The two sisters behind LuLu Bang, who recently appeared on ABC’s reality TV show “Shark Tank,” have just opened a new pop-up restaurant in West Philly. Jorrae and Kelly Beard, the owners of LuLu Bang Sauces and Marinades, opened Lulu Bang Burgers & Wangs on Jan. 2 at The Common Table at 310 S. 48th St.. The restaurant is part of the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises (CCE) incubator program.

The pop-up restaurant will operate at this location until March 31; LuLu Bang is an active member of the CCE and will have the organization’s support during their launch phase. While temporarily using space at The Common Table, the program will continue to seek a permanent location for LuLu Bang’s future restaurant and will launch a kick starter campaign for 60 days.  Continue Reading

The property at 4301-4303 Baltimore from an archive photo taken in 1912, when a butcher shop was located where Clarkville is now. Crews work to install the trolley tracks on Baltimore Avenue. (City of Philadelphia, Department of Records).

The days of cheap slices and cold 40s at the corner of 43rd and Baltimore are long gone. At the Spruce Hill zoning committee meeting last night, the owners of 4303 Baltimore Avenue (the row home adjacent to Clarkville and across from Clark Park) threw out a couple of names of restaurants interested in moving into the first floor restaurant space they have proposed.

They include:

• Koreana – A Korean street food place with a current location at 3801 Chestnut St..
• Ant’s Pants – Café/brunch. Current location at 2212 South St.
• Southeast Bistro – Southeast Asian meets Cajun. Current location near 19th and South.
• House – A more traditional lunch/brunch place in Media.
• Same Same – A Vietnamese street food restaurant with a location in Northern Liberties.  Continue Reading

Here’s another chance for residents to weigh in on what restaurant they would like to see at 4303 Baltimore Avenue. A proposal to convert the first floor of the row home adjacent to Clarkville into a small restaurant was first considered at the Spruce Hill Zoning Committee meeting on Oct. 14.

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. at the Spruce Hill Center (257 S. 45th St), and this proposal will be on the agenda again among other zoning proposals. The proposal for 4303 Baltimore includes an 1,100-square-foot restaurant on the first floor and renovated, high-end apartments on the second and third floors.

Read more about the proposal here.

An artist’s rendering of the Trolley Car Station restaurant from plans presented last spring to the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee.

Developers will soon break ground on a project that should transform the barren patch of concrete at the 40th Street trolley terminal into a landscaped public space complete with a 125-seat restaurant.

University City District officials promise it will be a more navigable public space for pedestrians. Complete with moveable tables and chairs, enough racks to accommodate 48 bikes and “vegetation everywhere,” the project was well received during public meetings and breezed through zoning approval last spring.

The centerpiece of the project will be the Trolley Car Station restaurant, a two-story restaurant that will be built in the grassy area bordering the portal along Baltimore Avenue. A company owned by real estate developer Ken Weinstein, which runs the Trolley Car Diner in Mount Airy, will operate the restaurant.  Continue Reading

West Philly entrepreneurial sisters Kelly (right) and Jorrae Beard will appear on “Shark Tank” tonight.

Shark Tank keeps casting Philly entrepreneurs, and it’s especially nice to see West Philly-based teams presenting their products on the show. This Friday, Oct. 28, tune in to watch sisters Kelly and Jorrae Beard pitch “Lulu Bang” BBQ Sauce to the “sharks.” There will also be the show watch party tonight at the Enterprise Center (4548 Market St.), beginning at 7:30 p.m. (this event has been sold out).

Kelly and Jorrae are co-owners of Joyce’s Soulful Cuisine, a restaurant and catering business located at 59th and Chestnut that was named in memory of their mother, Joyce A. Beard. The sisters are also manufacturers of  “Lulu Bang” BBQ Sauce, which comes in four flavors – Asian Persuasion, BBQ Fusion, Bourbon Baby, and It’s Just HOT.  It’s now available in local shops throughout the Northeast region.

The name of the sauce is a tribute to Kelly and Jorrae’s brother, Michael “Lulu Bang” Beard, a National Guard veteran, who was murdered at the age of 32 in West Philadelphia, according to an article by Philly Mag.  Continue Reading

Mood Cafe’s second location will open this fall at 126 S. 45th Street. (Photo by West Philly Local)

The popular Indian/Pakistani chaat restaurant on Baltimore Ave, Mood Cafe, is expanding to a second location in the area – 45th and Sansom – with plans to open in two to three weeks. Owner Hasan Bukhari wanted to make sure customers knew he wasn’t shutting down the old location. “It’s not a new location, it’s an expansion,” he said.

The new location will have more menu offerings with hot food favorites such as Chicken Tikka Masala, Biryani and Lamb Rogan Gosh. “I’d like to introduce the people to really good food. The cooking style will be closer to homestyle cooking, we’re going to have a very selective menu… Over there, I’m thinking we’ll start delivery at some point. But for now, we’ll only offer takeout and a place for people to sit,” Bukhari explained.  Continue Reading