When Dave Fine founded Schmear It six months ago, he was on a mission to “spread some good.”

Schmear It in University City (From Schmear It’s website)

Touted as Philadelphia’s first and only bagel food truck, Schmear It is an experiment on wheels in food-meets-social impact—a model based on the social good of brands like TOMS Shoes and the customizable options of chains like Chipotle. Four days a week, Fine—who has a non-profit background—rolls through the city, selling build-to-order spreads (or “schmear”) on South St. Philly bagels while featuring a variety of local causes like The Monster Milers or Challah for Hunger every two weeks.

Since August, Schmear It has raised over $800 from sales for its featured causes—its current one being Repair the World (Facebook page), and in the future, the West Philly Alliance for Children.

“Obviously food trucks in this city are fun, flexible, very useful, [and] they’re exciting, so it made sense for this unique idea to do with a food truck, where it literally can be a vehicle for social good,” Fine, 24, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, told West Philly Local. “That is ultimately the goal of Schmear It: aside from producing really good bagels and schmear, to become a grassroots fundraising and marketing platform for local causes.”

Every Tuesday in February, West Philly bagel lovers can stop by Schmear It at The Porch at 30th Street Station from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and order their unique combination of schmears and bagel for $3 to $7. Of course there’s the signature mainstays like the Loxsmith (cream cheese, chopped lox, scallions, tomatoes and cucumbers) and Nutty Naner (peanut butter, Nutella and bananas), but adventurous spirits can customize with imagination. Pick a schmear base from cream cheese (vegan available!) to egg salad, and fold in ingredients like maple syrup, wasabi, jalapenos and apples, spreading it all on a bagel of your choice. And you can wash it all down with a cup of La Colombe coffee.

But, while Philadelphia is a booming food truck town, it’s not exactly known as a bagel city, so why launch Schmear It in the first place? According to Fine, it’s precisely because there’s a bagel-sized hole in the city’s heart—especially among us New York City transplants.

“There are a couple of bagel shops here and there [in Philadelphia], but they’re not necessarily convenient,” the Baltimore native said. “There’s certainly not prevalence and for a city that has such a booming food truck culture, why not do a bagel food truck? It sort of made sense to me.”

Editor’s Note: Apart from The Porch at 30th Street Station on Tuesdays you may be able to catch Schmear It around 42nd and Locust for brunch on Sundays and at 33rd and Arch on Saturdays. Since the locations and hours may change, we suggest following Schmear It on Twitter or Facebook.

–Annamarya Scaccia

EDITOR’S NOTE: After publication of this post we heard back from the Orens Brothers, who own The Croydon, the once infamous apartment building at 49th and Spruce, which is undergoing extensive renovation. As the first part of the building revitalization project is expected to be complete soon, we have updated the post with this information.

West Philly Local would like to update its readers on a few business openings and real estate developments in the area we covered in the past.

• The south wing of The Croydon, which contains 27 units, will be complete around April 1 and ready for occupancy in the spring, said John Orens of Orens Brothers, who purchased the property, formerly known to squatters as “Paradise City,” in 2011. The north wing and center building, which make up 100 units, will be complete and ready for occupancy around Sept. 1, 2014.

The Sedgley (photo by Annamarya Scaccia / West Philly Local)

• The renovation of the historic Sedgley Apartments building is nearing completion, according to Noah Ostroff, principal at 400 S. 45^th Street LLC, which owns the Sedgley. The work on the building, which has stood on the corner of S. 45^th and Pine Streets for more than 100 years, began last summer and was expected to be complete this month, but is taking a little longer because of the size of the building, Ostroff told West Philly Local. Two sample units will be done in the next two weeks and the building will be ready for occupancy in the spring. Tours of the building are expected to start in the next 30 days (email: noah@phillyliving.com with questions).

• Great news for South Asian cuisine lovers: Shaban Kabab & Curry opened its doors earlier this week at 4145 Chestnut Street and is already taking online orders. Stay tuned for our review of this place.

• Due to minor setbacks, West Philadelphia Community Acupuncture (WPCA), the new holistic clinic run by Philadelphia Community Acupuncture’s Sarah Lefkowich, will delay its grand opening until the end of February.

According to Lefkowich, West Philadelphia Community Acupuncture’s efforts to open, originally scheduled for early January, were stalled by city inspections and permit issues facing the building where the practice will be located, which is undergoing renovations including a new building facade, walls, ceiling, bathroom, and floors. “We are so excited to be a part of it,” she said.

Lefkowich said there is no firm date for when WPCA will open next month, but she will keep the community updated through West Philadelphia Community Acupuncture’s Facebook page and company newsletter, which readers can sign up for here. The clinic is still offering $10 treatments as a grand opening special for its first month open.

• Cafe Renata is celebrating its first anniversary this Saturday and community members are invited to join in the celebration (more info is on Renata’s Facebook page). Congratulations to the owners, Yasser and Katie. As a reminder to our readers, this is how it all began for these guys.

