Vagrant Coffee owners Josh Dew (left) and Jared Cate (Photo from Vagrant’s Instagram page).

A new cafe, Vagrant Coffee, has recently opened on 45th and Baltimore, at the former Milk & Honey location. The owners, Joshua Dew and Jared Cate, are entrepreneurs from Baltimore who already have three Vagrant locations there. It’s a relatively young business, started in 2017, and Vagrant Coffee in West Philly is their first venture outside of Baltimore.

Vagrant Coffee is also known for bringing their mobile equipment (mobile coffee and espresso bars) to parties, events and even offices. One of the reasons why they chose the name “Vagrant” was to emphasize their mobility.

Apart from their specialty coffee and in-house made pastries, the new coffee shop offers breakfast, sandwiches and salads, all available for pick-up only at this time due to COVID restrictions. There is some outdoor seating, too.

You can check out their menu and order online here.

Vagrant Coffee is open Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat & Sun 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

This holiday season, West Philly restaurant Renata’s Kitchen is helping the local branch of an organization which supports families of seriously ill children. Instead of purchasing more gift cards, Renata’s Kitchen owners Kate and Yasser Aiq are asking guests to donate towards catering orders for the local Ronald McDonald House. The organization has been struggling this year to recruit volunteers to prepare and serve their guest families during the pandemic.

“As a restaurant, we’ve also been struggling with the restrictions in place to keep everyone safe,” says Kate. But they don’t want to ask for support without giving something in return. “Just doesn’t feel right as a business to do,” she adds.  Continue Reading

In addition to the Holiday Gift Card Promotion (running through Dec. 24) and West Philly Forward Fundraising campaign where you can donate directly to local businesses and organizations, University City District has recently launched another campaign supporting West Philly businesses – West Philly Favorites.

The new campaign features a curated series of gift packs filled with handcrafted and locally produced items from small neighborhood businesses, including VIX Emporium, Renata’s Kitchen, Jezabel’s Cafe, Metropolitan Bakery, Snapdragon Flowers, and more. All proceeds from sales of West Philly Favorites packs go to participating businesses.  Continue Reading

Newly constructed Bookers’ Greenhouse Patio (Photo from Bookers’ Instagram page).

The City of Philadelphia has declared all Fridays in December as a “Shop Black Business Friday“, an initiative that aims to support Black-owned businesses, which have been hit very hard during the pandemic. One of the ways to support Black businesses in your community is to order food from Black-owned restaurants.

There are so many great Black-owned restaurants in West Philly. Some of them, like Bookers’ Restaurant and Bar (50th and Baltimore) and 48th Street Grille (48th and Pine) are still open for outdoor dining, as long as the weather is not too cold. Bookers’ recently built a greenhouse patio with open air flow, heaters and socially distanced tables (see photo).  Continue Reading

When shopping for holiday gifts this month please remember to support small local businesses. This year it’s more important than ever because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which cut down revenues at many local restaurants and shops by as much as 90 percent. On top of that, many neighborhood businesses have been struggling to stay open after this year’s civil unrest.

Gift cards from local shops and restaurants is a great idea for a holiday gift and you can buy them safely online at many businesses. Please check your local business association or neighborhood community organization for more information on businesses in your area, such as Baltimore Avenue Business Association, Lancaster Avenue Business Association, 52nd Street Commercial Corridor, Garden Court Community Association, Cedar Park Neighbors, and more.  Continue Reading

Philadelphia’s Share Food Program will be hosting several special food distributions in West Philly this Saturday, Oct. 31:

Frontline Dads
410 N. 34th St.
11 a.m. — 1 p.m.

New Testament Church
935 S. 53rd St.
11 a.m. — 1 p.m.

On A Mission
433 N. 64th St.
12 noon until food runs out

60th Ward Emergency Food Relief
5149 Locust St.
12 noon until food runs out

To find additional food resources, residents can access the Find Food interactive maps at www.sharefoodprogram.org/find-food.