Here’s a roundup of some news and events at local businesses.

Hakim’s Bookstore, Philadelphia’s oldest Black-owned bookshop located at 210 S. 52nd St., will soon be honored with a blue historical marker from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). The store was founded in 1959 by Dawud Hakim, an African American scholar, author and publisher.

Throughout the years, the store has provided the local community with Afrocentric and often rare literature with a focus on African American history, culture, and racial justice. After Mr. Hakim’s death in 1997 at the age of 65, the business has been run by his family members. Yvonne Blake, Mr. Hakim’s daughter, is the current owner of the store (since 2013). For more information about Hakim’s Bookstore & Gift Shop, visit its website or Facebook page. Continue Reading

A new coffee shop, Greenstreet Coffee, is opening on Saturday, May 22 at 4533 Baltimore Ave., the location formerly occupied by Renata’s Kitchen.

The shop will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and invites everyone to check out their menu of “espresso drinks, drip coffee from Congo, cold brew, Metropolitan Bakery pastries, Kismet Bagels, High Fidelity Gluten and Vegan quiche and cookies and Okie Dokie donuts,” according to co-founder Chris Molieri.

Greenstreet Coffee is a Philadelphia-based small batch coffee roastery located in Point Breeze. The company also has another coffee shop in Center City. Continue Reading

Vagrant Coffee owners Josh Dew (left) and Jared Cate (Photo from Vagrant’s Instagram page).

A new cafe, Vagrant Coffee, has recently opened on 45th and Baltimore, at the former Milk & Honey location. The owners, Joshua Dew and Jared Cate, are entrepreneurs from Baltimore who already have three Vagrant locations there. It’s a relatively young business, started in 2017, and Vagrant Coffee in West Philly is their first venture outside of Baltimore.

Vagrant Coffee is also known for bringing their mobile equipment (mobile coffee and espresso bars) to parties, events and even offices. One of the reasons why they chose the name “Vagrant” was to emphasize their mobility.

Apart from their specialty coffee and in-house made pastries, the new coffee shop offers breakfast, sandwiches and salads, all available for pick-up only at this time due to COVID restrictions. There is some outdoor seating, too.

You can check out their menu and order online here.

Vagrant Coffee is open Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat & Sun 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

The popular local coffee shop located on S. 45th Street between Pine and Osage has changed its name a few times in its history – from Sam’s Place to Earth Cup to Coffee Market, then back to Earth Cup a couple of years ago. Now it has a new owner and new name: Knockbox Cafe.

The new owner, Heather DeGrands, lives just two blocks away from the shop and is very excited about this new endeavor. She closed the deal to buy the café on June 1.

“I have been living in West Philly for over 12 years so I am familiar with many of the neighbors and customer base,” DeGrands wrote in an email.  Continue Reading

Grindcore X Crust coffee shop & bakery is now open at 42nd and Chester. (Photo by West Philly Local)

A Manyaunk-based vegan bakery, Crust, has opened their first storefront in West Philly! The coffee shop and bakery recently opened at 42nd and Chester, on the ground floor of the new three-story apartment building, across from Millcreek Tavern (we wrote about the plans to open a coffee shop in that location in a March 2019 post).

The new shop is called Grindcore X Crust and is a collaboration between Crust Vegan Bakery and Grindcore House, a South Philly based vegan-friendly coffee shop. They supply coffee, tea, bagels and sandwiches for the new shop, while Crust sells pastries, cakes by the slice, pop tarts, and more (see photo below). Continue Reading

The new 3-story mixed-use building at the southeast corner of 42nd Street and Chester Avenue may be getting a coffee shop. A request for a special zoning exception was submitted to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for 4134 Chester Avenue to include a coffee shop with up to 20 seats in the ground-floor commercial space of the building, which also houses two residential units on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

According to the zoning appeal posted on the city’s License’s and Inspections website, the coffee shop will not use any commercial cooking appliances and will serve prepared food.

It’s worth noting that there is a Dunkin Donuts shop on the same block, and a Starbucks on Woodland Avenue, just a block away from this building. However, Millcreek Tavern across the street may soon be replaced by another residential building, so that corner will likely have more residents soon.

Stay tuned for more information.