Sports bar inspection under scrutiny | Morning Newsletter
🍔 And the Main Line’s burger capital.
The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning, Philly. We’re in for another June-like day ahead of potentially strong storms.
About a dozen police officers with flashlights and some masks swept through Philadelphia’s only women’s sports bar last month for a late-night inspection. Our main read below examines what happened.
And you might call Ardmore the burger capital of the Main Line, as two new beef specialists join the sizzling scene.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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A late-night police inspection of Marsha’s, Philly’s first women’s sports bar, is drawing scrutiny amid conflicting accounts.
About a dozen officers — including some who were masked — entered the South Street bar on a busy Friday night in late February for what was purported to be a routine bar inspection.
Owner Chivonn Anderson said she was told that the inspection followed an anonymous complaint alleging that, among other offenses, Marsha’s was serving underage patrons, which Anderson disputes. She also said February’s incident was not the first time an anonymous tip had led officials to her business.
Police defended the incident’s scale and officers’ use of masks. Yet officials gave mixed accounts of the tips that supposedly underpinned the inspections.
Meanwhile, community members have raised questions about whether Marsha’s, a hub for Philly’s lesbian community, received standard treatment.
Reporter Beatrice Forman has more details.
With the recent additions of Bikini Burger and Gouldsburger’s, Ardmore is now home to a whopping 16 burger establishments — or 19, if you count chains.
🍔 Restaurant reporter Michael Klein makes the case that the area is well suited for such eateries because of its mix of commuters, shoppers, families, and college students who can collectively support casual food businesses all day.
🍔 The suburban community’s spread includes pub burgers, smashburgers, diner burgers, black bean burgers, and even shrimp-topped burgers.
🍔 The newcomers don’t seem especially worried about the local competition, Klein reports: “I just wanted to bring a really good burger to the area,” Bikini Burger owner Mia Robertson said.
See the full rundown of Ardmore’s meaty offerings.
In other food news: Starting this week, Uber Eats customers in Center City may see a new delivery option — an autonomous robot. And Trader Joe’s may soon open another grocery store in Philadelphia, near Pennsport.
What you should know today
The FBI detonated explosives found in a Bucks County storage unit on Monday night in connection to its investigation into two local teens charged with terrorism in New York.
A man died and two other people were injured after a fire erupted at a rowhouse Tuesday in Point Breeze, authorities said.
Two men were arrested and charged in connection with the death of a flight attendant who was found beaten outside his South Philly home last year.
A Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge was arrested Monday night and charged with assaulting his wife and daughter.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s first budget proposal would kick high-earning seniors off a new tax relief program and expand mental health services for kids. See what else she’s pitching.
The University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday defended its refusal to give the federal government names of faculty and students affiliated with Jewish programs, telling a judge that doing so would interfere with their First Amendment rights.
Sinceré Harris, a top aide to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and the mayor’s former campaign manager, is leaving city government. Plus, the Parker administration launched a Kensington data tool meant to help residents “take back” the neighborhood.
Philadelphia’s Law Department is appealing a Common Pleas Court ruling against the Washington Square West historic district.
Quote of the day
The accelerated degree program, which Drexel’s medical school plans to launch in 2028 or 2029, will shave a year off the traditional route to a diploma.
🧠 Trivia time
Which Philly-related event triggers the end of the world on Hulu’s Paradise?
A) A mayoral election
B) An Inquirer investigation
C) A Nick Castellanos home run
D) A Gritty wedding
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re ...
🫧 Anticipating: The return of the Open Streets program in Rittenhouse Square and Midtown Village.
🏘️ Learning: Why area homebuyers can afford more expensive homes this year.
🌳 Sitting on: Pierre Robert’s forthcoming Rittenhouse Square memorial bench.
🌹 Surprised by: Martha Stewart’s visit to the Flower Show during its final weekend.
🏫 Considering: The Philadelphia school board president’s take on the district’s facilities plan.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Delaware County township
FRINGED LISP
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Dennis Johnson, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Explorers. The founder of La Salle University hoops’ student section is a captain of the school’s water polo team, too. (When does she sleep?)
Photo of the day
🚗 One last poignant thing: Like the all-white “ghost bikes” chained at the sites of cyclist deaths, “ghost cars” are vehicles left behind when federal immigration agents have taken their drivers into custody. An artist-made sign in the style of Pennsylvania’s blue-and-yellow historic markers has appeared in Northern Liberties where such a car was left for days after a Gopuff delivery driver was arrested there.
Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. Back at it tomorrow.
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