The lifespan of Philly restaurants | Morning Newsletter
📹 And about that surveillance cam in Washington Square …
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
It’s Friday, Philly. Expect mostly sunny skies and highs in the mid-80s.
What does it take for a restaurant to last in Philadelphia? An Inquirer analysis found that new food licenses are outpacing closures in the city.
We also dig into why Washington Square has a new surveillance camera.
Plus, Philly City Hall was evacuated due to a suspicious package, and more news to know before your weekend begins.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Philly is a foodie’s paradise with thousands of restaurants that call it home. But it’s a notoriously difficult business, and recent high-profile closures in the city reinforce that reality.
According to our analysis of business licenses since 2006, the median lifespan of a restaurant is seven and a half years.
To examine what has changed in that time frame, we looked into what happened in 2018. That year’s data shows:
✅ The city had a little more than 8,000 active licenses for food preparing and serving. (A new licensing process that year gave this figure a boost.)
⛔ Around 1,000 new licenses were issued throughout that year, but around 650 of those businesses have since closed.
That short forecast, coupled with the volatile dining scene, hasn’t deterred new places from opening up shop, though. And there’s one West Philly block in particular that represents this turnover trend.
There’s a new fixture on Washington Square that doesn’t exactly obscure its presence.
The fenced off, solar-powered security camera has sparked questions about whether it was a Flock camera, a type of surveillance device that has raised privacy concerns.
But it’s not a Flock device, my colleague Abraham Gutman reports. He tracked down more information on the camera, including:
Who installed it. The National Park Service did so in July, according to City Councilmember Mark Squilla.
Why they put it there. A handful of vandalism incidents in the area prompted the additional surveillance measure.
What you should know today
South Jersey power broker and former Inquirer co-owner George E. Norcross III on Thursday filed a $100 million defamation and conspiracy lawsuit against the newspaper and one of its editors.
Sheriff’s deputies investigated a package found in Council chambers, Council President Kenyatta Johnson said. No injuries were reported and police have determined it was not a bomb.
The cousin of a woman believed to have been killed by Raymond Horsch criticized police for sharing graphic details with the public before conferring with family.
Upper Darby passed an ordinance this week aiming to restrict the township’s cooperation with federal immigration agents.
The head of the Conviction Integrity Unit in the District Attorney’s Office has stepped down from his supervisory role, sources said, days after a federal judge said his actions in a contentious post-conviction case could amount to crimes.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker ordered a task force to explore whether the city should place new regulations on the construction of data centers that power artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, Gov. Josh Shapiro called for the federal government to establish “strict rules of the road” to guide the AI industry.
Atlantic City’s iconic Steel Pier, home to diving horses, Miss America pageants, and lately rides, has gone up for sale at $85 million.
Old City is one of the few Philadelphia neighborhoods that still sees condo development. A new 43-unit project, which would preserve historic features, could become part of the trend.
Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.
This week, we’re resurfacing an explainer on Philadelphia street nomenclature. A reader, self-described as obsessed with avenue numbers in Philadelphia, wanted to know why they start at 64th. And why 63rd Street, not 63rd Avenue?
We asked multiple city departments, but as it turns out, no one really knows why. Still, Inquirer reporter Michelle Myers uncovered some history of Philly’s street naming conventions, and how it may be related to the city’s addressing system. Here’s the full story.
Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.
🧠 Trivia time
Biology students at Stockton University are monitoring this Jersey Shore icon and say the species could be in danger:
A) Turtles
B) Horses
C) Horseshoe crabs
D) Ospreys
Think you know? Test your local news know-how and check your answer in our weekly quiz.
What we’re …
🌕 Highlighting: Philly’s most unique mooncakes, according to The Inquirer’s food writer Kiki Aranita.
⚽ Impressed by: Union phenom Cavan Sullivan, 16, and two other teammates got the call-up to play with the senior U.S. men’s national team.
🎸 Listing: Concerts to catch as we wrap up the last big weekend for outdoor shows in Philly.
⛳ Following: Why the plan to build a warehouse on a shuttered South Jersey golf course has yet to break ground.
☕ Curious about: A West Philly coffee shop’s new bagel-themed fall drink. The Inquirer’s Emily Bloch says it’s a “must-try.”
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: The United States got its name at this Philadelphia site on Sept. 9, 1776. (At the time, it was called the Pennsylvania State House.)
ENPLANED LICHENED
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Khalil Garriott, who correctly guessed Thursday’s answer: Reading Terminal Market. The beloved Center City institution recently tallied up its local economic impact, to the tune of $126 million last year.
Photo of the day
Thanks for starting your weekend with us. Have a great one.
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