The Spirit of the Riverwards – April 6, 2016

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VOL. 13NO. 14

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FREE LIBRARY FOCUS

13

Local kids improve their communication skills by

reading to four-legged friends.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

12

Local events, meetings and more.

CLEAN PLATE

8

A recipe for peaches and brie grilled cheese for one.

LOCAL LENS

2

Thom recounts his recent trip to a rural monastery in

Western Pa.

ACCU-REGGIE

3

Seven day forecast for the Riverwards.

FETTERMAN IN FISHTOWN

11

Mayor of Braddock PA, U.S. Senate hopeful visits Interstate Drafthouse in

anticipation of primaries.

HOLY WHEELIN’ AND DEALIN’

5

Get to know a little more about the potential de-

veloper of St. Laurentius Church and the hurdles he

may face up ahead.

C O M M U N I T Y N E W S – F R E E P U B L I C AT I O N – P I C K O N E U P !

On March 19, members of the Fishtown Neighbors Associa-tion (FNA) and local residents gathered at Frankford Ave-nue and Girard Avenue in the heart of Fishtown to do some spring cleaning. According to the FNA website, 23 volun-

teers filled 30 bags of trash along Frankford Avenue and Front Street be-low Girard Avenue. The cleanup was organized by FNA’s Beautification Committee. “We had a nice turnout,” said Mike Slusher, FNA Beautification Com-mittee chair. The committee is made up of volunteers who come out to clean up dif-ferent parts of the neighborhood once a month. “Philadelphia, unfortu-nately, has quite a litter problem,” Slusher said. The FNA is combatting this issue by opening a dialogue with the community to find out where

the problem areas are. Fishtown residents should contact the commit-tee at [email protected] to help them decide which streets need attention each month. “We encourage people to reach out and let us know,” Slusher said. Many adults at the cleanup brought children with them. Slusher be-lieves instilling a sense of civic pride in the younger generation will ben-efit the world as the kids become adults. “We plan on doing some more work with kids in the schools in the neighborhood,” Slusher said. “We’re trying to teach them while they’re young so that maybe in 20 years, they don’t need to be out here every weekend doing this.” In case you missed this cleanup, there are more in the works. Phila-

It’s encouraging whenever a community supports rejuvenation. In the case of Joe Livewell, who recently opened River Wards Cafe in Port Richmond, it’s not just about bringing the community a reliable local establishment, but also about the rejuvenation of

Richmond Street. Richmond Street, once filled with entrepreneurs consisting primar-ily of first and second generation immigrants, is now home to vacant storefronts begging for attention and business. The vacancies are due in part to all of the chain stores built along Aramingo Avenue in the 80s and 90s, which led to the closing of many of the small businesses and shops along Richmond. Livewell, a former Reanimator Coffee barista, is proud to have opened his beautiful new spot at 3118 Richmond St. and breathe new life into the commercial corridor. Featuring locally roasted Reanimator coffee, River Wards Cafe keeps its menu simple: coffee and espresso drinks,

pastries by Au Fournil, and soft pretzels by Center City Pretzel Co. Live-well says that he wanted to make a simple grab and go coffee shop, but has been pleasantly surprised at the amount of espresso drinkers who have come into his shop. River Wards features a gorgeous and slick design that rivals the best coffee shops in Philadelphia as well as New York City. The shop is set up in the form of a drink route so that you can converse with the barista and learn more about what it is that you’re about to drink. Knowing the origin of your coffee is an important aspect of today’s coffee world. From each berry being individually hand harvested, to the calculated rhythm of the espresso machine — serious coffee drinkers care about what’s in their cup. Livewell likens the coffee ordering process at River Wards Cafe to a bar-

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The Spirit of the Riverwards – April 6, 2016

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I headed to the mountains of western Pennsylvania for a spiritual retreat via a Martz bus crammed with students returning to school after Easter weekend. It was not a pleasant ride. The bus driver, annoyed

that he had to load passengers’ luggage into luggage com-partment alone, was in a foul mood. We arrived in Scran-ton more than a half hour late, though I suppose it could have been worse. Brother Daniel met me at the station. In his black hat (skufia), sunglasses, long flowing beard and full black cas-sock, he looked like a monk from central casting. I first met Brother Daniel a year and a half ago when he came to the monastery as a postulant from Colorado. He stayed in the guest room across the hall from mine. He had short hair then, but now his long hair was tied in a pony tail and then of course there was his beard. “How do you like my beard?” he asked me, as I hoisted my luggage into the back seat of the monastery car. “Fluffy and long,” I answered, “Perfect!” Saint Tikhon’s in Waymart, Pennsylvania is so isolated that when people come to visit, a monk has to pick them up at the station. It’s a 40 minute or so ride from the bus station so that’s plenty of time to chat and get to know the monk who’s driving. I could see that monastic life was agreeing with Broth-er Daniel. He seemed happy, looked healthy, and he had certainly retained his sense of humor. If you think talking to a monk is like walking on eggshells, where you have to watch your P’s and Q’s and talk only of “holy things,” think again. We laughed and talked so much I was almost a little sorry that the drive came to an end as Brother Dan-iel brought me to the front door of the guest house. In the guest home, I met 24 year old Jarad who had struck a deal to live there until he got his life together. Jarad, in fact, was applying for medical school and was able to ar-range to stay in the guest house for a while thanks to his mother’s connections at the monastery. Jarad had no in-terest in becoming a monk, but he was a convert to Ortho-dox Christianity from evangelical Protestantism. Visiting an Orthodox monastery during Great Lent (Or-thodox Easter is May 1) is not for the weak of heart. The diet is strictly vegetarian, though shell fish can be eaten on certain days. No dairy, no butter. There’s only one big meal a day — a lush vegetarian feast — although in the morning after services you can help yourself to a variety of cereals, fruits, bagels, dried fruits and so on, so it’s impos-sible to go hungry. I encountered my old friend, Brother Stephen, who had arranged this and all my prior visits to the monastery. During this visit, Brother Stephen told me about his trip with the Abbot, Father Sergius, author of the book “Ac-quiring the Mind of Christ,” to Essex, England, Italy, and Istanbul. Often when the Abbot travels he asks one of the monks to accompany him. Istanbul, of course, is in Turkey, a predominantly Mus-lim country. Brother Stephen told me how it was recom-mended to Father Sergius when they went there last year that he not wear his cross in public. Father Sergius was advised to leave the cross behind because of “uncertain radical elements that could be in hiding.” Both Fr. Sergius

