Grindcore X Crust coffee shop & bakery is now open at 42nd and Chester. (Photo by West Philly Local)

A Manyaunk-based vegan bakery, Crust, has opened their first storefront in West Philly! The coffee shop and bakery recently opened at 42nd and Chester, on the ground floor of the new three-story apartment building, across from Millcreek Tavern (we wrote about the plans to open a coffee shop in that location in a March 2019 post).

The new shop is called Grindcore X Crust and is a collaboration between Crust Vegan Bakery and Grindcore House, a South Philly based vegan-friendly coffee shop. They supply coffee, tea, bagels and sandwiches for the new shop, while Crust sells pastries, cakes by the slice, pop tarts, and more (see photo below). Continue Reading

If you want to dispose of your Christmas tree responsibly, here’s a great opportunity. The annual Tree-Cycling event organized by University City District and UC Green will be held on Saturday, Jan. 11 at two neighborhood parks: Clark Park (43rd and Chester) and Malcolm X. Park (51st and Pine).

Tree-Cycling at Clark Park will run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and at Malcolm X. Park from 12:30 to 3 p.m. A $5-$20 suggested donation is requested at both events.

After you drop off your tree you can watch it being mulched by staff and volunteers from UC Green and Bartlett Tree Experts. The mulch from the trees will be used at local parks and your donation will support UC Green community greening services and programming.  Continue Reading

Mayor Jim Kenney says scheduled street cleaning will be back in every neighborhood in the city by the time his second term, which began yesterday, ends in 2023. If he follows through, Philadelphia will no longer be the only major U.S. city not to have regular street sweeping.

Budget cuts that began in the 1970s spelled the end of street sweeping across the city by the late 90s. Since then, vocal concerns over neighborhood residents having to move their cars on possible cleaning days have, in part, prevented a sweeping program from coming back.  Continue Reading

Theatre in the X. (Photo by West Philly Local).

Theatre in the X, known for its free summer productions in Malcolm X. Park, is planning something exciting for the upcoming season and wants the community to participate. In addition to their August production in the park, the Afrocentric theatre troupe will present an original play in the summer of 2020. The play will be “created with the West Philadelphia community in mind,” according to a Facebook announcement.

Four public meetings will be held this winter and spring to devise an original theatre piece for Theatre in the X’s new community-based production. Here’s information on the first two meetings:  Continue Reading

Millcreek Tavern, located at 42nd and Chester, was sprayed with graffiti overnight on January 1, according to reports. A few windows were also broken. Owner Jack Gillespie told the Washington Examiner that the damage was estimated at approximately $20,000.  Continue Reading

A second public forum on gentrification is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 4, at the Kingsessing Library (1201 S. 51st St.).

The first forum held in late November brought together folks from a variety of backgrounds together to talk about everything from policy remedies to neighborliness (saying “hello” on the street, for example). This second meeting, billed as “Continuing the Conversation,” will feature the same facilitators: local parent and sociology professor Christina Jackson, Drick Boyd, a community educator and professor emeritus at Eastern University, and Gregory Benjamin, a Kingsessing native and candidate for the state legislature.

The meeting will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Here is the Facebook page for the event.