A new cafe that will offer tea, coffee, snacks and desserts is opening soon on the 4500 block of Walnut Street. The new establishment, called Lulu Café (as we understand, named after the owners’ French bulldog) is expected to open this month at 4508 Walnut St., next door to Hunter Gatherer Tattoo and across the street from University City Chinese Christian Church.

The full menu hasn’t been posted yet, but it will include varieties of tea (caramel milk tea, sea salt green tea, plum tomato green tea), coffee (sea salt iced coffee), blended drinks (mocha, watermelon, pistachio), and snacks (popcorn chicken).

According to its website, the Chinese owned business is currently hiring part-time and full-time employees (speaking both English and Mandarin is a must; email: lulucafeusa@gmail.com for more info).

For more information and updates, visit Lulu Café website or Facebook page.

Corner Bakery Cafe at 38th and Market Streets. (Facebook photo)

Pennsylvania-based franchisee The Rose Group is opening its second Corner Bakery Cafe location in Philadelphia this week. The fast-casual cafe that offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and bakery-quality desserts will open its doors at 3737 Market St. on Wednesday, March 25, at 6:30 a.m.

To celebrate the opening the first 100 guests will receive a free travel mug and daily coffee refills for one year. Also, a drawing will be held next week to award someone free grilled panini for one year.

The Rose Group currently owns and operates six Corner Bakery cafes in Eastern Pennsylvania and two in New Jersey.

The 38th and Market Corner Bakery Cafe location also has a Facebook page.

Less than a week to go until Christmas and Hanukkah has already started. So where to go for those local holiday gifts? Don’t worry, we got you covered. Here are some options from our Buy Local for the Holidays Guide:

• Local arts and crafts

The University City Arts League‘s Annual Holiday Crafts Show and Sale supports the work of area artists and crafts people. The show runs through Sunday, Dec. 21 and features hand-made, one-of-a-kind creations by 30 local artists. Open Friday 3 – 8 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 12 – 6 p.m., 4226 Spruce St. Speaking of local artists, a great spot to find local gifts is VIX Emporium, where you can get everything from locally made West Philly t-shirts to handcrafted bags, jewelry and clothing.

• The gift of grub

Gift cards are always a safe bet. How about a festive brunch gift card? Check out Café Renata (4305 Locust St.). They have a bunch of new gift cards in stock and cookies and cakes for small holiday gatherings. Speaking of holiday get togethers, The Gold Standard Café (4800 Baltimore Ave.) is taking reservations for holiday festivities or just a great meal at 215-727-8247. Aksum Café (4630 Baltimore Ave.) is offering 15 percent off their unique Mediterranean fare for parties of 12 or more during the holidays. The offer is good on dinners Sunday through Thursday.

• Pets and pageturners

Don’t forget your pet (or pet owner) this holiday season. There’s a ton of ridiculously fun and useful stuff for dogs and cats down at Baltimore Pet Shoppe (4532 Baltimore Ave.) This is also a great place to go if the holiday stress has you down. Watch the cats up for adoption for a few minutes and you’ll be back to your old self. Another awesome way to unwind during the colder months is spend time with a great book, one of the all-time great gift ideas. Penn Book Center (130 S. 34th) is an independent locally owned and operated bookstore with great deals going on all kinds of books, from works by local authors and on local topics to cookbooks and everything in between. They currently have 2-for-1 deals and 20 percent off select gift books.

• Memberships

A fantastic way to support the local community is through memberships, which directly help support some of our favorite spots in West Philly. We highly recommend a membership to Bartram’s Garden, one of the true treasures of West Philadelphia. Another gift that keeps giving is a membership to Mariposa Food Co-op, which not only gets you discounts on fresh organic food and other items, but gives you a chance to have a say in how this vital community asset is operated.

• Beer, coffee and tasty treats

The holiday season is a time for food and drink. So if you are looking for anything from quality craft beer, to a delectable bag of coffee or a fine cheese, here are some suggestions. Local 44’s Bottle Shop (4333 Spruce St.) has one of the best bottle beer selections in the city. Great ideas for parties or stock stuffers. One of the most cosy coffee shops in West Philly, The Coffee Market (405 S. 45th) is a good spot to warm up during the winter and they also have a ton of different organic and fair trade roasts for sale by the bag. Gift cards are also available. Also, Milk and Honey Market (4435 Baltimore Ave.) is an all-around holiday haven, with loads of gift ideas for home brewers, hosts and hostesses and even kids. Want a little taste of summer during the holiday season? A gift card from Lil’ Pop Shop (265 S. 44th) might do the trick. The shop is open this winter and, in addition to the crazy good popsicles, is offering a selection of fresh-baked cookies and super-good hot chocolate.

Lastly, local merchants who make up the Baltimore Avenue Business Association would like to thank you for buying local and keeping your hard-earned money in the community. Happy Holidays everyone!

Lovers and Madmen Coffee at 28 S. 40th St.  (Facebook photo).

The Green Line Cafe announced today that it will soon be taking over Lovers and Madmen Coffee at the corner of 40th and Ludlow. The new shop is expected to be fully operational by January 15, 2015, according to an announcement on Green Line’s website.

Green Line will be rebranding the shop, which will offer a mix of fair trade coffee and teas along with their signature foods. “…We hope to continue the vision of a welcoming neighborhood coffee shop that Lover’s and Madmen established so nicely,” the announcement reads.

Lovers and Madmen Coffee has been in operation since early 2009 and was popular with students due to its proximity to Penn’s campus.

This will be Green Line’s fourth location in West Philadelphia, adding to the shops at 43rd and Baltimore, 45th and Locust, and 38th and Lancaster.

Green Line also announced today that they are closing their only Center City location at 15th and Moravian due to new plans for the building, which recently was sold. Currently, Green Line owners, Douglas Witmer and Daniel Thut, are exploring a potential new location in Center City.

Earth Cup is now Coffee Market. (Photo courtesy of Natasa Borcanin) 

Some of our readers have probably noticed a new sign, “Coffee Market,” outside of the Earth Cup coffee shop on 45th Street between Pine and Osage. Here’s what’s happening, according to the owner Natasa Borcanin.

The business has changed its name (but not its ownership) to better reflect its expansion of coffee choices, brewing methods, and coffee equipment selection. Coffee Market will offer a larger variety of coffee bean selection (new roasters, new single origins and blends, and more brewing methods) and coffee equipment (coffee presses, pour-overs, thermoses, and more). The shop will also showcase new selections of coffee through coffee tastings.

“This is a welcome change as this city lacks a one-stop shop for a wide variety of organic and fair-trade coffee choices,” Borcanin writes in an e-mail. “There is just about nothing more personal that people consume in a day than a cup of coffee. Therefore, having a variety is paramount.”

By the way, the old “Sam’s Place” sign will also stay, for nostalgic reasons. “This shop has been here for 30 plus years and has a long-standing tradition of its second and third generation customers that appreciate seeing the sign as they revisit,” writes Borcanin.

Photo by Michael Persico.

The news has spread like wild fire and we’re also happy to let our readers know – Philly’s homegrown fried chicken and donut shop Federal Donuts has set its eyes west of center and is expected to open a location at 3428 Sansom Street, which is on Penn’s campus. This will be the third location for this popular local chain. The somewhat bad news is that the new shop is not expected to open before early 2014. We’ll keep you posted on the date when we know more.