and Brother Stephen still wore their cassocks and monas-tic black hats while in Turkey although, as Brother Ste-phen explained, nearly everybody on the street is in some form of robed dress. “We didn’t stand out at all,” he said, whereas, of course, on the streets of New York or Philadel-phia the opposite would be true. Unlike western monks, eastern monks rarely if ever don secular clothing when they leave the monastery, meaning that the cassock and black skufia (and beard) becomes their only form of dress. In Turkey there is a law that states that Turkish citizens who are members of the Christian clergy are not permit-ted to wear religious habits or crosses in public. Only the Ecumenical Patriarch is permitted to wear religious attire. Turkish priests and other bishops, including metropoli-tans, must wear secular garb. Christian churches, even cathedrals in Istanbul, must downplay exterior religious iconography; hence you have cathedrals that look like office buildings or banks because they are not decorated with religious symbols like a cross. “It’s nothing but discrimination,” Brother Stephen said, after telling me how he and Father Sergius went into the offices of the Ecumenical Patriarch near Saint George’s Cathedral and noticed a man in a fashionably cut suit with raven black hair slicked back in the style of a fashion model. While the Patriarch was dressed according to the traditions of his office (robe, icon necklace and a klobuk or veil), Brother Stephen said he had no idea who the fash-ionably dressed attendant was. He assumed it was securi-ty but was shocked to learn later that it was the metropol-itan (archbishop) a Turkish citizen. One doesn’t see too many monks or nuns in full habit walking the streets of the city these days. Many Catho-lic nuns have ditched their veils although the opposite is true for the Orthodox. Today when you see women in black veils on city streets they are almost always Muslim. The fully robed Catholic nuns of fifty years ago have most-ly disappeared. Even Catholic monks, when they go out on the town, often slip into jeans and a sweater, making them indistinguishable from everybody else. When Brother Stephen leaves the confines of the mon-astery, he wears his robe and skufia, which sometimes has funny consequences. “Are you ISIS!?” a woman once asked him, breathless at the prospect of finally meeting one of the legendary bad-men. No doubt she expected Brother Stephen to nod in agreement and then give her some kind of power salute, perhaps even handing her his terrorist business card…

ISIS Member Stephen on Patrol(cell) 267-000-0000

Since ISIS members are far from predictable, what would this poor woman have done if “ISIS Stephen” had not suc-cumbed to her flattery, but instead had gripped her neck tightly and said, “Yes, I’m ISIS, and now I’m going to put you in an orange jump suit!” These episodes of mistaken identity happen a lot to Brother Stephen, and for good reason. People in this country have not seen Christian clergy in religious garb for so long that any man or woman who appears in a black robe is now automatically assumed to be Muslim. But as I

listened to Brother Stephen relate his experiences I had to admit that he did look… Islamic. Only people familiar with eastern Christianity would be able to catch the dif-ference in the garb. Wearing a cross would change all that, of course. A cross would end the ambiguity. It would end those train ter-minal encounters that Brother Stephen sometimes has when he’s in New York City and bearded, robbed men approach him and say, “Hello brother. Are you Muslim?” When some people say that Orthodox Christianity is not for “sissies,” they are referring to the length of services, the fasting and the number of prostrations preformed in church before and during the Divine Liturgy. A prostration is lowering yourself to the ground on your knees, with your head touching the floor, then getting up quickly as the next prayer is recited, then crossing yourself and going down again. Prostrations can happen in multi-ples of ten or twelve, the rapid repetition of stretching the limbs makes for one the best aerobatic exercises in the world. Some prostrations go into freeze frame mode when a bit of “yoga” is added to the mix as you stay put with your head touching the floor for the duration of a chant or a prayer. This frozen “Zen” position to the untrained west-ern eye can seem highly Islamic. In fact, Islam adopted full floor prostrations from eastern Christianity although all prostrations today are thought of as Islamic. At the monastery I stood behind twenty robust seminar-ies in black cassocks going full blast in prostration calis-thenics, the effect of which was a little bit like standing behind a manly chorus of The Rockettes. All joking aside, the level of spirituality and intensity here is profound. When your body is used in worship, when you are able to extend and test your limbs and muscles, everything seems to become more meaningful. This concludes my fourth visit to this wonderful monas-tery in the mountains of western Pennsylvania. ·

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Last week was a meteorological slap in the face — we went from 80 and sunny to insanely severe thunderstorms that brought heavy winds and hail before we plunged into winter-like temperatures.

Unfortunately, this week will bring more of the same in terms of cold and windy conditions. A strong front comes through with more thunderstorms on Thursday before we cool down for the weekend. It gets really cold on Saturday, especially by April standards. It’s unreal that we still have to deal with this cold nonsense, but sometimes winter just doesn’t want to let it go! After the weekend we may cool down again after a brief warm up on Monday. I promise warm weather will be here

to stay… soon. Snow chances this week: Chance for flurries late Friday night, especially in the mountains. Wednesday will be a nice day with plenty of sunshine. It will be very comfortable during the day. Thursday is warm, but clouds increase during the day, which set up rain and thunderstorms later in the evening. Some of these storms could bring lighting and high winds again! The rain clears out for Friday, but it will be breezy and cold with temperatures struggling to get to the 50s. It will be in the 30s during the evening. Saturday is just a downright cold day for this time of year! It will be windy, making it feel like it’s in the 20s and 30s most

of the day. Temperatures will drop into the 20s overnight. Sunday is a touch warmer, but still chilly. Temperatures may get to the lower 50s, but most of the day will be in the 40s. We are paying for all that 80 degree March warmth with this April cold! Ugh. Thankfully, it starts to warm up on Monday as we climb back into the 60s, but showers enter into the picture as a storm approaches from the west. On Tuesday we cool down again need to watch for some more rain. Follow the daily forecast updates on social media for changes to this forecast. The weather winner of the week is Monday; the weather loser is Saturday! ·

st. laurentiusW R I T T E N B Y A N D R E W M A R K C O R K E R Y


st. laurentiusW R I T T E N B Y A N D R E W M A R K C O R K E R Y

G E T T I N G T O K N O W T H E P O T E N T I A L D E V E L O P E R O F S T . L A U R E N T I U S A N D T H E H U R D L E S A H E A D

As Spirit News reported in February, Leo Volos-hin, the owner of the Kensington-based textile design company Printfresh Studio, has en-tered a preliminary agreement to purchase St.

