🍸 A restaurant empire’s legal trouble | Morning Newsletter
And ICE impersonators on Temple campus.

The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Morning, Philly.
The restaurant group behind numerous Philly hotspots has been selling alcohol without proper liquor licenses for months at multiple restaurants. Glu Hospitality is also facing at least two lawsuits and wage theft allegations.
And police say two people impersonated U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Temple University’s North Philadelphia campus Saturday night. One student has been charged as the investigation continues.
Plus, find the latest details on the devastating plane crash in Northeast Philly. And in lighter news, we have more ways to cheer the Birds (and the birds) ahead of Super Bowl 59.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Glu Hospitality’s restaurants are known for selling sexy cocktails — yet several don’t have the proper licenses to do so, an Inquirer investigation found. The restaurant group is behind Izakaya Fishtown, the recently shuttered 1225 Raw in Center City, Northern Liberties’ Figo Italian, and others.
At some Glu-operated locations, alcohol is sold using off-premises catering permits rather than more costly, harder-to-obtain restaurant liquor licenses. In other cases, licenses are long expired.
The group is facing other legal trouble, too, including lawsuits from former business associates and a developer. And in October, employees put forth a petition alleging wage theft.
Reporters Michael Klein and Beatrice Forman dig into the restaurant empire’s challenges.
Philadelphia and Temple police are investigating an incident during which two people posing as ICE agents disrupted a business on the campus on Saturday night, according to the school.
The incident: Two people wearing shirts with “ICE” and “Police” in white lettering entered Insomnia Cookies on Cecil B. Moore Avenue and claimed to be agents. A third person filmed them. Temple officials said the trio disrupted the store, but not provide specific details of what they allegedly said or did.
Student charged: A 22-year-old Temple student involved in the incident is on interim suspension and charged with an impersonation offense by Philadelphia police.
In context: The stunt came amid an uptick in reported ICE activity following President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. That includes last week’s raid of a North Philadelphia car wash resulting in the arrest of seven men. In Chester County, a car has been spotted with a sticker reading “ICE Volunteer Corps” — no such thing exists — prompting concern in local immigrant communities.
Reporter Jeff Gammage has the details.
In other Trump-adjacent news: A nonprofit that helps refugees resettle across Pennsylvania furloughed two-thirds of its workforce Monday following Trump’s executive order halting refugee resettlement and federal funding to assist refugees already here. And New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities Monday said it would not award any new wind projects, the latest wallop to the state’s big plans for the renewable energy source since Trump took office.
What you should know today
Following Friday’s devastating plane crash in Northeast Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is requesting state and federal help with the recovery effort and said those conversations began “immediately.” Plus: Read the moment-by-moment account of how the plane crash that killed seven and injured dozens unfolded.
A Philly police officer shot and killed a man who got into a physical struggle with another officer on the southbound ramp of I-95 early Monday, police said.
A Dallas man pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Camden to making hate-filled interstate threats against employees of a Sikh nonprofit’s office in Burlington County, prosecutors said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will deliver his third budget address on Tuesday, as the state faces an impending budget shortfall. Here’s what to expect.
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta was elected vice chair of the Democratic National Committee on Saturday. The role gives the Philly lawmaker a front-row seat as the party works to regain power.
Six Democratic candidates vying for New Jersey’s governorship spoke directly to voters at the first debate of the season Sunday night, discussing immigration policy and much more.
An infusion of cash from local building trades unions is fueling former Philadelphia Judge Patrick Dugan’s campaign for district attorney, and helped him out-raise incumbent Larry Krasner last year.
Fort Washington-based weight loss company Nutrisystem emailed a woman who never shared her address. Now it’s facing a class-action lawsuit.
The owners of the Broad Street Diner and the site of the former Melrose Diner have big real estate development plans, including a hotel and apartment building.
Our Birds have landed in New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl 59, and The Inquirer is back with more ways to cheer the team from afar. Exercise your Eagles fandom with these stories, guides, and games:
💚 Meet Noah and Reggie, the Eagles’ official live mascots and education ambassadors of the Elmwood Park Zoo — though if you’re a regular at Eagles games, chances are you already know them.
💚 Who would you put in an all-time Eagles Super Bowl dream team? Pick your own starting line here.
💚 A 15-year-old in West Chester found the 1960 Eagles NFL championship trophy in his grandmother’s closet. The trophy now sits on the Edelstein family couch every week as if it’s a part of the family.
💚 Looking for the best places to watch the Super Bowl? We rounded up Philly’s top sports bars, massive watch parties, and takeout specials for Sunday.
💚 Several schools planned a delayed opening after the Super Bowl, but Philly hasn’t decided yet. The superstitious may opt for a win, over more sleep.
🧠 Trivia time
Which non-U.S. city will host an NFL regular-season game in October 2026 featuring the Los Angeles Rams — and “likely” the Eagles?
A) Buenos Aires
B) Cairo
C) Munich
D) Melbourne
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
👐 Heartened to see: The city come together in response to the Northeast Philly plane crash.
👚 Visiting: The best thrift stores on the Main Line, according to an estate sale expert.
📺 Anticipating: Tina Fey’s new Netflix rom-com series, co-starring fellow Philly actor Colman Domingo.
🤠 Wondering: If Beyoncé will bring her Cowboy Carter tour to the city.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Temple is set to purchase this Center City building owned by the shuttered University of the Arts
ALL RATHER
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Eric Miller, who solved Monday’s anagram: Lehigh Valley. When Saquon Barkley attended the area’s Whitehall High School, he played basketball as well as football. He wasn’t a star on the court, but he still acted as a “glue guy” — and a likable leader.
Photo of the day
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