The lamb biryani (Photo by Annamarya Scaccia / West Philly Local)

When I first reported on the opening of Shaban Kabab & Curry (4145 Chestnut Street), I was excited by the prospect of having a new South Asian restaurant in the area. After all, as someone who enjoys cuisine from the region, I was looking forward to tasting Pakistani food—Shaban’s specialty—for the first time.

So on Monday night, I made my way through the blistering cold to the corner of 42nd and Chestnut Streets, where Shaban Kabab & Curry set up shop. Once inside, owner Mohammad Sajad greeted me with a warm cup of ginger and milk as we sat at the window bar. The dining area is small, but cozy, made up of polished aluminum furniture, grey and bright green walls, and a wood panel wall fixture that immediately pulls your focus. While Shaban’s cuisine may be traditional, there’s definitely nothing traditional about the design of the restaurant.

Sajad and I make small talk while I wait for the dishes he’s prepared for me to taste. Since opening, he tells me, Shaban has been really busy, with Thursdays through Sundays being the busiest days. (The restaurant was empty on Monday evening save for one customer, although online orders seemed to have been racking up.) And the feedback he’s received has been mostly positive—”People just love [the food],” he says.  Continue Reading

Representatives from The City School explain their plans to SHCA (Photo by Annamarya Scaccia / West Philly Local)

Last night, representatives from The City School unveiled plans to redesign the entry way of its Spruce Hill campus at 4115 Baltimore Avenue, building what they called “a more identifiable, uniformed” entrance that would better introduce the Christian academy in the neighborhood.

The Spruce Hill Community Association Zoning Committee considered The City School’s plans during a routine meeting Wednesday night. According to school representatives, the Spruce Hill campus redesign will include construction of a new facade that will build out the elementary school’s entrance right to the sidewalk. Currently, the frontage of the Baltimore Avenue site has multiple entrances for varying purposes, often confusing guests coming to the academy. Creating a singular front entrance, they claim, would rectify this issue.

As outlined at the meeting, the project would introduce a cedar wood terrace with iron wood brackets displaying the academy’s name, new black wrought iron gates, an art mosaic, and updated planting in the frontage.

The representatives did admit the redesign runs into property line issues, so once they hear the SHCA Zoning Committee’s feedback, they plan to seek a zoning variance within the next month in order to move the project forward. Jake Becker, head of The City School, said during the meeting that they hope to start construction in July and have it complete before the 2014 – 2015 school year starts in September.

Formerly known as the Spruce Hill Christian School, The City School’s Spruce Hill campus is one of three schools run by academy, which includes a middle school at 4501 Walnut Street and the former City Center Academy high school at 315 South 17th Street. In 2006, Spruce Hill Christian School merged with City Center Academy, but the unified school continued to operate under two names until last year.

“Being committed to the neighborhood is important to us,” Becker said at the meeting. “While we changed our name, we’re committed to being a good neighbor.”

During Wednesday night’s meeting, the SHCA Zoning Committee also heard from the owner of 517 South 41st Street regarding her application to convert her three two-bedroom apartments into six one-bedroom units, which she said she would market to graduate students and young professionals. In order to go forward, the owner, who bought the property in October, would have to seek a zoning change for the property, which is currently zoned as three-family dwelling. (The owner was already granted an interior alteration permit in January for renovations on the existing apartments.)

The plans received a lot of pushback from the Committee and other community members present, with one committee member suggesting creating smaller units “will not improve the urban condition on that block.” Committee Chair Barry Grossbach said plainly the owner’s desire to convert the house goes “against the grain” of what the SHCA “is encouraging,” which is the development of more single-family units. Grossbach and other members pressed to the owner that her building has existing features—like a large backyard and close proximity to transit—that would attract young families and couples as renters.

Grossbach said the Committee will get in touch with the owner about their opinion within the next few days. In the meantime, a zoning hearing is scheduled for the property on March 19.

–Annamarya Scaccia

Photo by Claire Horvath.

Continuing its season of exploring themes of gender roles and identity, Curio Theatre Company will premiere its production of Brian Friel’s “Dancing at Lughnasa” tonight at 8 p.m. on Curio’s Mainstage, 4740 Baltimore Avenue.

Directed by Gay Carducci, “Dancing at Lughnasa” is Friel’s epic, weaving narrative of five unmarried sisters living in the fictional town of Ballybeg in Ireland’s County Donegal during the summer of 1936. Set around the Celtic harvest festival, Lughansadh, Friel’s TONY award-winning play follows Kate, Maggie, Agnes, Rosie, and Christina as they realize their long buried desires and dashed dreams while dealing with rising tensions that threaten to unravel their close-knit home life. Originally premiered in April 1990, “Dancing at Lughnasa” is loosely based on Friel’s mothers and aunts who lived on the west coast of County Donegal.

“We planned a season with emphasis on gender. ‘Dancing with Lughnasa’ is a memory play. It is a play about hard economic times, deflated dreams, hope, pain, love. It also deals with five adult, in married sisters and their place in the world,” said Carducci in a press release. “To me personally, it is mostly a play about change and how change [affects] us all differently. In this, I find this play to be timeless. All of the themes are themes that will always be present. It is beautiful, lyrical, and touching on so many levels.”

Performances start at 8 p.m. and run Thursday through Sunday night until closing night, March 15th. Tickets are $20 to $25, and can be purchased here or by phone at 215-525-1350.