Laurentius Church from the Holy Name of Jesus Parish. This agreement is supported by the Archdiocese of Phil-adelphia (AOP). Voloshin currently plans on turning the interior of the church into apartments while keeping the exterior “entirely intact.” This potential adaptive reuse of the structure has part-ly filled the hopes of Save St. Laurentius (SSL), a group of community members who organized to save the church from demolition. The AOP sent Spirit News a series of re-sponses to a number of questions regarding the potential sale of the church to Voloshin. “Any buyer for this building would need to assume any and all liability for the building given its unsafe condi-tion,” Ken Gavin, Director for Communication for the AOP, said. “Given these factors, the due diligence period involved with this potential transaction is a lengthy one.” Details on the deal have been scarce to date, but there are a few points that are somewhat clear. According to Ken Weinstein, a developer that had been vying for the proper-ty, the original asking price for the church was $750,000, but noted that there was “always flexibility in the price.” “As time went on and the neighborhood was successful with the historical designation, the AOP had no choice but to be more flexible with the price,” Weinstein said. How flexible? At a community meeting last month, Chuck Valentine, a member of the Holy Name Parish Council, said that the last time he saw a copy of the Agree-ment of Sale, the final price for the church was $1. “The costs of the structural repairs and subsequent fin-ish repairs consistent with Historic Commission stan-dards and requirements exceeds the value of the property within its present condition,” Valentine told Spirit News in a text. “You would not pay more for the building than what it is worth. No one in their right mind would.” While there has been no word on Voloshin’s specific design plans for the church, he has maintained a level of communication with members of the community about his intentions. “After completing the renovation of my office building at Paper Box Studios over in Kensington, I thought St. Lau-rentius might be something I would be interested in. I was also following along with the situation at the church,” Voloshin said. “Someone I have known for 8 years now, A.J. Thomson (of Save St. Laurentius) reached out to me a couple of times to take a look at [the church]. I thought it would be a shame to knock it down, so I wanted see if it could make sense to do something with it.” Voloshin, while not originally from Fishtown, moved to the neighborhood in 2006 after starting Printfresh with his wife, Amy. Voloshin was born in Kiev, Ukraine and im-migrated to America with his parents when he was 8 years old. “We arrived with $700 for a family of five. My parents worked hard and got good jobs as computer programmers and I followed in their footsteps, landing a job right out of college in corporate America,” Voloshin said in a web posting on EO Philadelphia, a group focused on building and engaging entrepreneurs. Voloshin plans on keeping the community closely in-volved throughout the St. Laurentius development pro-cess. “I have spoken with A.J. [Thomson] and John Wisniews-ki and am taking their concerns, as well as the commu-nity’s, into account. I am keeping the church intact and believe in preserving old buildings,” Voloshin said. “But I am not about telling people what to think and I will let people make up their own minds about what is important to them.” “He is respectful enough to know how treasured that building is to so many of us in this community,” Wisniews-ki said. “At the same time, he is enough of a communi-ty activist to understand what he needs to do to ease the minds of the people in Fishtown.” John James Pron worked as historical architecture pro-fessor at Temple University for 37 years, specializing in the areas of historic preservation and adaptive reuse. He points to the importance of developers engaging with communities as early as possible, especially when it comes to buildings that have such a history and presence in the neighborhood. “If [Voloshin] is serious, he should approach the com-munity now, before any specific plans are even conceptu-alized,” Pron said. “Both [the developer and community] have a vested interest in this succeeding, but no one party

will get 100 percent of their ideal [plan]. [It can’t be] us vs them, but rather both groups together.” The proposed agreement of sale for the church still hing-es on a few contingencies that could obstruct a final deal. The most obvious hurdle is the project’s financial viabili-ty. Voloshin wants to make it clear that he is in no way try-ing to maximize profits by purchasing St. Laurentius. He insists that he is more focused on facilitating a valuable return for the community at large. “This is not really a lucrative deal for anybody, but it’s definitely not a charity. I am really looking to make an in-dustry average rate of return in the real estate market with this deal,” Voloshin said. “And to be perfectly honest, that is the biggest challenge right now — figuring out a way to utilize the space in a way that does that.” Creating an adaptive reuse of a historic building that fits the needs of the community while still being economical-ly and structurally viable can be a daunting task for any developer. In an August 2015 story, Spirit News looked ex-tensively into the precedent for adaptive in our communi-ty and beyond. About 12 years ago, photographer Dominic Episcopo bought a former church in Fishtown at 1346 E. Susque-hanna Ave. to use as both his home and studio workspace. This church had been under threat of demolition by an-other developer who at the time was also bidding for the property. Sounds somewhat familiar, doesn’t it? “The owner had an offer from another developer who wanted to take it down and build 18 condos. But he came to me and said if you match their offer I’ll sell it to you be-cause I know you are not going to take it down,” Episcopo said. “The owner was from the neighborhood so I don’t think he wanted to see [the church] taken down.” Episcopo sees his home as only one example of adaptive reuse, but stresses that the use of his space is in no way economically comparable to the situation faced by Volos-hin and the St. Laurentius building. “The way I developed my church is not practical,” Epis-copo said. “You could definitely make more money do-ing it another way just because of how much open space I have. I mean, I live in the sanctuary of the church and then I have two rental properties in there that completely cover my overhead. But [the payout] preserved the build-ing, which is important to me and it accommodates my lifestyle.” He added: “The situation at St. Laurentius is different because it’s more about about the bottom line. They will have to figure out the amount of units they need in the church in order to make a profit on a monthly basis.” Even with the profit motive in mind, Episcopo under-scores his conviction that the community would be wise give the adaptive reuse of the church as apartments a chance, especially given the current climate of demolition. “It’s so hugely important to find new uses for old build-ings. It just kills me that all these old buildings around the city are going down and being replaced with these shitty cardboard modern boxes,” Episcopo said. “There is a unique opportunity with the old buildings of Philadel-phia, especially in Fishtown and Kensington.” Older structures like St. Laurentius can also present con-cerns regarding their structural integrity. Richard Ortega was the structural engineer hired by SSL to provide an analysis of the church building. “No matter how this building is adaptively reused, the biggest problem will be what to do about the towers be-cause they have a flawed original design,” Ortega said. “But at the same time they are not critical to the function of the building. Of course now that [SSL] has gotten the building certified as historic by the Philadelphia Histori-cal Commission, you can’t change the massing of the tow-ers. So they are stuck with it.” This inability to change structural elements of the church’s exterior due to its historic status may present challenges to any developer’s plan. Ortega suspects that the developer will also have to furnish the church with new foundations in order to support whatever new struc-tures he wants to build inside the interior of the building. “You don’t really want to disturb the existing founda-tions in that building. If they do disturb them, you have to figure out how to mitigate the disturbance,” Ortega said. “That’s not going to be an easy job and I’m not sure how one makes a profit doing it.” Ortega would not speculate on the economic viability of this specific reuse, citing that he did not know the de-veloper’s plan or level of experience. While the engineer maintains that adaptive reuse of the church as apart-ments is possible, he also says that many reuses can be just as costly as building from scratch and face a great

