serve before it went all-vegan in the summer of 2018.

Taco Taco is open Monday – Friday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

For more info, check out their Facebook page.

Restaurants Clarkville and Local 44, which are both owned by the same company, closed earlier this week while the owners “work internally with staff and the community to address what’s going on in a genuine and meaningful way,” according to co-owner Leigh Maida.

Staff members at Clarkville organized a walkout last weekend and protested outside the restaurant, located at 43rd and Baltimore, after one of their co-workers was fired, they believe, unjustly. There were also protests outside of Local 44 claiming bias in the restaurant’s employment practices. Many community members took to social media to express their concern over what has happened.  Continue Reading

Tom McCusker behind the counter at his shop on S. 44th Street (Archived photo).

It’s an end of an era for neighborhood taco and burrito lovers. After nearly eight years of operation as Honest Tom’s Taco Shop near 44th and Spruce (and a few more years as a food truck prior to that), well-known local restaurateur Tom McCusker is closing his business at the end of this month. But here’s some good news: Honest Tom’s kitchen staff are planning to take over the space and reopen as a new Mexican restaurant next month, according to a report by Foobooz.  Continue Reading

The highly anticipated restaurant serving authentic Mexican dishes, Don Barriga Mexican Grill, has opened at the corner of 45th and Spruce. It was very short notice for the restaurant’s grand opening on Sunday (the owners announced it on Saturday evening), but it was enough for the locals to swarm the place with calls and orders, prompted in part by half-off prices for everything on Sunday. The crowds forced Don Barriga to close for a few hours in the afternoon. One of the partners apologized on Facebook for some orders taking too long. “It was the grand opening and we were packed,” he wrote on our Facebook page. “We will improve every day.”  Continue Reading

The new Panera Bread has opened at 40th and Walnut, in the former Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar space:

The new @panerabread at 40th and Walnut is now open. pic.twitter.com/zM7XE2ydiK

— University City (@ucdphl) June 12, 2019

This is the third and largest Panera location in Philadelphia. The two-story restaurant features several conference rooms, community tables, and even a private room for meetings and studying, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. There’s also an outdoor patio with approximately 40 seats.

A sign inside Saad’s Halal restaurant.

The fasting month of Ramadan began on Sunday evening, and this is a reminder that some local businesses will be closed or have limited hours during this month.

As usual, Saad’s Halal (45th and Walnut) will be closed during the month and will reopen on June 8th.

Manakeesh Cafe and Bakery across the street will be closed during the day for the month of Ramadan (until June 4th). It will be open in the evening from 7:30 p.m. for order pickup and for dinner from 8:00 to 10:30 p.m. It’s also accepting iftar catering orders during this month (please email manakeesh@gmail.com).