There’s a certain charm in being afforded the opportunity of walking a block or two to the local coffee shop for your morning coffee, bagel, or tasty pastry. In our urban environment, cafes represent a detached sphere. They remain the same and are moved neither by the rites of spring nor the hounds of winter.

In Fairmount, neighbors will be privy to this opportunity in the spring when the Fairmount Coffee Company opens at 26th and Poplar. We wrote about the potential of a shop opening at this corner location last summer. Members of the Fairmount Civic Association are interested in adding another quality neighborhood corner café to their streets, and supported the desired variance to make it happen. When the shop opens, hopefully on May 1st, Fairmount Coffee Company will stand as liaison between the community and the arts, all while serving La Colombe coffee,…

We’ve had reason to find ourselves on Fairmount Avenue a lot in recent months, and at some point we discovered the wonderful Rybread. We’ve tried several of their sandwich offerings, and we can honestly say that the only problem we can identify with the place is that there aren’t nearly enough places to sit.

Rybread

In an effort to address what we imagine is a fairly common bit of feedback, the folks who own Rybread are going ahead and opening a second location, according to Foobooz. The new establishment, tabbed to open in late April, will be located at 2816 W. Girard Ave., on a block we’ve profiled a couple of times in the past (and yes, the building across the street next to Mugshots is still blighted). The new location will have the…

A few months ago, we last updated you on the new OCF Cafe, located at 21st & Fairmount, across from the Eastern State Penitentiary. As we told you then, this new cafe will offer more of the same along with something new and different, compared to the two already existing OCF locations. It will, like its sister establishments, offer high-end coffee and tea drinks, along with tasty pastries. Unlike the other locations, however, the new establishment will have a full commercial kitchen, and will offer breakfast and brunch seven days a week.

Recent interior photo

Back in September, we predicted an October opening. Obviously, October has come and gone, along with November and most of December. So why the holdup? Most of the delay has had to do with entanglements with L&I and the Historical Commission, due…

A few months ago, Fairmount Avenue stalwart Mugshots moved out of its ultra-prime location at 21st & Fairmount, directly across the street from Eastern State Penitentiary. Their new home is just a couple of blocks to the east, at 1925 Fairmount Ave., in the still relatively new mixed-use building built by Loonstyn Properties. We can certainly understand the allure of the new construction space and we’re hearing that the relocated Mugshots is doing pretty well.

For the past few months, the space at 21st and Fairmount has sat vacant. Considering that over 250K people toured Eastern State Penitentiary in 2011, it’s kind of a surprise, no? In fact, ever since Mugshots left the space, speculation has run rampant as to who would take over the space.

The building

Taking over this space,…

In January, Michael Loonstyn of MJL Properties (the guy who did the condo conversion of the Calvary Church) went before the ZBA requesting a number of variances for 831-53 N 19th St., just south of the bustling corner of 19th & Poplar. The large development will include, as we read the zoning application, thirty-five residential units and a restaurant space with outdoor seating. We’re estimating roughly 2:3 parking, and it seems that all of the residential units above ground level will have decks of some sort.

We snapped some photos of the site a few months back, and then again just last week. Take a look:

In the past

Looking south

Last month, demolition began.

Most of the buildings are gone

Everything is probably down by

…

A couple of days ago, the Mugshots in Manayunk closed its doors after five years. But fear not, coffee lovers! Out of the ashes of the Manayunk location, a new Mugshots will rise at a new location at 1520 Cecil C. Moore Ave., right in the middle of Temple main campus. As you can see, they still have plenty of work to do in the space. As soon as they’re done, it’ll be great news for Temple students and faculty.

Still work to be done

The new Mugshots will occupy a corner retail space in the new Beech International Village building, which just opened for tenants just last week. It’s intended for International students and faculty, but is open to anyone who wishes to live there. The building is a dramatic improvement over what occupied…