number of hurdles. “At one of the churches we are working on in Jersey City, we are on either the second or third developer because the first two went belly up trying to make it work,” Ortega said. “There are easier things to adaptively reuse as residences, like warehouse buildings or old hotels. Churches are a lot more difficult.” Another potential obstacle will be Voloshin’s ability to obtain a zoning variance for the development. The devel-oper has already reached out to members of the commu-nity to help gain their support for a variance, which would be required to switch the church’s current designation from single family use to multiple family use. “I know I have the support of some of the people of Save St. Laurentius who want to prevent the building’s demoli-tion,” Voloshin said. According to Matt Karp, the Executive Vice Chair of the FNA’s Zoning Committee, there have been no formal re-zoning proposals put forth for the St. Laurentius building to date. “As far as I know, there is no formal proposal for this site and I have not heard anything formally about this proj-ect,” Karp said. Karp did not sense that the developer would have a prob-lem getting a variance for such a project, but noted that it would certainly help the process if he received strong community support. “It is not ‘difficult’ [to received a variance] and the local public is reasonably well educated on these issues,” Karp said. Karp did, however, provide some insight on issues that may arise during the potential zoning process. “There will be density concerns and, of course, commu-nity concerns for how the building is preserved. Likely the density of units for any multi-family proposal will be the most scrutinized aspect by the community.” While zoning decisions ultimately fall on the Zoning Board of Adjustments, community opinion could still play a role in whether or not the church obtains a variance and ultimately whether it continues to stand. “If the community comes out against zoning and the zoning board turns down the developer’s request for a variance, the community may not get a second chance here,” Weinstein, a developer formerly bidding for the property said. “This church has been for sale for quite a while now and I don’t see a lot of people pounding down the door to develope it.” Weinstein also notes that his experiences with zoning give him the impression that if the community shuts down one developer, often times others looking at the property tend to become discouraged and disinterested in the property. “If the developer puts together a creative design that impedes on the community as little as possible, hope-fully people will realize it is something they should ac-cept,” Weinstein said. “The community should think long and hard before they oppose a plan that would save the church.” ·


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Since 1933, the Polish American String Band (PASB) has been a hugely entertain-ing tradition in the largely Polish community of Port Richmond. Originally led by Joseph Jankowski, this largely volunteer-based program has performed many productions in the city, not just at the Mummer’s Parade, but also at local places

like Campbell Square. If you’ve ever seen a PASB performance, you know that it is no small production. Con-sisting of roughly 80 members, the group works year-round to bring their audiences an energetic show filled with wacky costumes and fun songs. Each year, a committee picks a theme for the band, such as this year’s Toy Land theme. The theme committee does the directing for the music and Dennis Quaile, the group’s choreographer, directs the dancing. PASB introduced dance in their routine in 1952 with “The Mexican Hot Dance.” Costume and set design is thoroughly discussed and planned throughout the year. The group’s Port Richmond headquarters at 2727 E Westmoreland St. is somewhat of a sanctuary. Mark Wachowski, a member of PASB for 25 years, has played a fish, polar bear, and a ragdoll during his tenure in the band. He says the group is a brotherhood that takes in and openly accepts people of all backgrounds.

“When they walk in that club everyone is equal,” Wachowski said. PASB is always open to new volunteers and takes pride in it’s ability to train musicians and dancers of all levels. It’s a great thing: Men of all ages and talent levels coming to-gether and building an experience together. The group’s youngest member, Brandon Hillwig, is eleven year old. He plays the drums, the glockenspiel, and sings in the Phila-delphia Boys Choir. One of the oldest members is Frank Foildal, who’s been part of the PASB for more than 65 years. The Polish American String Band is a tradition that thrives on community support. If you haven’t seem them live, check them out. The group regularly posts events on their Facebook page and more infomoration is available on their website, http://polishamer-icanstringband.com/. ·

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My lengthy spring break was last week — the final generous stretch of time off until I take a several month hiatus from work to have baby number two in August. I savored every second of my week at home and did some of my favorite things like: sleep in (till 7:30AM!), grocery shop (alone), and purge

my wardrobe of clothes I know will never fit me again. The one day I had all to myself, while my husband was at work and my son was at school, I decided to really indulge and make something for lunch that I knew neither of them would appreciate. During my cathartic, solo grocery store trip, I picked up a combina-tion of sandwich toppings that would make the most decadent grilled cheese sandwich I could possibly imagine. And, since my husband doesn’t like cheese and my toddler’s palate hasn’t yet grown enough to love anything but sliced deli American or mozzarella string cheese, I didn’t even have to worry about the guilt that might overwhelm me as I treated myself without them. This single-serving grilled cheese sandwich mixes sweet and savory elements with salty prosciutto and creamy brie and is certainly not made for sharing.

Peaches and Brie Grilled Cheese for One

2 slices of bread2 tablespoons Dijon mustard1 tablespoon pesto1 small wedge of brie, about .2 oz, sliced½ ripe peach, sliced3 slices prosciutto2 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a small bowl, mix Dijon and pesto. Top each bread slice with half the mixture. In order, place brie, peaches, and prosciutto neatly on top of one slice of bread; top with the other bread slice, Dijon and pesto side down. In a small pan, over medium low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, then place sandwich in the pan. Cover and allow to cook until gold-en brown on one side. Add remaining butter to pan, flip sandwich and continue to cook until final side is golden brown. Serve warm. ·

St. Benjamin’s

Wm. Mulherin’s Sons at 1355 North Front Street is now open under the El. Located inside the 19th century whiskey blending and bottling factory that formerly housed

the building and for which it received its namesake, the Italian restaurant will seat 101 patrons and will eventually feature a four-room hotel (slated for June), according to Philly Mag. Inside and out, the decor has been designed to preserve the original ambience of its former tenant, including the restoration of wood-framed windows, terra-cotta exterior signs and the original vestibule. The kitchen, which features a pizza oven and a wood-fired grill, is headed by partner and chef Chris Painter —

formerly of Il Pittore. The menu features snacks, pizzas, pastas, dinner plates, and an assortment of grilled meat dishes. An eclectic range of pizzas and pastas dishes start at $13 and dinner sized plates of swordfish, fluke, braised lamb neck, and veal cheek will start in the $20s. The beverage menu is designed by Michael Haggerty (Olde Bar, a.bar) and showcases an assortment of cock-tails, craft beers, and wines from small producers. In the future, Mulherin’s will begin offering daytime hours, a happy hour highlighted by discounted pizzas and pony bottles of beer, and an outdoor seating area for 35. The planned four-room hotel will open later this year and will offer loft-like guestrooms that mesh with the restau-rant’s character and atmosphere.

