This secluded, charming Jenkintown alleyway is having a moment
An unusual new business sparked the rebirth of the quaint Yorkway Place.
It looks like a medieval street that belongs in its namesake English city, but the secluded, bricked Yorkway Place instead sits near the heart of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.
For years, locals say, the pedestrian walkway drew few pedestrians: Offices and empty storefronts offered little reason to stroll along the 1930s Tudor-lined path, which runs into Route 611.
“I still meet people today who don’t even realize it’s there,” said Ross Abel, a Jenkintown resident who bought a Yorkway Place building this year that now hosts a cafe.
Unusual bar concept sparks alley renaissance
The tide began turning in 2023 when Melissa Hager turned her herb and tea store into a meadery, The Keep Easy, with her partner Mike O’Donnell. While The Herb Shop had struggled, the bar took off.
“That might’ve been the catalyst,” said borough Manager George Locke. “The secret was getting that foot traffic in there.”
After The Keep Easy came Carminati Creamery, a gelato shop from Glenside, bringing a kid-friendly option to the alley.
The ice cream store “is the first thing that drew us in,” said Jenkintown Mayor Gabe Lerman, who has school-aged children. “Whatever we do for dinner, we can just walk up to Carminati’s.”
The Lore Café, an upscale, all-day coffee shop, added morning visitors to the scene. That’s what gave Jackie Botto the confidence to move Capricorn Books into Yorkway Place.
“We took a gamble,” Botto said. “I did not plan for it to be so busy.”
A custom jeweler and haberdashery and a nail salon round out the alley’s shops.
Themed events have attracted more newcomers, from a Nic Cage bar crawl to Jenkintown Festivus. Capricorn participated in the annual Philadelphia Bookstore Crawl, typically the store’s biggest day of the year, at their new Yorkway Place location for the first time this past weekend.
Personalized support helped local businesses
Personalized, direct support has helped bring more small businesses to Jenkintown, locals say.
The borough started helping owners secure sewer permits from the state several years ago, Locke said. Each permit is “20 to 40 hours of my time.”
“It’s a tough process,” he said.
As for filling Yorkway Place, “It’s been Mel,” Botto said, who’s been reaching out to potential owners about vacancies.
“I was texting everyone I know,” Hager, the meaderist, said.
Lerman said Jenkintown also recently added free 20-minute parking spots, which helped stores throughout the town.
And many of Yorkway Place’s business owners live in the borough, the mayor said: “They’re all invested in being good stewards and in having a place you can feel good about sending your kids with a few bucks to get a gelato, or a book.”
Jenkintown alley to see new stores in 2026
Several more businesses are set to arrive in Yorkway Place in the coming months.
In September, insect taxidermist Kat Smith is opening an art supply, stationery and craft cafe.
A game room and bottle bar is slated to open above Keep Easy in October.
And a record store, Smelly’s Vinyl Vibes, is also coming this fall.
“This is such a cool little street,” Abel said. “All these new shops are helping people to discover it.”
Inquirer Greater Abington
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