This weekend, the city of Philadelphia will greet Pope Francis, an exciting time for Philadelphians and guests, but also stressful for many local residents. Here’s our summary on various closures, restrictions and cancellations associated with the papal visit. The schedule of events and activities during the Papal visit on Sept. 26 & 27 is available here. Also check out these useful links: Papal Visit Playbook, Philly Pope Map, Papal Visit FAQs. There will also be live streaming of events from the World Meeting of Families and the Papal visit stream (click here).

We will update this post as more information becomes available. Feel free to post comments or email us (editor-at-westphillylocal.com) if you know of any closures or cancellations not included in this post.

Highway Closures, Traffic Restrictions (“Traffic Boxes”)

Some road closures and parking restrictions have already begun ahead of the visit, but major highway closures and traffic restrictions will start on Friday night. Mayor Michael Nutter has announced Papal “traffic boxes” for parts of Center City and West Philadelphia, beginning on Friday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. respectively. Vehicles will be allowed to exit the traffic box area, but will not be allowed to re-enter it (except for emergency vehicles). There will be no SEPTA bus or trolley service within the boundaries of the traffic box, but there will be no restrictions to bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Here are the boundaries for the West Philadelphia Traffic Box:  Continue Reading

Renata’s Kitchen co-owner Kate Aiq at the grand opening on Wednesday.

UPDATE (11/16/2015): Starting Monday, Nov. 16, Renata’s Kitchen will be serving dinner every night from 4 – 10 p.m. Renata’s owners are also sending a reminder that their restaurant is a BYOB!

9/24/2015: Renata’s Kitchen (formerly Café Renata) opened its doors to the public at their new location at 4533 Baltimore Avenue last night. A sizable crowd turned up to celebrate the grand re-opening of the restaurant that suffered a devastating fire at their former location near 43rd and Locust last spring.

Starting this Friday, the restaurant, which serves Mediterranean and American-style breakfast, lunch and brunch, will be open daily: Mon-Fri 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sat & Sun 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Renata’s co-owner Kate Aiq said that they’re also planning to introduce a dinner menu in a couple of months after they settle in at the new location. Also, the restaurant is currently hiring, mostly line cooks. Resumes are accepted at: jobs.caferenata@gmail.com  Continue Reading

A series of gunpoint robberies committed by what looks like the same two suspects took place on Wednesday night on South 50th street, according to police.

The first robbery was reported near 50th and Walton. A 24-year-old man told police that he was walking in the area around 9:50 p.m. and talking on his cell phone when he was approached by two unknown males who had white T-shirts covering their faces. One of the males pointed a black handgun at the man and said: “Where’s the money? Where’s the phone?”, according to a police report. The man handed the robbers his Samsung flip phone and his wallet containing his credit and debit cards and identification. One of the robbers also grabbed the man’s backpack, after which both suspects fled northbound on 50th street. The man was not injured. Police said that one of the suspects was wearing a white tank top. Continue Reading

Renata’s Kitchen owners Kate and Yasser (right) Aiq at the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll this summer.

Renata’s Kitchen (formerly Café Renata) owners Yasser and Kate Aiq are ready to open their new food-focused spot at 4533 Baltimore Avenue.

A fire heavily damaged Café Renata at 43rd and Locust last March, prompting the couple to find the new location. The grand opening party for Renata’s Kitchen is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 23, 6 – 9 p.m. Everyone is invited.

We asked Kate what customers should expect to see at the new location and what is the same and what is different about Renata’s Kitchen compared to Café Renata, a Mediterranean café and breakfast and brunch restaurant.

“The main difference this time around is that we are taking the opportunity to share more of our culinary expertise than we could previously at Cafe Renata. With our focus on food, we’re hoping to launch a dinner menu soon,” Kate wrote in an email.

We’ll let you know about Renata’s Kitchen hours and more details as soon as this information becomes available.

UPDATE: Renata’s Kitchen is hiring line cooks. Please call the restaurant at 267-275-8254.

Police are investigating a gunpoint robbery that took place on Monday night, shortly after 10 p.m. A 25-year-old man was walking on 44th street near Sansom when an unknown young male wearing a mask ran up to him from behind, pulled out a black handgun and demanded the man’s cell phone and wallet, according to police. Then the victim noticed another young male nearby, also wearing a mask. The gunman took the victim’s iPhone and the other robber took his wallet, according to a police report. Then both robbers fled in opposite directions. No injuries were reported. Suspects are described as black males, 18-21 years old, 5’9″ – 5’10”, both wearing masks covering their faces.

Mosaic Community Church, 123 S. 51st St.

West Philly organizations and community groups have a chance to receive grants of up to $6,000 for their projects. Three years ago, as part of a capital campaign to raise money to renovate their new property at 51st and Sansom, Mosaic Community Church committed to give away 10 percent of all of the money raised to organizations who are doing good work in West Philly neighborhoods. This commitment turned into the Building It Together (BIT) Grant Program. This year, Mosaic’s BIT Grant Program has $26,000 to give away and invites local nonprofits and community organizations to apply.

The BIT Grant Program is comprised of two distinct funding opportunities:  Continue Reading