–Annamarya Scaccia

Pound Cake Heaven’s Now Open sign at 5029 Baltimore Avenue (Photo by Annamarya Scaccia / West Philly Local)

Fans of pound cake and other baked deliciousness rejoice: Yeadon’s Pound Cake Heaven has made West Philly its new home.

The fledgling business, which opened two years ago, established its second location at 5029 Baltimore Avenue in November, although it hit a few rough patches due to the weather, owner and baker Pam Thornton told West Philly Local. Much like her flagship store, Pound Cake on Baltimore will offer Thornton’s signature variety of pound cake flavors, as well as pies, cobblers, layered cakes, sugar free desserts, cupcakes, and other sweets.

In addition to wanting to expand her business, Thornton told West Philly Local that she had chosen the Baltimore Avenue spot because she recognized an unmet need on the developing corridor. With its arrival, Pound Cake on Baltimore Avenue has become the only full-service dessert bakery on the strip east of 52^nd Street, offering cakes for every occasion—from birthdays to weddings and family gatherings.

One of Pam Thornton’s signature pound cakes (Photo from Pound Cake Heaven’s website)

As a grand opening incentive, West Philly Local readers who print out this article and bring it to Baltimore Avenue location will receive a free cupcake with their Pound Cake Heaven purchase.

Pound Cake on Baltimore Avenue is opened 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, according to Thornton and a worker at the Baltimore Avenue location. For the summer, Tuesday through Saturday closing hours will extend to 7 p.m. or 8 p.m., Thornton said.

So tell us readers, have you been able to check out Pound Cake’s new location? What do you think of the digs and baked goods?

–Annamarya Scaccia

Photo courtesy UCD.

Spring is not that far away and the University City District has started thinking about what mobile food vendors they should invite for their Spring-Summer food truck/vending program at The Porch, a popular public space by the 30th Street Station. As West Philly Local recently reported, some of the city’s best mobile vendors have been serving food on The Porch, including this winter (check the January-March 2014 food truck schedule here). And now, there is a possibility for new vendors to offer their gourmet food or desserts to The Porch visitors.

The Spring program starts in April and here’s some information from the UCD website:

University City District is issuing this request to secure mobile food vendors that provide unique, high-quality and sustainable food options that fit the highly mobile and urban environment of The Porch. Selected vendors will be asked to vend once a week for one month. For spring 2014 (beginning April 1), we are expanding our vending days to include lunch service (11:30am to 2:30pm) Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and breakfast service (7:30am to 2pm) Tuesdays and Thursdays…

Application deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31. For forms and more information, click here.

UPDATE, 1/8/14, 9:15 a.m. According to Shaban Kabab and Curry owner Mohammad Sajad. A, who reached out to West Philly Local after our story went live, the restaurant is “very close to opening” within two weeks, although he does not have a fixed date.

Already known for its variety of African and Middle Eastern flavors, Chestnut Street between 41st and 45th Streets will soon claim a South Asian eatery as part of its budding restaurant strip: Shaban Kabab & Curry is set to open its doors soon at 4145 Chestnut Street. The restaurant already has a website and Facebook page and is even featured on GrubHub (although, not taking deliveries yet). Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get in touch with the owners to ask them about the opening date. We’ll let you know when we have more info.

Shaban Kabab & Curry’s extensive menu offers locals authentic South Asian cuisine based heavily in tandoori and curry-based flavors. Traditional meat and vegetarian dishes like Dal Makhni, Kadhi Pakora, Chicken Tikka, Goat Biryani, Gola Kabab and Kathi Rolls stand out among the crowd, while a weekend specials list offers a peak into the region’s delicacies (think lamb brain cooked with butter, onions, tomatoes and authentic spices). Four versions of naan are also sold as part of Shaban’s freshly baked breads, which include tandoori roti, aloo paratha, and onion kulcha. Price points for these items range from $1.50 to $19.99.

And, if you’re looking for something a little more off the beaten path of South Asian cuisine, Shaban will also prepare four different types of 10-inch pizzas from $4.80 to $7.40: plain, one topping (choose from onion, green pepper, hot pepper, black olives, spinach, mushroom, chicken tikka, seekh kabab, buffalo chicken, juicy pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower or garlic; additional toppings are a $1 each), a vegetarian special, and the Shaban special (chicken tikka, seekh kabab, black olives, mushrooms, onions and green peppers).

According to Shaban’s website, the new restaurant will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sundays through Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.

–Annamarya Scaccia

Photo courtesy of University City District.

Here’s some great news for West Philly mobile gourmet food lovers: the University City District has announced that there will be no winter break in mobile food service at the Porch at 30th Street Station while other Porch events and happenings will resume in April 2014. The city’s most buzzed-about food trucks will be on site every Monday and Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. and every Wednesday and Friday from 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Here’s the Porch food truck schedule through the holidays. We’ll post the early 2014 schedule soon.

Monday

Undrgrnd Donuts

Tuesday

Schmear It

Wednesday (No vending on December 25)

Cow and the Curd
Spot Burger (Facebook page)
Street Food (Twitter)
Sum Pig

Friday

Mac Mart
Mama’s Meatballs (Facebook page)
Milk + Sugar (Facebook page)
The Tot Cart (Facebook page)