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Closings
Stephanie Thaw has announced that she'll close Sweetie's Pie Diner, her all-vegetarian pie restaurant at 1822 Spring Garden (it earned good looks from CP's Trey Popp back in January), this coming Sunday, March 14. The baker says that 10 percent of sales on her finale day will benefit the Wissahickon Charter School; she'll seat folks until 6 p.m.
After the jump, read Thaw's statement touching on the reasons behind the closing. (Here's our previous coverage of the venture.)
This Sunday, March 14, will be the last day for Sweetie's Pie Diner.
Since opening in October we have been fortunate to have really great press, a core group of loyal customers, and a really great and committed staff. For a new business in these times, it has grown nicely. Unfortunately, it has not grown quickly enough to be self-sustaining and we have reached a point where the financial resources have just run dry.
As a small business, committed to a triple bottom line, I am proud of the way we have operated throughout these past few months, even if that meant a smaller profit margin. In keeping with our core values, we will end our run with a final Community Giving Day to benefit Wissahickon Charter School and we will seat people until 6:00 PM. A full 10% of our sales will benefit this great little gem of a school in Germantown and I am confident you will enjoy the artwork done by their students, which has livened up our walls for the past month.
If we are that restaurant that you have been meaning try, now is the time. Although Sunday is our last day, we will have a full menu, plenty of desserts, and lots of cheer, despite the weather forecast. We will also continue to take orders for pies — both sweet and savory — for at least the next month. Motley Fuel is available in a few locations and can be ordered directly from our site.
I have really enjoyed the many people I have met over the course of this venture and I want to thank all of you who made us a part of your routine. Small neighborhood businesses add flavor and character to a place, and they can only do this if the neighborhood supports them in kind. While our run is ending, I hope that you will seek out and patronize them. They are the fabric of your community and it is only as strong as you make it.
I hope to see you this weekend and thanks for your patronage.
:(
So So sad to hear that you have to close. We had a fabulous experience there with our kids & grandmother (who lives nearby). Our son has Celiac as does my husband and it was so refreshing to get such great eats at the adorably quaint Sweetie Pie's. The service was out of this world too! So so sorry to hear that you are going. We hope to be downtown for the Parade on Sunday so we'll definitely try to stop in one last time.......... :(
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Maru (206 Market St.), the sushi spot that just took over for Anjou in Old City a little more than a month ago, has already closed, a loyal tipster reports. We called the restaurant but the phone rings and rings; a walk-by reveals a darkened dining room.
Maru is not to be confused with Maru Global Takoyaki, the Japanese street food spot that opened on 10th Street recently.
[...] Maru didn’t last long. The former Anjou has closed after just a month. [Meal Ticket] [...]
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Earlier this week CP food critic David Snyder put us on to something odd going on at Sakana Sushi Caf� (1526 Sansom St.), which opened in July '09. When he tried to pop by for dinner early this week, they were closed during their usual business hours � a sign on the door promised that they'd be reopening within a week's time, but subsequent drop-bys have found it in an identical state. We've been calling all day and the line rings and rings. No official insight into what's going on there just yet, though there are some as-yet-unsubstantiated rumors floating about.
UPDATE: According to The Insider, Sakana's building was temporarily shut down by L&I for several violations.
[...] Sakana Sushi Caf� (1526 Sansom St.), which opened last summer and lately had been going though something slightly strange, is now called Jay’s Favorite Sushi Bar. Jay is chef/owner Jay Zou, who comes to Center City [...]
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
A Meal Ticket tipster told us to check out something fishy going on at Mezza Luna/Bella Luna at Eighth and Christian, so we popped by yesterday evening for a look. This past summer, the former Paxia was taken over by Pietro D�Abbraccio, who moved his Mezza Luna restaurant from 763 S. Eighth to this corner space. As of right now, though, the space is dark, locked up with a heavy chain, and a note on the door reads as follows:
Peter,
You fled!
Left the restaurant unlocked!
Unattended!
I put on the chain!
I am contacting my attorney!
Joanne
Dec 7th, 2009
About 4:00PM
A search of Philadelphia's Common Pleas Court docket turns up a Nov. 13 filing against D'Abbraccio, bearing the address of the restaurant, that seeks more than $16,000 in damages. (According to The Insider, a very similar thing happened with Mezza Luna's original space down the block.)
The restaurant's phone line is disconnected, but we've written an e-mail to D'Abbraccio in an attempt to get more information on the matter.
[...] Mezza Luna which moved down the block over the summer has seemed to check out. The drama posted for the world to see in the window. [Meal Ticket] [...]
It was weird when we were there it wasn't that busy, and come on how many restaurants do you know of in philly that suddenly become cash only, it sounded fishy to me at the time. That compiled with the fact that they had 1 waitor and 6 bus boys, even if it does come back I think I will go to sabrina's instead.
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Thanks to the Meal Ticket tipster who spotted a sign reading the following in the window of Kibitz in the City (703 Chestnut St.):
Kibitz in the City is closed for business. Thank you to all of the loyal customers over the years. A new delicatessen concept will be opening shortly. We look forward to joining the neighborhood. Check back here periodically for more information and updates. Thank you.