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Peaches and brie grilled cheese


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delphia is having a citywide cleanup day on April 9th and the FNA is putting together an organized cleanup for Fish-town. Volunteers should meet at the Fishtown Rec center between 9AM and 10AM. This year’s cleanup will focus on Front & Girard, Aramingo & Norris, Adaire Elementa-ry and Hetzel Playground. According to Slusher, about 60 people volunteered last year and he hopes to have even more people this time. Spirit News also attended the FNA Beautification Com-mittee’s meeting on March 24. These meetings occur monthly at the Fishtown Rec center and are open to the public. This month’s topics included, the Fishtown Chili Cook Off at The Fillmore on April 17 and the growing re-quests for more decorative fish head trash cans around the neighborhood. According Slusher, he’s received about 30 such requests. Also discussed was an upcoming art installation and fes-tival taking place at Transport Cycles at 1105 Frankford Ave. on April 30 from 6-10PM. The event is titled “Cli-mate Disrupted” and will feature climate change themed art, music and poetry. The event is put together by Philly artists and climate change activists Joey Hartmann-Dow and Leslie Birch. Artists are encouraged to submit their ideas at www.phillyclimatestory.com before April 10. Hartmann-Dow is active in lobbying for climate change awareness and wanted to do something different to get the attention of politicians in PA.

According to Hartmann-Dow, she’s reached out to U.S. Senator Pat Toomey for guidance and assistance on ad-dressing climate change in Pennsylvania. She says, she’s had little success. “His office has been hard to work because climate change is something that they say they haven’t heard from a lot of Pennsylvanians about,” Hartmann-Dow said. “I was shocked and I said I want to come up with a thing that is really going to show — and in a way you can’t deny — that people are concerned about climate change and they’re going out of their way to show it.” Neither lives in Fishtown, but according to Hart-mann-Dow and Birch they’ve heard Fishtown is a neigh-borhood conscious of it’s own sustainability. Birch was

impressed with the decorative fish head trash cans and believes they are more than just a piece of art ready to re-ceive your trash. “The artistic look of trash cans has made people aware that trash cans are a positive thing,” Birch said. Her exhib-it at “Climate Disrupted” will be titled “Hacked Corn” and according to her, it will feature lighting that is reactive to the weather. Birch is excited about the changes Fishtown is undergo-ing and believes the neighborhood will be a perfect place for this event. “The people here have a heightened inter-est in taking care of their neighborhood because they’ve seen what it used to look like,” Birch said. “It’s become a very welcoming place.” ·

Residents gathered at the Fishtown Rec Center to discuss ways to enhance the beauty of Fishtown, and an upcoming art installation at Transport Cycles.

Many adults brought children with them, and the hope is that instilling civic pride in young people is an investment for the future.

Continued from Page 1.


Duce an adult retriever mix who is looking for a new home. Duce is already neutered and he’s just a nice, mellow guy who wants to be your friend. Duce is very well-behaved. He’s house trained and he’s waiting to meet your family, so bring everyone down to meet him. The shelter is full and Duce needs a hero right away. To meet Duce in per-son, please stop by at ACCT, 111 W Hunting Park Ave or call (267) 385-3800 or [email protected].

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ber shop experience: You may not know what you want done to you hair, but after chatting it up with your barber you can arrive at one of the best hairdos you’ve ever had. Same goes with coffee — a conversation with you barista could lead you a new favorite brew. Everyone I spoke with at River Wards Cafe has shown overwhelming support for the new business. In agree-ment, Port Richmond views it as something the neighbor-hood needs. The place was packed on opening day and many of the visiting customers have lived in Port Rich-mond their entire lives. Mike Fox, born and raised in Port Richmond, said “It’s all about revitalizing Richmond Street. I wouldn’t mind see-ing some more restaurants. Maybe even some BYOB’s.” Gina Liczner, a resident for 26 years added, “the neigh-borhood needs this.” Livewell stressed how the community really pulled to-gether to help get the new shop open. He wants to thank Philadelphia Woodcraft, who built the tables, communal bench, and the bar; Urban Renewal Builders and Larry McKnight, who partnered with Livewell on the shop to help build out the place; and, of course, his friends and family. ·

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Duce an adult retriever mix who is looking for a new home. Duce is already neutered and he’s just a nice, mellow guy who wants to be your friend. Duce is very well-behaved. He’s house trained and he’s waiting to meet your family, so bring everyone down to meet him. The shelter is full and Duce needs a hero right away. To meet Duce in per-son, please stop by at ACCT, 111 W Hunting Park Ave or call (267) 385-3800 or [email protected].

Animal ID: A27749255

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Fetterman in FishtownW R I T T E N B Y P T A H G A B R I E

M AY O R O F B R A D D O C K PA , U . S . S E N AT E H O P E F U L V I S I T S I N T E R S TAT E D R A F T H O U S E I N A N T I C I PAT I O N O F P R I M A R I E S

John Fetterman doesn’t look like an average U.S. Senate candidate — He’s got tattoos on his arms and stands well over 6 feet. He appears intimidat-ing while towering over most of his hopeful con-

stituents. The Harvard educated mayor of Braddock, Pa. is running for U.S. Senate and hopes to bring his principles and ideas to Washington D.C. On April 3, Fetterman met with local residents at the Interstate Draft House in Fish-town. Local organizers Denis Devine and Jimmy Perry put the event together in an effort to bring awareness to Fetter-man’s campaign. “You’re going to reach a different audience when you come to a neighborhood bar as opposed to a big event or a fundraiser,” Devine said. “I do think these people could become advocates to talk about him to other people.” Fetterman is a three-time elected mayor of the small Pittsburgh suburb of Braddock. Aside from his appear-ance, he’s also catching the eye of politicians and the me-dia for his efforts to bring his town back from the depths of post-industrial decay. Fetterman has a masters degree from Harvard’s Kenne-dy School of Government. After he graduated, he came to Braddock to start a GED program. According to his web-site, Fetterman was captivated by the town. He purchased an old church and made it home for his wife, Giselle, and their three children. Councilwoman At-Large Helen Gym was at the Draft House to see Mayor of Braddock. According to Gym, Fet-terman is someone worthy of attention. “I’m always paying attention to some of the most import-ant races, and clearly the PA senate race is an important race for everybody to be looking at,” Gym said. “I think John’s an exciting candidate, and people should be pay-ing attention.” One of Fetterman’s accomplishments as Mayor was promoting Braddock as a place for artists to live. Gym believes his support for the arts will translate well in cit-

