Here’s some encouraging news about Penn Book Center, the independent bookstore at 34th and Sansom whose owners Ashley Montague and Michael Row announced last spring that they were struggling to stay in business and would close their doors permanently in May 2019. According to this week’s announcement, the store will stay open thanks to new owners, Matt Duquès and Diana Bellonby.

After Penn faculty and students launched a campaign to save the store, which included a petition signed by more than 5,000 people, the University of Pennsylvania, the store’s landlords, extended the lease for the summer to give Montague and Row time to work out a new plan to stay open. Duquès and Bellonby, who were in the process of moving from Alabama to Philadelphia, heard of the campaign and soon began negotiations to buy the store which was founded in 1962.  Continue Reading

Restaurants Clarkville and Local 44, which are both owned by the same company, closed earlier this week while the owners “work internally with staff and the community to address what’s going on in a genuine and meaningful way,” according to co-owner Leigh Maida.

Staff members at Clarkville organized a walkout last weekend and protested outside the restaurant, located at 43rd and Baltimore, after one of their co-workers was fired, they believe, unjustly. There were also protests outside of Local 44 claiming bias in the restaurant’s employment practices. Many community members took to social media to express their concern over what has happened.  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy of The Enterprise Center.

Since its opening in 2012 the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises has helped many local food entrepreneurs launch their businesses: restaurants, catering services and more. Now those interested in learning the ins and outs of operating a food truck have a chance to try their hand at this business while bringing fresh, healthy food options to West Philadelphia.

The Culinary Center, located at 310 S. 48th St., launched their first food truck incubator last month. The program is based on the Beefsteak food truck concept (patented by James Beard award-winning chef and humanitarian Jose Andres’ Think Food Group).  Continue Reading

If you are thinking of starting a small business, you need to get to this. A bunch of local non-profits aimed at helping West Philly-based entrepreneurs get going are hosting “Funding the Hustle,” which will include panels and lightening talks on everything from “Finance 101” to a design thinking workshop.

Funding the Hustle will highlight ways to get money to get your venture going, including traditional bank financing, crowd-funding and “impact investing.” It will also feature a workshop called “Hacking Your Hustle,” which will feature advice from entrepreneurs on balancing your family and/or day job obligations with your venture.  Continue Reading

Last month we reported that Penn Book Center, one of the oldest independent bookstores in the area, will close its doors at the end of this month. But here’s some good news: the store owners, Ashley Montague and Michael Row, have recently reached an agreement with their landlord, the University of Pennsylvania, that will allow them to stay open through the end of August. During this time, the owners will try to work out a new business plan that would hopefully allow the store to stay open and prosper in the future.

After the news of the store imminent closing broke, Montague and Row received a lot of support from community members. Over 5,000 people signed an online petition generated by Penn’s English Department asking the university to help save the store from closing. Many folks even offered business ideas which the owners say they are excited to explore.  Continue Reading

Just seven months after opening at 40th and Baltimore, Trolley Car Station restaurant has closed its doors. A new operator is currently being sought for the 125-seat restaurant, according to a report by Philly.com.

The highly anticipated restaurant opened in a new two-story building next to the remodeled 40th Street Trolley Portal in September 2018, but things didn’t go as well as the owner, developer and restaurateur Ken Weinstein, who had reportedly invested $2.5 million in the new restaurant, had expected. The restaurant concept, which included hiring 20 staff members with the neighborhood’s diversity in mind, didn’t turn out to be financially viable, according to Weinstein. “We opened with a concept that I thought would work and it just didn’t resonate,” Weinstein told Philly.com’s Michael Klein.  Continue Reading