KITC was opened in 2003 by Russ Cowan, who at the time owned Kibitz Room in Cherry Hill. He eventually sold both and took over Famous 4th Street, which now has a second location; Cowan's former manager Neil Parrish now owns both the original Kibitz Room and the newer one on Locust, which opened in April. (We know, we know.) Perhaps the relatively high profile of the newish Center City Kibitz necessitated a conceptual change, or at least a name tweak, for KITC's owners? We'll be sure to keep you posted as we learn more.
Maybe because it was a Jewish deli owned by Asians? (No offense.)
[...] Kibitz in the City has closed at 703 Chestnut Street. A sign on the door says to look for a new deli concept coming soon. [Meal Ticket] [...]
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| ShopFosters.com |
| The store at 399 Market St. will close this month. |
Just heard from a keen-eyed Meal Ticket tipster, who spied a sign in Foster's Urban Homeware announcing that the hip home store will be shuttering their location at 399 Market St. and moving to 33 N. Third St. in Old City.
Foster's inventory manager Brian Markee confirmed as much in a phone conversation with Meal Ticket, citing the Market St. store's location as the reason behind the move. "This is not an ideal location... it's not really a retail spot," said Markee. "We're moving to a more central, boutique shopping district location."
The new Foster's will open Saturday, Oct. 31; until then, merchandise not slated to make the move is marked down 50 percent.
Monk's Caf� (264 S. 16th St.) owner Tom Peters just shot out an email announcing that the Belgian bar is again open for business.� The back bar room will open in a week or so, when construction on the building's fire tower is complete.� After the jump, Peters' email and a synopsis of the tragic event that required the evacuation of the building's 13 tenants and the closure of the restaurant.
We are OPEN! � The City of Philadelphia told us that we could open our doors at 11:30 AM today.� All the City officials that we dealt with were amazingly helpful.� So we want to give a big thanks to Bart, Scott, Mrs. Ward and everyone else for their extraordinary efforts.� Philadelphia Rocks!
The workmen our landlord hired worked long hours to get us reopened.� Our landlord has been on-site for 20 hours each day...seriously.� He has spared no expense getting the apartments back up to code in as expeditious a manner as possible.
For those few that are not aware of what occurred, I�ll give the Cliff Notes version of the events.� But first I�d like to make it totally clear that we do NOT own the building.� We are tenants in the building, just as are the apartment dwellers upstairs.
1. Near the end of our Saturday evening�s business (just before our 2AM closing time), one of the upstairs tenants fell from the fire escape tower.� He had a third floor apartment and he and a friend apparently were leaning on a metal railing when it gave way.� They both fell several stories.� He died and she miraculously is already out of the hospital.� We are devastated about what happened. � Our landlord knew the gentleman that fell.� He is also heart broken.
2. Philadelphia Department of License & Inspection decided to close the building until a structual engineer could do an inspection and certify that the building was safe.� They also required our landlord to update the safety systems in the entire building.
3. The landlord has already received the engineer�s certification, but updating the apartment section of the safety systems will take several more days.� The restaurant portion of the building is already approved.
Since our back bar area�s emergency exit is under the apartment�s fire escape tower, we cannot open the back bar today.� We expect the landlord to have everything finished by next Friday.� When his work is done, we will be able to open the back bar to the public.
The Front Bar and the Front Two Dining Rooms are Open!� The Ktichen is Open!
Hopefully that information answers most of your questions.� Thank you all for your support during this very difficult time.� We hope to see you soon.
Tom Peters
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| twitter.com/marathon40th |
... or more like the name, Marathon Grill owner Cary Borish tells Meal Ticket. The live music venue, bar and restaurant above the Marathon location at 40th and Walnut (200 S. 40th St.) � long known as MarBar before switching to Panda Bar in June � should now be viewed not as a separate venue, but as an integrated part of the ground-level restaurant. "Our intent is to make it feel and act as one space," says Borish. Same d�cor, performance, food and drink approach as Panda, just not quite as furry anymore.
Monk's Caf� (264 S. 16th St.) will be closed for an undetermined amount of time while the building it occupies is inspected for structural deficiencies, following Sunday's tragic fall of two persons from the apartments above the Belgian restaurant.
A man and a woman fell from the fourth-floor fire escape early Sunday morning after a railing gave way. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, while the woman is in critical condition at Hahnemann Hospital. The Inquirer states that the building's owner, who is not listed on city records, will meet with the currently evacuated apartment tenants and bar staff on Friday at 11 a.m. to discuss the building's status.
[...] on the building’s fire tower is complete. After the jump, Peters’ email and a synopsis of the tragic event that required the evacuation of the building’s 13 tenants and the closure of the [...]
Last Friday, we noted (via PhilthyBlog) that Fishtown's Cornerstone Market (19 W. Girard Ave.) would be closing up shop at the end of this month. But co-owner Mike Wilkens has just checked in with a change of plans. They won't be closing at the end of August after all � but they will be changing the way they do business.
To cut down costs, Wilkens has slashed his inventory by half, shifting focus more to fresh-made deli sandwiches and prepared food items. A small selection of grocery staples, as well as some locally produced eats and locally grown fruits and vegetables, will still be available. They're open now from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends.
Wilkens adds that he wants to make Cornerstone more of a neighborhood "hang-out place," and is working on introducing seating and WiFi into the market. The long-term goal, Wilkens, says, is to acquire a takeout beer license, and that's still on the table if the market makes it.
Yay! So happy to hear it!
Happy that Cornerstone will not close. Will make and effort to go there more frequently. Support LOCAL small business!
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