🍽️ Fine dining with a college chef | Morning Newsletter
And today’s top stories
The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning.
Saturday should start off dry, but some storms may move over the region. At least it’s much cooler than Friday, which hit a record-breaking 98 degrees.
Today, I’m highlighting Philly’s hottest new supper club.
But first, there’s news on a controversial new law restricting mobile medical clinics in Kensington, the suspected cause of hundreds of dead fish in a Philadelphia creek, and the opening date of the city’s first Amazon Fresh supermarket.
Scroll along for these stories and much more.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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What you should know today
Philadelphia’s labor unrest is easing as a major union for white-collar city workers ratifies a new contract with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration, ending a period of strikes and negotiations.
Four people, including a mother and her two children, were critically wounded in a shooting Thursday night at a graduation party in North Philadelphia. Police believe the shooting stemmed from a verbal dispute over reckless driving.
Hundreds of fish were found dead this week in the Tacony Creek off Roosevelt Boulevard. A nonprofit group believes it was likely caused by illegal chemical dumping.
A federal judge denied the Justice Department’s request to end a settlement with a Pennsylvania bank it had accused of redlining in and around Philadelphia.
A 9-year-old child died Thursday evening after an incident at Hersheypark’s water park, according to the amusement park’s CEO.
Philadelphia’s new law restricting mobile outreach services in Kensington won’t be enforced immediately as city officials work to establish a required permitting system.
The family of a Market Street pizza shop worker who was killed in a 2024 altercation is accusing the restaurant’s owner of putting their loved one in harm’s way, according to a new lawsuit.
The long-overdue taxes on a Center City building partially owned by District Attorney Larry Krasner have been paid off after the building was sold, city records show, laying to rest an issue Krasner’s critics have raised over the years.
Philly’s first Amazon Fresh supermarket has set an opening date for the Northern Liberties store.
Lawmakers are frustrated with the Trump administration’s lack of transparency regarding plans to detain immigrants at a South Jersey military base, raising concerns about potential impacts on community safety and the base’s primary mission.
Every Saturday, we’ll talk about something happening around Philly that’s stuck in our minds. Today, it’s the Ocho Supper Club, the underground dining experience that’s currently popping. It all began within the confines of a student’s dorm room.
When word got out about the delicious dinners by executive chef RJ Smith and his crew, residents, influencers, and journalists alike started flocking. This week, food writer Kiki Aranita wrote about her first-hand experience at Smith’s apartment. She spared no detail, from gushing over a kabocha flan with a tableside pour of rum (one of the best meals she’d had in months), down to the dining room table that came from Facebook marketplace.
If you try to imagine the type of sustenance college students get by on, “fine dining” probably doesn’t come to mind. But Smith isn’t any ordinary pupil. He’s a senior in Drexel’s culinary program, boasting cooking chops from professional Michelin-starred gigs in his native Bay Area all the way to London. His family culture and time spent in Jamaica is also a big influence on Ocho’s Afro-Caribbean cuisine, served in gourmet fashion. And did I mention that Smith is just 20 years old?
Philly loves its supper clubs. These social gatherings and casual dinners bring people together and help them build community over breaking bread. But I loved learning about this unique supper club and the quiet, passionate mastermind behind it because, as Aranita reports, Ocho stands out as it “plays restaurant.”
Smith takes his craft seriously, and between the high-quality ingredients to the fine-dining details, it shows. He’s been building on it since his mid-teens, and the Philadelphia community is its current beneficiary. While Smith heads to graduation and continues to refine his skills, I’ll work on figuring out how to get a seat at the table.
Following initial commitments to advance equal opportunity after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, companies like Target are now abandoning these efforts. The move prompted a national boycott by activists, which has since lost momentum.
In a column for The Inquirer, Omari Scott Simmons points to civil rights leader the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan as a leading example in applying effective pressure on corporate America.
“The current state of the country warrants a closer examination of the Rev. Sullivan’s self-help vision and demands for corporate responsibility to provide pathways to prosperity for all Americans,” Simmons writes.
🧠Trivia time
When school opens in September, students at four Camden high schools will have a new rule in the dress code.
What is it?
A) No tank tops
B) No all-black outfits
C) No jeans
D) All students must wear red polo shirts
Think you know? Check your answer.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Superstar DJ-producer
DO LIP
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Qing Hu who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Fashion District. The East Market Street mall is one of several stops on the Philadelphia School District’s Ring the Bell PHL bus tour. Philly families can get backpacks, vaccines, physicals for student athletes, and more at the events before school starts Aug. 25.
This was captured seconds after Phillies slugger Bryce Harper joined the 350 club during Wednesday’s game at Citizens Bank Park. He hit his 350th career home run in the first inning.
Our favorite furry green guy the Phanatic was also mic’d up during Wednesday night’s broadcast. It went exactly how you’d expect.
There were plenty of other memorable moments captured by Inquirer staff photographers. Check out all our best sports photos of the week.
Somewhere on the internet in Philly
Have the Phillies “found their Tush Push”? Some peeps think so.
Speaking of the brotherly shove, see what Philly’s Superman David Corenswet said when asked if he trusts the superhero or Jalen Hurts to run the signature play. He also recently had fun with a very Philly edition of a “this or that” game.
Sporty Labubus are making people wanna buy one. Or two. They are truly taking over.
And apparently a group of Minecraft gamers virtually recreated Independence Hall in the video game. It only took them two months.
👋🏽 Thanks for stopping by this morning. I’ll catch up with you again tomorrow.
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