–Annamarya Scaccia

The Fire Works (Photo from The Fire Works website)

As an independent journalist, sometimes working from home can feel isolating.

Sure, I have my cats and reruns of Dallas, but staying confined to my bedroom’s four walls while furiously typing away can induce pseudo-cabin fever. And setting up shop in a local coffee joint isn’t always better—while there’s activity buzzing around you, you’re still among strangers who may not be up for much conversation.

That’s why coworking spaces like West Philly’s The Fire Works, which recently opened above Dock Street at 701 S. 50^th Street, are a growing trend in the city. Coworking hubs give professionals without a permanent workspace an opportunity to be independently productive while building a like-minded, synergized community. It’s a win-win for most people.

For owner Linford Martin, The Fire Works is meant to achieve just that in West Philly. Opened earlier this month, The Fire Works is an enhanced version of a small coworking group that met in a studio at The Cedar Works—Martin’s 15,000 square-foot community-oriented work and meeting space at 4919 Pentridge Street. Martin approached the group in October about joining forces after Philadelphia Community Acupuncture vacated the third floor of the Dock Street firehouse at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue, which is already home to neighborhood mainstays Dock Street Brewery, Firehouse Bicycles and the Satellite Cafe. The Fire Works, he said, would be a larger coworking community in West Philly built on their foundation.

“Over the past year, I got to know the group better and understand more about how coworking communities function and how important it can be for people working independently or remotely for an organization,” Martin told West Philly Local. “As we brainstormed about how what shape that might take, we got jazzed about the possibilities and decided to go for it. We didn’t (and still don’t) have everything figured out but we’re enjoying working in the space and having informal discussions about how to make this coworking community an enjoyable and productive place to work.”

So The Fire Works set up shop in the former PCA space, which was revamped to include a conference room, small meeting room, kitchenette and a shared work table in an open space accessible to members only. So far, members of The Fire Works include cartographers, activists, educators, web developers, musicians, and writers according to its website.

But coworking in the 2,000 square-foot hub isn’t free. The four levels of membership range from $60 a month for five days of access a month to $200 a month, which gives you 24/7 access as well as desk and storage space. If you want to use The Fire Works beyond your membership allotment, it’s $12 for each additional day.

Still, if you can afford to drop down the cash, The Fire Works is worth checking out—particularly for the chance to connect and collaborate with local creatives.

“As we’re beginning to grow and welcome new members, we’re realizing our coworking community is really an extension of our geographical community,” said Martin. “Most of us see each other around Cedar Park or surrounding neighborhoods and have interactions with each other outside our physical space. It’s been fun to see new connections happening already.”

–Annamarya Scaccia

The proposed building looking east near the corner of 43rd and Baltimore.

After a year of debate, planning, and collaboration, the zoning approval process will finally begin next month for the widely discussed and advertised development at 4224 Baltimore Avenue. The Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) Zoning Committee has scheduled its first meeting in that process for Monday, March 3, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in room 101 of the University of the Sciences’ Rosenberger Hall on 43rd Street and Woodland Avenue.

During the meeting, U3 Ventures—the development team and liaison behind 4224 Baltimore Avenue—will review their progress and details of the project’s potential design, which they unveiled in late July at the last of three public meetings held throughout the 2013. The final development plan, established based on feedback from the community meetings, includes a proposed glossy 153,000 square foot mixed-use building with 108 residential units and retail on the first-floor—an alternative to the conditional zoning permit property owner Thylan Associates received in March 2013 for a four-story, 92-unit residential building with six parking spaces and no commercial space.

On March 3rd, the SHCA Zoning Committee will also consider zoning variances U3 Ventures is seeking in order to make this sizeable project a reality. According to the 4224 Baltimore Avenue website, there are two possible roads for U3 Ventures to take in obtaining permits for the alternative plan: either by receiving a zoning variance by the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) or adopting a land-use change ordinance issued by the City Council. The team hopes that, by having this meeting, they’re able to reach “a community consensus as to precise project scope and related project details” that will make choosing which approach to take a bit clearer.

Interested residents and stakeholders are invited to join the March 3rd meeting to both share their insights and ask questions about the plan, as well as offer comments regarding the variances sought by U3 Ventures.

–Annamarya Scaccia

Algernong Allen standing in the remains of the Elena’s Soul building. (Archived photo/ courtesy of Algernong Allen)

Sad news for readers waiting on Elena’s Soul’s return: it seems the neo-jazz joint, which was destroyed by a fire in 2012, won’t make a second appearance on the lot of its former home at 4912 Baltimore Avenue—well, at least not for another two years.

That might not be such bad news for green thumbs, though. On Tuesday, Elena’s Soul owner Algernong Allen signed a contract with Greensgrow Farms after two months of talks to bring the urban farming hub to West Philly. As part of the deal, Greensgrow will lease Allen’s lot for two years, operating a multi-tiered site that the Kensington-based farm plans to open April 3. And during those two years, Allen told West Philly Local, he will consider the “feasibility of reconstruction” and redevelopment of the site.

“Realizing the void that Elena’s left both physically and culturally in the neighborhood, I wanted to do something that would be beneficial for a community that has been so kind to my family and I,” Allen, who’s currently running for state representative, told West Philly Local. “The Greensgrow deal not only provides a valuable resource to the urban greening community, but will also add more pedestrian traffic to Baltimore Avenue, attractiveness to the block, and even a few jobs for our local economy.”  Continue Reading