Well, we're in Philadelphia now, and we're already exploring neighborhoods and getting ideas for good places to open the "House". (First we spent a few days back home in Vineland, NJ with the family and our baby nephews, David and Davion - more on that in other posts).

We must have put in 25 miles in the past two days walking around. Yesterday we explored that Gayborhood in Philly and had and absolutely amazing dinner and couple of beers at Moriarty's. We're seriously considering that neighborhood, as the people are friendly, the food is good already, and there's a built-in clientele given all the other businesses around. Price could be a problem, but hey - we're still just exploring.

Today we walked all through Breweytown and the Fairmount area. (Oy, my feet!) Right across from a funky coffee shop was a small vacant and available mixed-use building (storefront below, apartment above). Turns out a couple of older ladies bought it to run a salon downstairs, but got bored with it. It's on the corner of 26 and Brown.


We stopped by a Prudential and spoke with Andrew Kratz (thanks, Andrew!) to get a rough idea of what we might expect. We have a few printouts and some price points to look at. He ended up walking us around the corner to another mixed use on 24 and Olive.

It's very small, and would take some work to rehab and put a kitchen in, but it looks promising. And get this - there used to be a pet food store in the store front named The Dog House. Feels like the universe is telling us something here.

Finally we walked down Fairmount and the main area while Ruben collected menus from all the local restaurants. He's getting an idea of what local ingredients are most popular and reflect some of the preferred local tastes. Good thinking.

Later this week we'll check out the Food Trust's Headhouse Farmer's Market. "More than 30 foodie-favorite farmers and producers selling local fruits, vegetables, meats, and cheeses." We'll also explore the Italian Market area. We found out from a bartender last night that it's known for its high quality butchers, bakers, and general artisans.
-Brett