MNYK - Winter 2017

MANAYUNK LIVE|SHOP|DINE|PLAY

WINTER 2016

Deck The Halls

Get the holiday home decor you’ve been pining for at Pineapple on Main

Your Home Away From Home This Holiday A Local Guide To Shopping Small The Return of Chabaa Thai and Its Sidekick Binto

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Great wines • Craft beers on tap • Seasonal cocktails Artisan breads • Full catering menu • Market menu Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner - every day Award-winning Sunday Brunch • Gift Cards 4266 Main Street, Manayunk, PA 19127 | 215.487.2663 | WinniesManayunk.com

Catering

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Market

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4312 MAIN STREET MANAYUNK, PA 19127

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MANAYUNK magazine

LIVE SHOP DINE PLAY

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

contents 06

Mark Your Calendar

Celebrate the Holidays and ring in the New Year in Manayunk.

08

Sneak A Peek

Dressed to impress in their Halloween best.

26

Cover Profile

Kathy Piccari and Taryn Rager go back to their retail roots.

48

Now Open

The revitalization of The Nickels Building and the reopening of Jake’s & Cooper’s.

SHOP.

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Business Savvy

A bridal salon with Southern charm.

22

Gift Directory

Manayunk is more than a mall.

DINE.

32

Taste This

Sweet treats for everyone on your nice list.

36

Conversation With The Chef

Chef Moon’s Chabaa Thai Bistro is finally back.

LIVE.

PLAY.

10

Around Town

42

An inside look at Manayunk’s Bed & Breakfast on the hill.

14

Faith in the Neighborhood

A memorable year for St. John The Baptist Church.

Editorial + Production Editors Jane Lipton, Caitlin Maloney, Megan Douress, Joan Denenberg, Leo Dillinger, Rachel Jenkins Design Cantor Design, cantordesign.com Sales M7 Media • 610.417.9261; bauerjim7@gmail.com Photography JPG Photography - jpgphotography.com Stephanie Nolt - snfoto.com Alexa Nahas - alexanahas.com Melissa Kelly - melissakellyphotography.com Bruce Kravetz -kravetzcamera.com 4

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Local A&E

Building an entertainment empire from Main Street.

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What’s Happening

Green Lane is lighting up.

Manayunk Magazine

is published by the Manayunk Development Corp.

Manayunk Development Corporation 4312 Main Street Philadelphia, PA 19127 215.482.9565 | info@manayunk.org

COVER Photographed by Melissa Kelly Photography melissakellyphotography.com

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR

saturday

nov 26th SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY This special day began as a way to bring attention to our nation’s small business owners, just like the ones that make Manayunk such a thriving community. Stop by your favorite Manayunk shops to start your holiday shopping and support local entrepreneurs. Check out our shopping guide at manayunk.com to see participating businesses.

details available at

Manayunk. com

all season long HOLIDAYS IN MANAYUNK It’s the time of year to shop, dine, and be merry in Manayunk. Shop at our many small businesses and take advantage of promotions, events and extended shop hours throughout the holiday season or dine out at one of our Manayunk restaurants with family and friends or host your holiday party.

saturday

dec 3rd MANAYUNK PROMENADE OF TREES

saturday

dec 31st NEW YEAR’S EVE

Ring in the new year in Manayunk this December 31st. Manayunk bars and restaurants hold a variety of New Year’s Eve events perfect for all age groups.

Local businesses will decorate and display trees in front of their storefronts and visitors will get to vote on their favorites by theme: Past, Present and Future! The Promenade of Trees will launch on the 3rd and run throughout the holiday season.

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SNEAK-A-PEEK

Photos by JPG Photography (jpgphotography.com)

It was a windy and rainy day on October 22, but the kids and dogs of Manayunk weathered the storm during the annual Halloween in Manayunk celebration! Super heroes, witches, wizards and more came together to enjoy the farmers’ market, live music, BBQ and beer garden at Pretzel Park, a spooky corn maze on Venice Island, and face painting and trick-or-treating at many businesses along Main Street.

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The Bazemore Gallery | 4339 Main Street, Manayunk Contact us for a free art consultation • www.TheBazemoreGallery.com

100% Organic 4330 Main Street • Manayunk www.TheJuiceMerchant.com TOC.indd 5 SneakAPeek.indd 9

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LIVE: AROUND TOWN

Manayunk Chambers: Your Home Away From Home

By Leo Dillinger Photography By Stephanie Nolt Photography (snfoto.com)

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In a neighborhood that thrives on small-town charm, it’s no surprise that the highest-rated source of lodging in Manayunk can be found in an elegant, three-story Victorian bed & breakfast at 168 Gay Street.

