Philly brewery makes history | Let’s Eat
How do restaurants get their names? What’s the new Dizengoff like? Was Craig LaBan served a guppy?
What’s new this week? We stopped by a history-making brewery, got into the restaurant-name game, and checked out the new version of Dizengoff. Also this week, Craig LaBan serves up a doozy of a restaurant review.
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Eight years after buying a home-brew kit, brothers Richard and Mengistu Koilor have hit the big time: They’ve opened Two Locals Brewing Co., their brewery and taproom, in University City. This is believed to be the first Black-owned brewery in Philadelphia. They’re partnered with Fishtown’s Liberty Kitchen on an intriguing food menu, and hope to inspire others.
The naming of restaurants fascinates me. So much mental gymnastics, usually. My parents had a luncheonette in the late 1950s. My dad, who preferred to keep things simple, looked at the space, saw the shelves, and called it the Pantry. When my daughter Rachel opened her own restaurant, she didn’t think on it too long, either. She remembered him by calling it Miss Rachel’s Pantry.
I offer you two stories about restaurant naming:
What is the backstory behind some of Philadelphia’s top restaurants, like Mish Mish, My Loup, and Charlie was a sinner.? I must admit that Hop Sing Laundromat’s origin is as quirky as the owner.
Why do so many restaurant names sound similar? The tale of Little Walter’s and Little Water is so Philly-adorable.
And if you see our Steve Madden, give him an attaboy for that nifty illustration.
The public outcry over Black N Brew’s lease expiration was swift, until the East Passyunk coffee shop’s tax debt came to light. Colleagues Jake Blumgart and Jenn Ladd found the public records and layered that info into their reporting.
The community had rallied round Black N Brew with a GoFundMe that was suspended after the tax situation was reported.
👍 Panzerotti steal the show for critic Craig LaBan at the new Paffuto in South Philadelphia, and Craig is all about the golden fried crescents harboring a buttery richness, flaky crumble, and tasty fillings.
👎Loch Bar, the seafood destination on the Avenue of the Arts, needs work, Craig writes in a review in which he says he encountered a $79 Dover sole “the size of a guppy.” Read on.
Scoop
Garces Events is on its way out of the Kimmel Center. The Garces Trading Co. location closed after a year, in a move described last week by Garces Events’ operator, Ideation, and the Philadelphia Orchestra/Kimmel Center (POKC) as a mutual decision. Since my report, an email from Garces Events to key stakeholders has come to light. It says POKC has terminated its 10-year contract with Garces Events, signed just two years ago, “so it can explore opportunities that they believe will provide their organization with more financial gain.” With a new operator on the way, this means that Volvér and the concessions will close on June 10 and that Garces Events, now based at the Kimmel, will relocate to the Olde Bar’s commissary in Old City. “A series of layoffs” will begin, as well, it said. The email, dated Jan. 18, acknowledged that Garces Trading would close but said the date “has yet to be determined.” It closed four days later.
Restaurant report
Dizengoff. Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook have opened an expanded version of Dizengoff, subsuming the former Abe Fisher at 1625 Sansom St. It’s colorful. it’s lively, and there is hummus. Cook says: “We really want to feel like you’re eating in Tel Aviv.” Read on for more details and Steve Falk’s photos.
Midnight & the Wicked. Why, of course, there’s a velvet lounge chair in front of a glassed-in cabinet containing crowns and other trappings of royalty at Midnight & the Wicked, a new nightspot in Center City. The whole place, all 8,000 square feet over three rooms plus a nightclub, is Instagrammable. And at $8 million, it better be. Read on for more photos and details.
Lucy’s. This sports bar at 1720 Chestnut St. from Four Corners Management (Harper’s Garden, Rosy’s, Rosy’s West, Craft Hall, etc.) opens Thursday on two floors of a former sports-apparel shop. FCM’s Avram Hornik calls it an “old-school gathering place, kind of a response to cocktail culture.” So, yes, a sports bar, and only related in name to his long-ago Old City nightspot Lucy’s Hat Shop. Here’s the menu. Hours are 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Thursday, noon-2 a.m. Friday to Sunday. Kitchen open till midnight. Lunch is on the way. P.S. FCM’s Noche, upstairs at 1901 Chestnut St., is being made more casual.
