UPDATE (6/23/2016): Gangster Vegan Organics owner Vinny DePaul told Phillymag.com that he was planning to sign the lease for the storefront at 4305 Locust St. after it was fully renovated, but “started having issues with the landlord” and decided not to continue with his plans for the space. Instead, he’s eyeing a new location in the area.
Looks like Gangster Vegan Organics, a restaurant and juice bar, is not coming to Locust Street as previously reported, and the space is now back on the market.
An employee at the only current Gangster Vegan organic location (in Norristown), said that “things didn’t quite work out” with the building’s owner, but West Philly is not completely out of the picture.
Gangster Vegan Organics is now focusing on their expansion in Phoenixville instead.
“For Rent” signs have recently been posted on the windows at 4305 Locust St. (pictured). The ground floor space has been renovated after the fire in March 2015 that forced Cafe Renata, which was renting it at the time, to relocate to Baltimore Avenue.
– Rana Fayez
June 22nd, 2016 at 3:18 pm
It was a miscommunication with God, I guess?
https://www.westphillylocal.com/2015/11/05/it-chose-me-vinny-and-gangster-vegan-organics-to-move-into-old-cafe-renata-location/
June 22nd, 2016 at 3:57 pm
Phoenixville seems like a better fit for those suburban yahoos anyways.
June 23rd, 2016 at 3:23 am
DePaul is paranoid. Newsflash: no one wants you to fail. No one cares that much about your business one way or the other, especially not to wish it ill.
Just as well he isn’t around town to spread his nonsense. He believes in chemtrails and other pseudoscientific garbage.
June 23rd, 2016 at 8:42 am
I know nothing about this person’s background, but I’m inclined to believe that the term “Gangster” is being inappropriately appropriated here, and that does not sit well with my stomach — no matter how cruelty-free the ingredients may be. It’s just not right.
June 23rd, 2016 at 10:03 am
Or maybe it’s the fact that Vinny has to do business with a guy who chased a person down the street with a machete. With a publicly known dug addiction. Or the fact that everyone in this neighborhood knows that this happened. So much that WPL put his name in this article, with a hyper link to the original story they posted a couple years back! Nice touch, btw, WPL. The comments above really show that people just want to Dookie on one another, instead of actually thinking about the REAL reason someone doesn’t want to fork over a few thousand $ a month to deal with a mechete wielding, crack smoking, madman. Yeah, maybe it’s the chemtrails…
June 23rd, 2016 at 1:13 pm
Stasia – it sounds pretty clear that DePaul uses the term himself. No one is calling him names.
North West – I am not familiar with this. What’s the knife-on-street/drug story here?
June 23rd, 2016 at 4:15 pm
What a tasty little dish of a news story. Too bad it keeps my mouth watering.
June 23rd, 2016 at 4:24 pm
It’s hilarious. The same guy who calls his business “Gangster”, who styles himself as streetwise and in touch with certain types of people, who markets some of his food using drug terminology (OG Kush, Uncut Crack) is then bothered by actual drug users near a potential location. Maybe he should have done some research and found out more about the people in the area he wants to iron a new store.
He’s constantly complaining about “haters” on his Instagram page despite admonishing his followers to ignore the haters. Stop worrying about all these so-called haters, take your own advice and just get on with your life! What a whiner.
June 25th, 2016 at 2:55 am
Gordon, here’s the short version:
Years ago, 4305 locust st was once the home to a cafe, called cafe clavé. The owner, gooch as he liked to be called, loved to smoke crack. since the cafe was a cash only business, and he lived right above the place, he treated the cafe as his piggy bank to fund his crack binges. Not only just stealing cash out of the register, but also stealing tons of product to trade for drugs. So one day, high as a kite, he fires someone. One of the UCD street sweepers says something to him along the lines of you need help or whatever. So gooch runs inside, grabs a machete, comes out and starts waving it around, approaches the street sweeper, screaming “ni—rs hate machetes” repeatedly. The cafe closed the next day, he was on the run for a week until the police caught him at his apartment because he was so bombed on heroin he was incapable of running away. Was locked up for a while, but ultimately got off because the street sweeper didn’t want to go to court.
So yeah, that’s the guy who will be living above the business this guy wants to start. Can’t say I blame him.
June 26th, 2016 at 1:21 pm
Wow. Sometimes you just gotta chase people with a machete. Too bad. Sounds like he is mentally ill or just addicted. Not making light of that.
June 26th, 2016 at 4:42 pm
More groundless trashing-by-implication of people labeled “mentally ill” (an impossibility both logically and semantically btw).
The issue here is violence, giving the perpetrator a medical-sounding label neither explains it nor stops it.
June 28th, 2016 at 5:39 pm
That story, as unbelievable as it is, was a thrill to hear. And I know several mentally ill ladies and gentleman who get their thrills through peace and love. Happiness.