As was announced last month, Radio Shack is closing as many as 24,000 stores nationwide due to bankruptcy, and Sprint stores will replace most of them. Both West Philly ‘Shack stores, at 212 S. 40th St and 309 S. 48th St, are on the closing list, too. Both stores are currently trying to empty their shelves by holding huge sales. This is bad news for Radio Shack but potentially good news for you.

The 40th St ‘Shack has already been reportedly “picked clean.” We guess, due to its proximity to Penn’s campus.

The 48th St ‘Shack is currently holding a 50-70 percent off sale, according to an employee we talked to. The person we spoke to was not sure though about when the store is closing.

Maybe you could get yourself one of these:

The bankruptcy sale at Radio Shack is out of control, I just bought this for $50. pic.twitter.com/DEicjxFRFv

— Bobby Digital (@a_butler) March 8, 2015

The 48th St Radio Shack is open Mon – Fri 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., Sat 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., Sun 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Body-art fans will be happy to learn about a new business coming to Cedar Park. Spirited Tattooing Coalition (Facebook page) will be opening at 49th and Baltimore Ave next week. Shop owner and tattoo artist Jasmine Morrell said she set out to open the shop as the first openly queer and a person of color to open a business like this in the city of Philadelphia.

“I wanted to be able to create a healthy and safe environment around tattooing people’s bodies and dismantle the abrasive and sometimes harsh environment that comes with the industry standard,” said Morrell.

The mission is to create a safe space where the staff will be trained in tolerance and inclusiveness to battle sexism, racism and homophobia that has been present in the tattooing industry. She completed her apprenticeship in 2004 and has been tattooing ever since. With a little over 10 years of experience, she felt ready to have her own space.

Jasmine Morrell (photo by Sarah Mackenzie).

“The industry is dominated by one type of person, it tends to be very male-white-centric. When there are women in the industry or the shop, it’s almost like they’re being commodified and not being valued as a person. I mean that’s a lot of industries. But I think American tattooed culture is bred as this American tough guy attitude. The reality is that it’s an art form, it stems from a different culture that does not relate to that,” said Morrell.

Spirited Tattooing Coalition began a month-long IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign in November, but only hit a little over one-third of the fundraising goal. “I’m a first time business owner and it’s definitely scary but I’ve had so much support though, it doesn’t feel like I’m doing it completely alone,” Morrell said.

Spirited Tattooing Coalition is located at 4918 Baltimore Ave. The space was previously occupied by the A.M.S. International Market, which closed in June, but has since been transformed into a different type of retail space. The space above will remain a residential apartment space. The current space will not only run as a tattoo shop but also a fine arts gallery, with portion of the floor dedicated to being consignment goods.

Friday, March 13th will mark the official Grand Opening – the shop will be open from noon-9 p.m. Regular business hours will resume the following day: Monday-Saturday noon-9 p.m. The shop will be closed Sunday.

– Rana Fayez

The numbers are in for “parklets,” those little curbside, pop-up platforms with tables and chairs found outside a few local businesses, and it turns out that people, and businesses, seem to like them.

The University City District studied parklet use in 2013 – observing and counting who used them and how – and released a report this week detailing what they found. The study included six parklets outside the Green Line Cafe on Baltimore Avenue, Honest Tom’s/Lil’ Pop Shop, Fu-Wah Market, Manakeesh Cafe, Little Baby’s Ice Cream in Cedar Park and Ramen Bar at 4040 Locust.

To get the data, the UCD parked an intern at each spot during the operating hours of the host businesses on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the spring and summer of 2013.

It shows that most of the people who use the parklets are patrons of the “host” businesses (you don’t have to be, but most were). In terms of daily unique users, the Honest Tom’s/Lil’ Pop Shop parklet (which both offer very portable products) saw the most traffic (just over 140 per day) with the Green Line spot second at about 60 visitors. The parklet outside of Manakeesh, which sits curbside along a busy section of Walnut Street got only a few visitors per day.

Use at the Honest Tom’s/Lil’ Pop Shop location spiked at about 2 p.m. and then again at about 6:30 p.m. Green Line’s parklet was busiest at about 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and Little Baby’s parklet saw most of its daily use between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The others spiked during lunch and dinner times.  Continue Reading

Here is an awesome opportunity for local food entrepreneurs to get financial and technical support for their growing businesses. The Enterprise Center is awarding selected businesses up to $50,000, including 15 hours (valued at $450) of kitchen time at the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises (48th and Spruce). Applications are currently being accepted for the Cooking Up Success! culinary competition in the following categories: Innovative Food Creation, Emerging Food Business, and Innovative Collaboration. Applicants’ businesses must be located in Philadelphia and Emerging Food Businesses must be within 0-6 months of operation in order to be considered for the award.

The Innovative Food Creation category is for entrepreneurs who have an innovative food product to be sold wholesale or in the form of a catering business. Applicants can select one of six sub-categories when they submit their business summary entry.

The Emerging Food Business category is for new or established brick-and-mortar businesses, including coffee shops, cafes, restaurants, and food trucks.

Finally, two or more entrepreneurs working together on a collaborative food product or business are welcome to submit their application in the Innovative Collaboration category.

All applicants must submit their business plan online by March 11, 2015.

Local culinary experts and professionals will select top finalists in each category, based on entrepreneurs’ business sustainability and product quality. Friends, family and associates then will vote on these finalists as they show off their dishes or products at the Cooking up Success! Philly Made event at the Culinary Center on May 19, 2015.

For more information and to submit your application, go here.

The Baltimore Avenue Business Association (BABA) is inviting neighbors to Dock Street Brewery (50th and Baltimore) tonight, from 6 to 8 p.m. for a meet and greet with local business owners. The event will include food (pizza and snacks), beer, fun, networking, and door prizes (see flier below).

BABA is a member organization that promotes and supports businesses along the Baltimore Avenue corridor. Check its website (babawestphilly.org) for more information.

Photo courtesy of 8 Limbs Academy.

UPDATE (3/11/2015): 8 Limbs Academy opened on March 3, 2015. Here’s a short update from Coach Kate:

“We are scheduling FREE intros but are booked all through March, and we are starting to fill April. We are offering early morning ALL female kickboxing at 6 a.m. and evening classes starting at 6 p.m. The children’s classes start at 4:15 p.m., and there is an after school program for them starting at 3:00 p.m. Here is a link to our schedule: www.8limbsacademy.com/8-limbs-current-schedule.”

Here’s some exciting news for local martial arts and fitness fans. Partners and coaches Charlie Cottone and Kate Allen are opening a Muay Thai Kickboxing school, 8 Limbs Academy, on Baltimore Avenue in March. For those who are not very familiar with kickboxing, Muay Thai or Thai boxing is a national sport of Thailand. It is a physical and mental discipline also known as “the art of eight limbs,” because eight points of contact are used in the combat: fists, elbows, knees, and shins.

Eight Limbs Academy is expected to open in the first week of March, and coaches Charlie and Kate have already started preregistering folks, kids and adults alike, for their programs, which include All Female Kickboxing, Adult Muay Thai, and Kids Muay Thai programs. They will also offer an after-school program for kids who can come and spend time in the gym after school, including doing their homework, before their Muay Thai lesson. In addition to that, the owners hope to work closely and be involved with the West Philadelphia community. Continue Reading