Rosa’s Fresh Pizza, the no-frills dollar-slice pizza shop, opened its second location this month on 40th between Ludlow and Market. Rosa’s is the brainchild of businessman Mason Wartman, whose claim to fame is appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about his restaurant’s wall of pay-it-forward post-it notes. Each post-it represents a slice of pizza purchased by someone to feed the city’s homeless population, and anyone who can’t afford to buy food for themselves can take a post-it off of the wall and trade it for a slice at the counter.

Rosa’s original location, in Center City near Jefferson Hospital at 11th and Ludlow, serves free slices to 50-100 customers a day. A person behind the counter at the new University City location who declined to give his name said that they had “some” people taking advantage of the free slices, but not as many as 30 or 40. “I guess people just haven’t heard yet,” he explained.  Continue Reading

In 2016, we reported on the possibility that Loco Pez, the cash-only Fishtown taqueria, was opening a new location at 47th and Baltimore, in the spot that the Carrot Cake Man used to occupy in the old Montrose building. What ever happened to that plan? According to a local realtor’s website, Loco Pez signed a lease for the space in early 2016, but since then progress has been erratic.

For many months there was little to no activity, then eventually various construction permits for a sit-down restaurant appeared in the window, but construction seemed to stall as of late last Autumn. The location’s liquor license is in “safekeeping” status, which means that it’s still attached to that location, but not currently active. Only in the last few weeks have local residents reported renewed activity inside the space.  Continue Reading

Atiya Ola’s is now open on S. 48th Street next door to 48th Street Grille. (Photo by Rana Fayez)

A few months ago, Atiya Ola’s had no choice but to move out of their Baltimore Ave. location. Community organizations held fundraisers to help them pay rent, but restaurant owner Atiya Ola has not been able to find a suitable location until recently. Atiya Ola’s Spirit First Foods (Facebook page) held a grand opening earlier this month to invite the community into their new, albeit temporary location at Common Table on 48th street between Pine and Spruce. The business has even installed window signage, indicating that the restaurant is here to stay.

The Dorrance H. Hamilton Culinary Center, a division of the Enterprise Center in the Garden Court neighborhood, has a pop-up restaurant space called Common Table. The space is made available to businesses enrolled within the Center’s food industry incubator. As a business owner that has handled change gracefully, Atiya Ola welcomes the new scenery. “The universal laws opened the gateway for me to relocate here,” said Ola.  Continue Reading

We have compiled some exciting news and updates from local restaurants and coffee shops.

Renata’s Kitchen Now Offers Catering

Renata’s Kitchen

Renata’s Kitchen has been serving brunch and dinner at 46th and Baltimore since Fall 2015, and this fall, the popular restaurant has released a new, “organized” catering menu. The restaurant has done some catering in the past, but the new menu serves the purpose of bringing this additional service to the front, especially around the holiday time.

“… our catering menu is just the start, we’re happy to accommodate special requests, or themed parties,” writes Renata’s co-owner Katie Aiq. “We did an order recently for a client specializing in Chilean food – possibly my favorite day at work ever. Don’t be shy, even if you’ve never seen us do anything like it before, we can probably work something out.”  Continue Reading

Just Salad Facebook photo.

A new casual, healthy dining option is coming soon to the 3700 block of Spruce Street. A “fast casual” restaurant, Just Salad, has signed a lease for 3728 Spruce Street, a 1,600 square feet of space on a popular retail block, according to a recent announcement by Penn Facilities & Real Estate Services. Renovations to the space are currently underway, and the restaurant is expected to open in early 2018.

The new restaurant will offer seasonal salads, wraps, grain bowls, and smoothies and will include a seating area with a couple dozen chairs and café tables, a bar counter, a pickup station, and a tea station.  Continue Reading

West Philly just got another Asian fusion restaurant, Daleng, and this one is family-owned and operated. The restaurant opened last weekend at 47th and Walnut, down the street from West Lofts. It serves classic and new dishes from across the continent with protein options of beef, chicken, pork, and fish, along with vegetarian choices.

The menu features Thai dishes such as spicy Tom Yum chicken and Pad Thai, Korean Tang Tang chicken, Cambodian beef Kroeung Stir Fry, Singaporean Mei Fun, and Vietnamese Banh Mi. Vegetarian offerings include eggplant veggie curry, pad thai with tofu, and an assortment of fried rices.

Beverage offerings currently stand at bubble tea, Vietnamese iced tea, Hong Kong milk tea and a variety of fruit smoothies. According to a sign posted in the window, the restaurant has applied for a permit to serve alcoholic beverages such as liquor, beer, and wine.  Continue Reading