🛍️ Changes for Chestnut Hill | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to a new month, Philly. Stock up on rock salt (or calcium chloride) now: The season’s first bout of winter weather could hit early this week.

Despite broader economic challenges and a few restaurant vacancies, new and old Chestnut Hill businesses have found success. On this Cyber Monday, consider how the neighborhood’s main street is staying relevant in the Amazon era.

And U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle has been central in shaping Democratic messaging around Republican policies. Follow the Northeast Philadelphia lawmaker for a day in this look at his growing profile in Washington.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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As consumer habits skew digital, Chestnut Hill’s main commercial corridor has stayed busy with foot traffic.

🛍️ Business owners and retail advocates say Germantown Avenue’s diverse mix of shops — from a century-old hardware store to an all-day coffee and cocktail bar newcomer — is what continues to draw customers to the downtown area.

🍺 While some of the neighborhood’s biggest restaurants have closed recently, including the regional chain Iron Hill Brewery, patrons still visit because they expect they’ll be able to find something unique to eat, drink, or buy, experts told The Inquirer.

🎄 “When you come to Chestnut Hill over the holidays, you get what you came for,” one Germantown Avenue shop owner said. “You get that charming feeling of being somewhere special for the holiday.”

Consumer reporter Erin McCarthy explains Chestnut Hill’s commercial staying power — and the changes to come.

Further reading: After Cyber Monday comes Giving Tuesday. Experts share how to avoid charity scams and make your gift count.

🎤 I’m passing the mic to politics reporter Julia Terruso.

U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, a six-term lawmaker, is the most veteran of Pennsylvania’s eight Democrats in Washington. He has been the ranking member of the House Budget Committee since 2023, meaning he is the top Democrat playing defense as the Republican-controlled Congress ushers through GOP spending priorities. It can be a futile exercise in shouting into a void — until the yelling starts to echo outside.

Increasingly, Boyle, known as the Democrats’ “budget guy,” has been the man behind the messaging against President Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill and the shutdown fight over healthcare.

If Democrats reclaim Congress in next year’s election, Boyle would shift from ranking member to chair of the powerful Budget Committee, becoming the first Pennsylvanian to lead it since 1989.

It would be another resumé builder for the 48-year-old lawmaker whose role in Washington keeps growing and who has not ruled out a potential Senate run in 2028, when Democratic Sen. John Fetterman’s seat would be up. — Julia Terruso

Read on to learn how the Somerton resident’s profile is changing amid D.C.’s healthcare fight, and what he sees for his political future.

The Bezos-owned Post snubbed Philly on its list of the country’s best sports cities. Nine Inquirer writers offer plenty of reasons why they’re wrong.

Which of these is a priority policy goal of Philadelphia’s new Vision Zero report?

A) The city wants to set its own speed limits

B) The city wants to change how it tracks traffic deaths

C) The city wants to get rid of bike lanes

D) The city wants to implement 20 new roundabouts

Think you know? Check your answer.

☃️ Planning: Outings to see these holiday light shows around Philly.

🍴 Begging you to do: Use your restaurant gift cards, ASAP.

📱 Appreciating: This Rutgers University professor’s efforts to spread kindness digitally.

🦖 Voting on: The name for the stone statue replacing Manayunk’s Bridget the Dino.

✉️ Considering: The apparent demise of mailed holiday cards.

Hint: _ Arboretum in East Germantown

BUY RAW

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Maryn Gemgnani, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Robert A.M. Stern. The renowned architect whose designs included the Comcast Center and the Museum of the American Revolution, has died at 86.

And shout-out to Brad Baer, who shared this connection: “Bob was my dean in architecture school at Yale. In a full-circle moment, I was in his Comcast Center, watching the Comcast Holiday Spectacular with my wife and sons, when I learned of his passing.”

Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Megan McCusker, who describes finding a reminder of home, 100 miles away:

Branching out of my comfort zone to attend Columbia University in New York City but with roots firmly planted in Philadelphia led to an internal struggle between living the life of glamour and grind in the city that never sleeps and affecting a more laid-back, casual style. While my mind told me, “Keep up! Keep hustling!” my heart said “Just be who you are — the big-city, small-town girl from next door.”

That internal war started to fade the night the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. I had a friend who had already graduated from Columbia and was living downtown. He invited me and my friends to a place called Wogies, a sports bar that he claimed was for Philly transplants living in New York. I almost didn’t believe him that such a place existed, but since “Wogies” rhymed with “hoagies,” I thought maybe it could be true.

I arrived at Wogies to find a sea of red baseball caps and jerseys, only Phillies fans packed shoulder-to-shoulder in the center of a TV-lined bar, all eyes glued to the screens. Feeling the buzz after a beer, I felt like I had found my people and my place in a city that constantly reminds you of your anonymity.

About an hour into the game, into the bar walked a guy donning a Yankees hat flanked by two Phillies fans — his “friends.” As if the crowd could feel the presence of an intruder, the entire bar turned to see their foe, and without skipping a beat, began chanting in unison, “Boo! Boo! Get out of our house!” Nowhere in New York has a Yankees fan felt so unwelcome. The poor guy left!

It’s that kind of fan dedication and commitment that can only be inspired by being from Philadelphia. In that moment in a corner bar in the West Village, I realized my true identity without having to be physically present in Philadelphia. From then on, I had the courage to be unapologetically “from Philly” in a city where New Yorkers think talking about “the city” always and exclusively means “New York City.”

Thanks for starting your week — and month — with The Inquirer. See you back here tomorrow.

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