The two sisters behind LuLu Bang, who recently appeared on ABC’s reality TV show “Shark Tank,” have just opened a new pop-up restaurant in West Philly. Jorrae and Kelly Beard, the owners of LuLu Bang Sauces and Marinades, opened Lulu Bang Burgers & Wangs on Jan. 2 at The Common Table at 310 S. 48th St.. The restaurant is part of the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises (CCE) incubator program.

The pop-up restaurant will operate at this location until March 31; LuLu Bang is an active member of the CCE and will have the organization’s support during their launch phase. While temporarily using space at The Common Table, the program will continue to seek a permanent location for LuLu Bang’s future restaurant and will launch a kick starter campaign for 60 days.  Continue Reading

New Hamilton Court streetscape rendering.

In August 2016, the Post Brothers, the real estate company that has acquired a number of residential properties in University City in the past year, revealed their plans and renderings for the renovation of the historic Hamilton Court apartment complex at 39th and Chestnut Streets. Currently, the company is in the process of making upgrades to Hamilton Court, which was one of Philadelphia’s first apartment buildings when it was built in 1901. The renovations include the conversion of vacant ground-floor space into modern commercial retail spaces, which will be occupied by five dining establishments.

On Wednesday, the developers revealed the restaurants that signed leases for those spaces. Here they are:

• Steve’s Prince of Steaks, one of Philadelphia’s most famous cheesesteak restaurant chains, has signed a lease for 2,277 square feet.  Continue Reading

The property at 4301-4303 Baltimore from an archive photo taken in 1912, when a butcher shop was located where Clarkville is now. Crews work to install the trolley tracks on Baltimore Avenue. (City of Philadelphia, Department of Records).

The days of cheap slices and cold 40s at the corner of 43rd and Baltimore are long gone. At the Spruce Hill zoning committee meeting last night, the owners of 4303 Baltimore Avenue (the row home adjacent to Clarkville and across from Clark Park) threw out a couple of names of restaurants interested in moving into the first floor restaurant space they have proposed.

They include:

• Koreana – A Korean street food place with a current location at 3801 Chestnut St..
• Ant’s Pants – Café/brunch. Current location at 2212 South St.
• Southeast Bistro – Southeast Asian meets Cajun. Current location near 19th and South.
• House – A more traditional lunch/brunch place in Media.
• Same Same – A Vietnamese street food restaurant with a location in Northern Liberties.  Continue Reading

From left to right: Noah’s Pizza owner Mekonen Hailu, executive chef Sal Traina, and co-owner Chris (Photo by Rana Fayez)

Pizza lovers of the west rejoice, we now have more options. Noah’s Pizza just opened next to Lil’ Pop Shop at 4602 Woodland Ave. Now we’re quite aware of the shortage of quality pizza on our side of the river, but this is exactly why owner Mekonen Hailu decided to transition his previous business, Noah’s Market, into what is now Noah’s Pizza.

The pizza shop opened about a couple of weeks ago, with the idea to provide quality pizza to the neighborhood. “There is more need for pizza than a mini market here,” said Hailu.

The pizza chef? Sal Traina, he’s the executive chef at Chestnut Hill Hospital. He’s really good friends with Hailu and well, he loves making pizza, so he decided to add a side gig to his work week. “I wanted to help out a friend,” said Traina.  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy of Schmear It.

If you’re tired of following around the Schmear It truck for your daily bagel fix, here’s some good news. Philly’s only bagel truck has finally found a brick-and-mortar home in University City at 3601 Market St. in the uCity Square complex along with other businesses, such as Herban Quality Eats. As of last Wednesday, the store is officially open to the public.

Thanks for an amazing opening, everyone!! We are sold out but look forward to much more schmearing tomorrow!

— Schmear It (@Schmearit) November 2, 2016

Currently, their store hours are as follows: Monday through Friday – 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday – 8 a.m – 2 p.m.  Continue Reading

West Philly entrepreneurial sisters Kelly (right) and Jorrae Beard will appear on “Shark Tank” tonight.

Shark Tank keeps casting Philly entrepreneurs, and it’s especially nice to see West Philly-based teams presenting their products on the show. This Friday, Oct. 28, tune in to watch sisters Kelly and Jorrae Beard pitch “Lulu Bang” BBQ Sauce to the “sharks.” There will also be the show watch party tonight at the Enterprise Center (4548 Market St.), beginning at 7:30 p.m. (this event has been sold out).

Kelly and Jorrae are co-owners of Joyce’s Soulful Cuisine, a restaurant and catering business located at 59th and Chestnut that was named in memory of their mother, Joyce A. Beard. The sisters are also manufacturers of  “Lulu Bang” BBQ Sauce, which comes in four flavors – Asian Persuasion, BBQ Fusion, Bourbon Baby, and It’s Just HOT.  It’s now available in local shops throughout the Northeast region.

The name of the sauce is a tribute to Kelly and Jorrae’s brother, Michael “Lulu Bang” Beard, a National Guard veteran, who was murdered at the age of 32 in West Philadelphia, according to an article by Philly Mag.  Continue Reading