Main Street Market by Winnie’s. Winnie Clowry has been on Main Street in Manayunk for 30 years, first managing Le Bus and later buying the family friendly restaurant for herself and renaming it Winnie’s. Over the years, she observed, “I lost business with people coming into at the restaurant wanting to just grab and go,” she said. Solution: A few doors down from Winnie’s, in a former flower shop, she’s opening Main Street Market by Winnie’s (4250 Main St.). The 600-square-footer is packed: coffee/espresso, pastries and breads, sandwiches, a fridge for salads, soups, prepared foods, cheeses, and gift baskets. It debuts officially Thursday. Clowry (she’s in the vest in the photo above) and general manager Sean McGranaghan envision similar markets in other neighborhoods. Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.
Dreamworld Bakes. Ashley Huston’s glittery custom cake shop is opening a brick-and-mortar bakery in Kensington. Jenn Ladd writes that you can try the best cake — Baby Spice, a cardamom sponge cake with passionfruit curd, mango chai mousse, and tonka bean Italian buttercream — at a Saturday fundraiser at the future storefront.
Rosey’s. Chad Rosenthal of Lucky Well Incubator is unveiling his banh mi shop at 58 E. Butler Ave. in Ambler (next to Saffron), but he’s opening softly Thursday with only pork meatball, lemongrass chicken, and marinated tofu (vegan) varieties, plus lime soda and Vietnamese coffee from Kensington’s Càphê Roasters. Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Briefly noted
Hymie’s Deli could be back online as soon as Feb. 12, says owner Louis Barson, who is overseeing repairs to the Lower Merion landmark after a water-main break on Jan. 10 filled the basement with five feet of water. Barson has been in a pickle before, but this is a big dill.
R Five Wines (206 Lancaster Ave. Downingtown) has a new partnership with Zack and Karessa Hathaway of Sweet Amelia’s in Kennett Square. Here’s the gist of it: In mid-February, the Hathaways will take over R Five’s kitchen, adding shareables and small plates to R Five’s pizzas. R Five winemaker and co-owner Kieran Robinson said this would allow R Five to focus on winemaking and education. This agreement goes the other way, as Sweet Amelia’s sells at least seven R Five Wines.
Win Win Coffee, once at 931 Spring Garden St., is back. Matthew Nam and Nikisha Bailey have pivoted to a new mission by sourcing beans from farmers in the African diaspora. Bailey noted that only 10% of the $500 billion industry goes back to the Black and brown countries where these crops are harvested. As one of Philadelphia’s first Black women-led coffee businesses, she felt a responsibility to correct this inequality. They’re selling through the Palm Tree Markets in Philadelphia, and are in talks with national chains for distribution in 2024. They’re roasting now in Central New Jersey, while expecting a spring opening of a facility in Jasper House in Kensington that will include a ground-floor cafe and roasting plant.
Menagerie Coffee has opened at Liberty Lands Park in Northern Liberties (908 N. Third St.).
❓Pop quiz
How did Bryn Mawr College professor Michelle Francl offend the United Kingdom and even get the U.S. Embassy involved?
A) She called King Charles “Chuckie.”
B) She opined that Argentina should have won the Falklands War.
C) She wrote that they speak “British English” and not “real English.”
D) She suggested adding salt to tea.
Find out if you know the answer. Spit-spot.
Ask Mike anything
What’s going on with Kura Revolving Sushi Bar on Chestnut Street? Is it out of business? — Sammi
The parent company told me that the Japanese restaurant, which opened only a year ago with a robot busboy, was temporarily closed for maintenance; it did not elaborate. I see from Kura’s most recent city health inspection a few weeks ago that water damage was observed in a stairway and that “residue” was observed on the wall under the dish machine in the first-floor food-prep area.
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