ies like Philadelphia. “When he talks about young people celebrating arts and music and bringing that into young people’s lives, that is a transformative aspect and he can actually build and invest around that,” Gym said. “I think that’s different and powerful.” Devine feels like Fetterman’s laid-back appearance helps him to relate to his constituents.“Some of the choices he’s made about not getting dressed up, about keeping his distinct look with tattoos and stuff... It has the potential to capture people’s eyes and atten-tion and I think our electorate might need more of that,” Devine said. The atmosphere at the Draft House was very informal and Fetterman spoke directly to the packed bar with a dark beer in hand. Fetterman’s tattoos are very relative to Braddock and the gun violence he’s worked hard to prevent — It’s something he takes very seriously. The zipcode for Braddock is etched on one arm and on the other are dates of all the homicides that occurred during Fetterman’s tenure as mayor. Fetter-man believes his methodology and hands-on approach to the gun crisis will translate to big cities like Philadelphia. “It’s my way of dealing with my own grief over it and memorializing what happened,” Fetterman said. “These folks aren’t a news headline or a blurb on the evening news. These were lives and they had people that loved them, and they all died senselessly, tragically and need-lessly. To me it’s just a way of putting what’s in my head and manifesting it on my arm.” According to Fetterman, municipalities should have the ability to enact gun laws to protect their citizens. “Until the feds get their act together and we break the lobby like we did the tobacco industry, municipalities need to do what they can,” Fetterman said. He points out that taking a proactive approach to law en-forcement has led to a reduction in crime in Braddock. “We got rid of our lousy officers and hired good officers and just became really active in the community,” Fetter-

man said. “We were trusted, people talked to us.” When I compared Braddock to Fishtown and Kensing-ton, Fetterman was quick to draw distinction. “I don’t want anybody to make the mistake that Braddock was just a down on it’s luck mill town,” Fetterman said. “This was a place that was torn apart by deindustrialization, global-ization, suburbanization and it’s facing significant chal-lenges.” According to Fetterman, he’s running a campaign from the ground up. “This is an authentic grassroots campaign that’s powered by 26 dollar donations,” Fetterman said. “I’m mayor of a town that people have written off for dead. If things in my community can get better, that’s a great message for every community in Pennsylvania because all you need is the appropriate leadership and resources and desire to make it so.”

A towering John Fetterman listens to local resident Lara Kelly as she explains which issues matter most to her./Ptah Gabrie


events

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sign ups

Saturday, April 9POP’S PARK CLEANUPFriends of Pop’s Park is going to be hosting and partici-pating in the Philadelphia city wide Spring cleaning day in and around Pop’s Park (Hazzard and Trenton) from 10AM to noon. There is a free BBQ lunch to follow the event and all cleaning supplies will be provided. We are actively looking for volunteers and folks can connect with us on Facebook @friendsofpopspark or email at [email protected]

Saturday, April 9SPRING CLEANUPThe Friends of Konrad Square will have a neighborhood cleanup at the Square. If you can volunteer, please come over and support your park. For more information call Vicky at 215-426-9654.

Saturday, April 9FISHTOWN REC CENTER CLEANUPFNA’s Beautification Committee will be leading some efforts to clean up around Fishtown. If you want to par-ticipate, meet at the Fishtown Rec Center, 1202 E Mont-gomery Ave., at 9:45AM. From there, volunteers will divide and conquer three different areas: Front & Girard, Ara-mingo & Norris, and the area surrounding the Fishtown Rec, Adaire, and Hetzel field. The more volunteers that come out, the more we can do! After the clean-up ends at 12noon, all volunteers are invited back to The Phila-delphia Brewing Company on Frankford Avenue (2440 Frankford Ave) for a free BBQ. To ensure the safety of all volunteers, the 26th District will have officers posted at each of the cleanup sites. Come out, meet your neighbors, and help make the city a little more beautiful.

Saturday, April 9DIVERSITY IN LAW ENFORCEMENT CAREER FAIRThe Philadelphia Police Department will host a career fair to promote diversity in law enforcement. The event will take place at Bright Hope Baptist Church, 1601 N. 12th St. from 10AM-2PM. For more information call 215-683-2677.

Saturday, April 9 and 23FLEA MARKETThe Friends of Konrad Square will host a flea market from 8AM-3PM at the intersection of Tulip and Dauphin Streets. Anyone interested in renting a space should call Vicky at 215-426-9654.

Sunday, April 17, 12:30PM to 4PMTHE 2016 FNA CHILI COOKOFF!You can’t have spring without the annual Fishtown Neigh-bors Association Chili Cookoff. We’re back for our sixth year, this time at The Fillmore so we can accommodate even more chili lovers! As always, advanced tickets are rec-ommended. $20 gets you admission and unlimited chili, and $25 gets you all that AND an FNA pint glass! Get your

tickets at www.universe.com/fnachili2016. Tickets will be sold at the door for $25 as they remain available. All drinks will be sold separately. There are still spots available to compete! Fishtown residents and businesses can com-pete for the title “Best Homemade Chili.” Restaurants can compete for the title, “Critics Choice.” If you want to show off your chili-making chops, email us at [email protected] and we’ll fill you in on the rules and day-of details.

Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24PORTSIDE COMMUNITY ARTS FESTIVAL & PHILLY PUFF 2016The Portside Community Arts Festival is Portside Arts Center’s biggest outdoor annual community arts event featuring local talented artisan vendors, popular food trucks, children & teen crafts, live youth music & dance workshops, raffles, 50/50’s, a moon bounce and the 3rd Annual Philly Puff, an inflatable sculpture contest. All of the proceeds raised during the event will support Port-side’s students scholarship fund for families of limited resources. The event will take place from 12-5PM at Penn Treaty Park. More information PortsideCommunityArtsFest.org &philly-puff.org.

Thursday, April 28th, 6PMPHILLY HOME GIRLS PRESENT FRIENDS OF ADAIRE AND ADAIRE HSA BENEFIT CONCERT FEATURING ANDREW LIPKE AND JOHN BYRNEJoin us at Adaire school as we celebrate the revamping of our school’s auditorium, and welcome musician/compos-er/producer Andrew Lipke and internationally acclaimed Celtic folk act The John Byrne Band, who will play along-side elementary school students at a benefit concert. Doors open at 6PM with a food truck serving food. Free parking will be available in the schoolyard at Thompson and Palmer streets. The silent auction and 50/50 raffle start at 6:30. Musical performances begin at 7. Childcare and activities provided by Palmer Pond Arts Center will be available for children. The audience will be invited to attend an afterparty at Frankford Hall. You can buy your $15.00 tickets and reserve childcare here: http://adaire-home--school.ticketleap.com/adaire-bene-fit-concert/

TIGERS SIGN-UPSSign up now for the Port Richmond Tigers upcoming t-ball, softball, and baseball seasons at the Tiger’s club-house (Chatham & Ann) Mondays through Fridays from 6:30-7:30PM. Softball and baseball are travel leagues. A copy of the child’s birth certificate, a wallet sized picture, and a small deposit are required for registration. Roster room is limited so sign up now. For more information call Tom Mack at 215-275-8838.

