One of the first things you notice as you walk in Jinxed, the new shop on the 4500 block of Baltimore Avenue, is a pair of nicely preserved small alligator (or crocodile or caiman) heads near the door. They kind of set the mood for the place. It’s one of those places that you want to come back to once in a while to see what they have found.

Photos by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local

Jinxed started in the 1990s as a t-shirt company and has since opened five retail locations in the city that sell all kinds of vintage and interesting stuff, everything from furniture and antiques to clothing and vintage lighters.

Located at 4521 Baltimore Ave., the shop is open 7 days a week from 11-7.

A big opening party is slated for Saturday, Dec. 12 from 12-8 p.m. The back of the store will be curated with art by Gush Gallery‘s Sarah Thielke and Stephanie Slate for the party.

And by the way, the reptile heads up front are $20 apiece. Not bad.

Police are looking for a 17-year-old girl and another person who they say robbed a man near 45th and Larchwood on Sunday evening. Police identified the girl after she dropped her unlocked cell phone, which included her picture as the wallpaper, during a foot chase.

Police say the young woman and an unidentified person robbed the 25-year-old man while he was walking home at about 7:45 p.m. The man told police that a person approached him and hit him in the head with an unknown object, while someone else held his arms back. The suspects took the man’s iPhone and his backpack, containing a laptop among other things, and fled westbound on Larchwood Avenue.

Five minutes later a police officer spotted two people running east on the 4700 block of Cedar Avenue who fit the description of the robbers and started pursuing them on foot, but lost them in an alley, according to a police report.  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy SEPTA

Have you spotted or ridden on the Jolly Trolley yet? If so, consider yourself lucky. To put commuters in the seasonal spirit, SEPTA has again decorated several trolleys with tinsel, lights, bows and bells. This one was spotted on Baltimore Avenue last night:

The Jolly #Trolley! #happyholidays #merrychristmas #christmaslights #septa #Philadelphia #westphilly

A photo posted by VIX Emporium (@vix_emporium) on Dec 4, 2015 at 4:07pm PST

Photo courtesy Dock Street Brewery.

For years my father talked about the case of beer I bought him for Christmas in 1990. This was still mostly yellow beer days and my Dad was a devoted yellow beer drinker. But this was a case of Dock Street Amber Ale, the beer that for many in Philly back then provided our first taste of a locally brewed craft beer.

Twenty five years later Dock Street is back in the bottled beer business, just in time for the holidays. Between them, the new home brew place on Woodland Avenue and Local 44, there are plenty of opportunities to buy local for the beer lover on your list or to transform yourself into a good and proper beer snob.

Dock Street is bottling its Rye IPA, a 50th and Baltimore favorite, and is available by the case (about $40) or the 6-pack ($10) now in a number of shops and restaurants.  Continue Reading

Clarkville growlers stand at the ready for Grand Opening Party. (Instagram photo)

Clarkville’s opening date has finally been announced, and it’s tomorrow! The Grand Opening Party for the new bar and restaurant located just across the street from Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore, will take place on Friday, Dec. 4 at 5 p.m., according to an announcement from the owners, Leigh Maida, Brendan Hartranft and Brendan Kelly.

The opening night will include “complimentary nibbles from the kitchen, a line up of flagship beers from favorite breweries, a killer draft wine list and a whole lot of big love for the neighborhood that has been so patient and supportive while this crazy space was wrangled into submission,” according to the announcement.

In addition, Clarkville will be kicking off growler sales with a keg of Russian River Pliny the Elder available for take out only in a fancy 64oz Clarkville Growler for $35.

Regular service and the full menu, which includes comfort food out of a giant double-decker pizza oven, starts on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 11 a.m.

Starting this Saturday, Clarkville will be open 7 days a week from 11 a.m. – 1 a.m. (The kitchen is open until midnight daily). Weekend brunch is coming soon, too. It will be served on Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

For more information, including menu and draft list, visit: www.clarkvillephilly.com.

Rendering of 4610 Cedar Ave. Photo from www.rolaarchitects.com.

Here’s more information on the new three-story building under construction in the triangle between Cedar and Baltimore Avenues, the former location of the Philadelphia Credit Union. Construction of the mixed-use structure, which will include six residential units and a commercial space on the ground floor, began in the summer and is expected to be completed in late spring 2016, according to Philly Curbed.

As was reported earlier, the lot belongs to the Lai family, who own several businesses and other properties in the area. An appeal was filed against the Philadelphia Board of Licenses and Inspections earlier this year, on the grounds that they “did not consider the impact of adjacent property with regard to air, light and use impairment” when issuing the building permit. The affected property was not mentioned. The appeal was denied last month, and the construction at 4610 Cedar continues. Check out more renderings and photos on Curbed.