Circles Contemporary Asian Cuisine, a takeout restaurant at the corner of Hicks and Tasker Sts. in the Newbold section of Point Breeze, has been doing steady business for the past three years, doling out delicious food at reasonable prices.

Despite their no-frills interior, legend of Circles tasty offerings has spread to the point that their delivery area stretches from South Philly to Fishtown. With no seating however, their business has been limited to take-out and delivery. Delicious food? Business limitation? Easy solution. Enter Circles Lounge, the tw0 month old sit-down spot just across Hicks St. from the existing Circles.

Lucky neighbors and visitors can now enjoy Circles goodness outside of their dining room (or couch) in a surprisingly fancy space with seating for about thirty. Hardwood floors, granite countertops on the bar, pendant lighting, it almost feels like a real estate listing in there. And holy smokes, they’ve got cloth napkins too! In addition to the classy setting, Circles Lounge is doing coffee and espresso in the morning, along with standard brunch specials daily, like eggs and french toast. Interestingly, all of the food prep takes place in the kitchen across the street and is delivered to the Lounge. Perhaps not super efficient, but if the Health Department approves, who are we to question it?

As good as the food is at Circles, we wouldn’t be highlighting this place if it had opened, say, in Center City. This new space is noteworthy because it’s we can’t think of anything like it in Point Breeze. A really nice new sit-down restaurant in Point Breeze that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and is a BYO is a game changer for the neighborhood that simply doesn’t have enough retail that isn’t of the corner store variety. Amenities like this attract people to a neighborhood and make people who live there want to stay. With Circles investing money and energy into Point Breeze, we hope that other businesses will notice their efforts and will be more inclined to take a chance on the neighborhood. Point Breeze obviously has a long way to go, but places like this seem to give hope for a better tomorrow.

And delicious Pad Thai, to boot.