Dig into Little Spoon Cafe
Tuesday, Oct. 14 is the opening of Little Spoon Cafe (1500 South St., 267-587-6559), a sweet spot at the southwest corner of 15th and South Street, formerly the Baja Room.
Broad and South Streets is an area on the way up.
On the northeast corner, Kevin Sbraga is opening Juniper Commons this fall at the new SouthStar, with Big Gay Ice Cream planned for late fall next door and the relocated Sansom Kabob House due to arrive down the block.
Two blocks away, at the southwest corner of 16th and South, Calexico, a New York-based California-style Mexican, is slllloowwwly coming together for a projected mid-November opening. A few doors down, at 1612-16 South, is Founding Fathers Sports Bar & Grill, also due to open in mid-November.
Now open:
Little Spoon Cafe
(1500 South St., 267-587-6559), a sweet little fast-casual at the southwest corner of 15th and South Street, formerly the Baja Room.
Little Spoon, more than a year in the making, fell into place for founders Julia McMeans and Jeanne French, who are high on the slice of town that McMeans described as "Mr. Rogers' neighborhood." The two met several years ago, when McMeans worked at the now-closed Pumpkin Market and French was a customer.
McMeans said they both thought that the street lacked "a community breakfast-y spot. Sort of like a coffeehouse with better food. We got the idea that we should be that neighborhood spot."
French's background was purely business and not restaurant-related. She bought and flipped houses in Vermont, went to law school, and was a dive master in Honduras.
They retained the chef's services of Lauren Geary, previously kitchen manager at Monk's Cafe and chef at Pumpkin Cafe (once separate from the market). Geary studied at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute in Chicago and early on worked at Charlie Trotter's. Maggie Bertonazzi is baking pastry in-house.
They also hired the architect/designer Joshua Otto, who recently shared a James Beard Award for the design of Center City's Tria Taproom. He paid special attention to sprucing up the exterior, where he added a big little spoon to the 15th Street facade.
The dining room, whose walls were stripped down in spots, is light-filled with wood-topped tables, mismatched chairs and nifty antique pieces. Order at the counter and sit. An old typewriter on a random table is set up for customers to type comments. The patio out back has been cleaned up for seating.
Hours are a work-in-progress as McMeans and French gauge the neighborhood's response. For now, they are open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. (Closed Monday.)
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