NOLIBS SUMMER CAMPThe NoLibs Rec Summer Camp is the perfect place to send your children to camp in Philadelphia. Our won-derful camp staff ensures that the camp environment is both safe and fun. We do activities, such as music, art, swimming, reading, and activities & games in the gym and playground, on site. We also go on weekly trips. Bus-es transport the children to bigger trips, and we also go on walking trips to the Rodriguez Library, Everybody Hits (batting cages), North Bowl, and Liberty Lands. The camp is for kids ages 6-12. For more information and to register, visit NoLibsRec.org.

SIXERS NEIGHBORHOOD BASKETBALL LEAGUEHancock Rec has more openings for players in their SNBL league held at Moffett Elementary School. For more in-formation please contact Coach Larry @215-685-9877, or come to Moffet to register on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4-6PM.

WednesdaysPRESCHOOL STORYTIME AT RICHMOND LIBRARYThis program is intended for children ages 1-4 and their caregiver. Siblings are always welcome. Daycares should call for separate appointments. Richmond Branch of the Free Library, 2987 Almond Street.For further information call 215-685-9992.

CIONE SIGNUPSSummer Camp for Cione Playground is now full. We are no longer taking applications.Arts and Crafts for Kids – Meetings for 5-12 years old. Arts and crafts have no cost and takes place every Wednesday from 6-7PM.Zumba – Adult classes are on Fridays from 7:30-8:30PM, and the cost is $5 per class.Tae Kwon Do – Upcoming classes in May. There will be a demonstration class on Friday, April 15 at 5:30PM.Chess Club – For beginner to advanced players of all ages. Meetings take place Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30-8PM.For more information call 215-685-9880.

CASINO FUNDRAISERThe Ladies of Port Richmond are hosting a casino fund-raising trip to Atlantic City to help fight breast cancer. The cost is $30 with $25 to play. The bus leaves from Campbell Square on May 1 at 11:15AM.Call Marylou at 215-427-3222 or Marie at 215-743-3461 for more information.

Sunday, April 17FNA CHILI COOKOFFYou can’t have spring without the annual FNA Chili Cookoff! On April 17, we’re back for our sixth year, this time at The Fillmore so we accommodate even more guests. All Fishtowners are encouraged to compete in the Home Made Chili category. If you want to show off your chili-making chops, email us at [email protected]. We’ll fill you in on the rules and day-of details. If you don’t make chili but would like to volunteer to help with the event, please let us know. Volunteers and contestants get free admission. If you’re a restaurant interested in com-peting and you haven’t already heard from us, you’re also welcome and encouraged to reach out to us at [email protected]. Contestants are being recruited now, and tickets go on sale later this week.

BRIDESBURG REC CENTER Zumba – Classes are Mondays and Thursdays from 7-8PM, and the cost is $4.Scrapbooking – Scrapbooking group meets on Wednes-day evenings from 6:30-9:30PM. The cost is $5 per class and everything will be supplied except a book and photos. For more information call Miss Jackie at 215-685-1247.

PORTSIDE ARTSVendor Spaces Available – The Portside Community Arts Festival is seeking talented artisan craft and food vendors for this year’s event in Penn Treaty Park on April 23 and 24, 12-5PM. Spaces are given on a first come first serve basisSummer Camp Registration – Kids have fun all summer long at Portside Arts Center! For ages 4-7 & 8-12. Visual arts, character building, field trips, swimming & much more.Volunteer at the Portside Arts Festival – Portside is a 501-c3 non profit community arts center. We provide visual arts, performing arts & music classes for children, teens & adults. Help keep the arts alive in your community and donate your time to the Portside Community Arts Fest, Portside’s biggest scholarship fundraiser of the year!For more information on these happenings, classes and more, visit PortsideArtsCenter.org or call 215-427-1514.


Free Library FocusW R I T T E N B Y R U T H A N N A L E X A N D E R

P A W S P R O G R A M B R I N G S K I D S A N D P U P S T O G E T H E R T O I M P R O V E R E A D I N G S K I L L S

Miracle listened intently as Madeline Mickel-berg read to him at the Fishtown Commu-nity Library. But Miracle is not the typical audience

that most second graders read to — Miracle is a therapy dog who was at the library because of a program that the library organized by partnering with PAWS for People. The organization’s full name is Pet-Assisted Visitation Volunteer services, Inc. and it serves a wide range of peo-ple in all age groups, many with health and learning dis-abilities. In this case, PAWS was partnering with the Fish-town Community Library to provide a supportive therapy dog such as Miracle for children to read to. Children’s librarian, Dana Giusti, was inspired to orga-nize this program from a library she worked at in New Jer-sey that has similar events. Mickelberg read “Geronimo Stilton” to Miracle, one of her favorite book series. “I like to read “Geronimo Stilton,” “Ivy and Bean” and “Baby Sitters’ Club” graphic novels,” Mickelberg said. “I like reading to Miracle.” Mickelberg said she likes dogs, but has none of her own. At the end of the reading session, Mickelberg drew a picture for Miracle in Miracle’s journal that he carries around with him. Her father, Keith Mickelberg, said he is supportive of the reading program. “Absolutely. I think it’s great and exposes them (chil-dren) to an animal,” Keith Mickelberg said. One benefit of reading out loud to dogs is that they are a nonjudgmental audience, Giusti said. Therapy dogs also benefit by practicing their skills by being supportive. By reading to dogs, children such as Mickelberg can improve their confidence in reading out loud without the pressure of saying a word wrong in the classroom. The program includes two recurring story times, one for younger children and one for older children. Giusti said the Fishtown Community Library is the first in the city to partner with PAWS on such a program. Having started in

