The Community Grocer’s store/kitchen is coming to 60th and Walton in January 2027.

A long-vacant property in Cobbs Creek is getting a new lease on life as a neighborhood grocery store, kitchen, and community health hub—and residents can get a first look this weekend.

The Community Grocer (TCG), a local nonprofit focused on providing nutritious, affordable meal kits to low-income residents, is hosting a “Friendsgiving” block party on Sunday, Nov. 15, to celebrate the end of a three-year construction project at 627 S. 60th Street.

The organization, co-founded by Penn alumni Alexandre Imbot and Eli Moraru, purchased the corner storefront at 60th and Walton in 2023, with the goal to transform it into a new-concept grocery corner store that will serve the local community.

More than 300 neighbors and supporters are expected to attend Sunday’s event, which offers an exclusive preview of the facility ahead of its official public opening in January 2027.

Backed by $300,000 in grant funding from the AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation, the space is designed to tackle food insecurity with a unique workaround to federal benefit restrictions. Because U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules prohibit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients from purchasing hot, prepared food, TCG allows shoppers to use their SNAP benefits to buy fresh ingredients right in the store and then prepare them on-site in a kitchen at no extra cost.

The event runs from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and will include the unveiling of a community mural created by neighbors, local children, and the Power of Paint Art Academy.