January of this year, the library and PAWS have a one-year agreement for the program. PAWS volunteer David Kim is Miracle’s human and train-er. Kim said he adopted Miracle before he received therapy dog training and he has seen his dog improve immensely since becoming certified as a therapy dog. When Kim adopted Miracle, he signed him up for dis-obedience classes and that is when he was recommended to go through therapy training. “Therapy dogs are different than a service dog,” Kim said. “It’s a trainable dog for different situations. Basical-ly, they’re there to provide comfort.” Miracle was trained at Zoom Room (180 W Girard Ave.) to become a certified therapy dog, Kim said. For instance, dogs such as Miracle must be trained to be good around children. By reading to Miracle, Mickelberg was partici-pating in reading therapy, Kim said. “Reading therapy is about reading to associate the act with something very positive,” Kim said. “It’s not about teaching and correcting.” Kim said therapy dogs were not common when he was a child. “When I was a kid, I don’t recall seeing therapy dogs,” Kim said. “Therapy training teaches the dog to be com-fortable with people and to be good citizens.” Therapy animals are different than service animals, be-cause they are trained to react to different emotional situa-

tions. PAWS for People works with the sick and aged, strug-gling readers, disabled individuals, hospice patients and to provide a supportive learning environment for children. In addition to organizing a reading program with PAWS, the Fishtown Community Library holds other activities for the community, including outreach. Starting March 31st, a healthy cooking class will begin and run through April 28th. The class is lead by certified food specialist, Keisha Prosser, who will teach participants how to cook healthy. The schedule includes a lineup of different classes about how to make healthy eating part of one’s lifestyle, what bodies need for sustenance, quick meals and snacks and basic ingredients to have in the house. The library’s calen-dar also includes Super Storytime on Tuesdays, Dr. Seuss Toddler storytime, Friends of the Library Meetings on the fourth Thursday of the month and StoryUP! Interactive Storytelling. Fishtown Library Branch Manager, Sheila O’Steen, said the library participates in outreach through flyering in schools, social media, neighborhood association meet-ings and through the website. Giusti said she reads to children at their schools. “I go to several local preschools and daycares for read-ing, because it is hard to bring large groups here,” Giusti said of the size of the Fishtown Branch. “We’re always interested in bringing new people to the library to enjoy themselves,” Giusti said. ·

Madeline Mickelberg pets Miraclewhile she reads to him.

PAWS volunteer David Kim (left) strokes Miracle’s cheek (middle) while Madeline Mickleberg (right) reads to Miracle./All photos by Ruthann AlexanderMiracle hugs his toy tiger at the

end of the reading session.


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title. Call 215-669-1000

JUNK CARS

A DVA NC E D

& I N STA L L AT I O N S

ELECTRICREPAIRS

215-396-2206

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B O N D E D

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YOU HAVE A NICE SET OF WHEELS BUT CAN’T FIND A PLACE

TO PARK THEM.

FAIR HOUSING IS THE LAW!

610-604-4411 - FJCSP.COM

Landlords must allow you to make reasonable accommodations to ensure full use of your apart-ment. Telling you that you can’t install grab bars and ramps is against the law. You can fight back.

If you suspect unfair housing practices, contact HUD or your local Fair Housing Center. Everyone

deserves a fair chance.

REAL ESTATE SALES:

new orexperienced;

freetraining

program.Call

Mike Dunphyat

215-840-8399

JOBS

Windows, Doors, Kitchens,

Bathrooms, Basements, Decks, Custom Carpentry

& Handyman Services

GLIDDEN CONSTRUCTION

215-792-4108

GLIDDEN-CONSTRUCTION.COM

FULLY LICENSED AND INSURED

MARKETS

References. Results! Rescue this school year!

Math TutorHIGH SCHOOL SUBJECTS

Algebra I and II, Geometry, Pre Calc. 40 yrs experience.

In your home.

267-253-4118 Gary Ross

TUTORS

We buy houses for cash. Fast

settlement.Call John

215-740-4629

Drivers: Teams Earn up to $150,000 per year! Sign-On Bonus! Weekly

Home-Time! Compre-hensive Benefits with

Retirement Plan 2 years CDL-A call today, Penske Logistics: 855-749-2917

Drivers: CDL – A 1 yr. exp., Earn $1,250 + per week, Great Weekend Hometime, Excellent Benefits & Bonuses,

100% No Touch/70% D & H 888-406-9046

Port Richmond1st Floor Apartment for Rent (No steps)1 bedroom, $775/month + utilities.

Security check, appli-cation fee, NO PETS

215-425-3086

2 bedroom aptnewly

renovatedFrankford Ave

Corridor$1175 +

215-941-3000

GRAND RE-OPENING OF THE ROOSEVELT

MALL FLEA MARKET

Every Sunday Starting April 3rd thru Nov 20th

8AM til 4PM But Early Birds Are Welcome!

Over 100 Vendors Featur-ing Antiques, Vintage &

Household Items

No New Merchandise Allowed!

Vendors: Enter at The Big Roosevelt Mall Sign and

Get In Line Starting at 4AM and No Later Than 8AM

More Info:215 - 625 - FLEA (3532)

www.PhilaFleaMarkets.org

No one understands small business like small business. We may be getting a big-ger staff and more readers, but we’re still

just like you. Work together with Spirit News to help grow your business and

inform your neighbors.

[email protected]

32xx Frankford Ave

Efficiency Apt Available

Immediately$550 + Electric 215-840-8399


Is there something going on that’s a little funky in your

neighborhood? Anything you want us to look into? Have

something juicy you want to leak? Know of something fun

or interesting going on that you think we should know

about?

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the iglooW R I T T E N B Y T H O M A S B E C K

T H E I G L O O ’ S G R A N D O P E N I N G I N F I S H T O W N P O S T P O N E D

Sorry for the delay, folks. The grand opening of The Igloo, a dessert shop located in Fishtown at 1514 Frankford Avenue, has been postponed until later this month, the date of

which is yet to be determined. It was originally planned to commence operations on Saturday, April 2. However, due to unforeseen renovative delays, we will have to hold out for just a few more weeks. When the new establishment does open, customers will be treated to free samples of all frozen desserts. There will also be a face painter as well as a raffle for a $100 gift card to Heffe Tacos (winner to be announced at 4PM). The shop will offer custard, ice cream, water ice, shakes, affogatos and homemade Igloo Pops. Included also on the menu are soft-serve frozen Greek yogurt and salted cara-mel gelatos, as well as dark chocolate Italian sorbets. The Igloo’s flagship site is located at the intersection of 23rd and South Streets. Owners Isaac Parker, Bill Chle-bowski and Caroline Smith hope to create through the new

shop a welcoming, community-oriented hotspot at which the locals can gather. ·

The Spirit of the Riverwards – March 2, 2016

The Spirit of the Riverwards – April 6, 2016

Documents

Transcript of The Spirit of the Riverwards – April 6, 2016