Innkeeper and resident, Mark Jerde, along with his partner, Neal Orzeck, opened Manayunk Chambers Guest House in July 2015 to give visitors a memorable stay in their historic yet comforting home while offering the finest hospitality imaginable. The building itself has stood since 1877 when it served as the parsonage for Ebenezer Methodist Church. Upon its completion at that time, church archives referred to this property as the “jewel of the neighborhood.”

“The beauty that Neal and I love the most about this place is having been a parsonage, it was written in record there was a christening here on one day or a wedding here another day,” Mark said. “Having read the journals, we know there’s a lot of positive spirit that has been here throughout the ages. For us, having this as a bed & breakfast, we’re continuing that tradition of bringing joy to all who enter.”

Upon their arrival, guests are escorted into Mark and Neal’s quaint, cozy parlor. The room itself looks like something out of Downton Abbey with impressionist paintings covering the walls, shelves loaded with special-interest books, a chandelier, and a baby grand piano that plays

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classical scores to lighten the room. Mark offers visitors complimentary beverages like bottled spring water, coffee, tea, Philly-style soda, wine, and even beer from the Manayunk Brewery to make them feel at home.

“I greet my guests when they come to the door. I acquaint them with the parlor room and let them know this is their living room for the next few days,” Mark said. “That way they can feel comfortable and utilize all the amenities in this room.”

Currently, there are three potential bedrooms that visitors can rent out with a fourth one in the works, which will be completed in 2017. Each suite comes with a private bathroom, a comfy bed, armoires to store luggage, fresh flower arrangements, and in-room climate control via air conditioning or gas fireplace. But what makes each room unique is the decor that adds an aesthetic personality to the guest experience.

Though the rooms and amenities at Manayunk Chambers are exemplary, the best part of booking a reservation is Mark’s steadfast devotion to making guests happy. Mark has a mile-long résumé of 18 years experience in both the hotel and restaurant industry. He received his education from The Restaurant School and Omega Institute, specializing in everything from hotel law to front desk operations to housekeeping and security. Mark has worked as an apprentice at White Dog Cafe, a catering manager, a bakery manager, a wedding consultant, a teacher at Star Career Acad-

PASTORAL SUITE: AS AN HOMAGE TO THE BUILDING’S ORIGINAL INTENT, THIS ROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR OFFERS A SPACIOUS, RELAXING ENVIRONMENT FOR ANYONE TRAVELING ON BUSINESS OR SPENDING A WEEKEND GETAWAY IN MANAYUNK. THIS 250-SQUARE-FOOT ROOM HAS A KING SIZE, FOUR POST BED AND A PRIVATE BATHROOM ADJACENT TO THE SUITE WITH SPA-STYLE SHOWER, LUXURY BATH, AND A PRIVATE LOCK TO KEEP YOUR BELONGINGS SAFE.

emy, and a night manager at The Rittenhouse Hotel.

Being a certified chef, Mark always adheres to the “breakfast” side of “bed & breakfast.” He offers his guests a continental breakfast of homemade pastries or a fresh fruit parfait as well as juice, coffee, and tea. Or for a small upcharge, Mark will give you the royal treatment by cooking up a full, gourmet breakfast. All you have to do is let him know.

“Having been in the hospitality business for as long as I have, I do my best to try and think of everything that my guests may need before they know they need it,” Mark said. “That’s what hospitality is all about.”

Mark and Neal considered the idea of turning the front of their home into a bed & breakfast for nearly a decade prior to opening. After years of saving up and renovating each room little by little, their home started taking on the Guest House identity. Mark gives credit to his neighbor and YanaWinter 2016 | manayunk.com 11

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PARISIENNE ROOM: THE STEAMPUNK FEEL TO THIS ROOM MAKES ANY VISITOR FEEL LIKE THEY’VE TIME-TRAVELED TO 19TH CENTURY FRANCE. BEAUTIFUL FURNISHINGS, NOSTALGIC CHARM, AND AN “INVIGORATING FRENCH BIDET” MAKE THIS SUITE THE PERFECT STAY FOR ANY MODERN ECCENTRIC.

ko/Chabaa Thai mastermind, Moon Krapugthong, for giving him “the hardest kick in the butt” to officially open Manayunk Chambers. Moon had a friend from Thailand who was coming to visit in July 2015 and she kept asking Mark when he would be ready. Mark hesitantly agreed to book his first reservation and from there, everything started to snowball.

He added Manayunk Chambers to TripAdvisor with help from one of his guests and has received nothing but accolades ever since.

“Neal always tells me, ‘This place is you,’” Mark said. “I have never received under a 5-Star review on TripAdvisor and it’s going to crush me the day I do. I’ll do my best to keep it from happening but that’s what it is. It’s me who I’m selling in a sense because that’s who you get when you stay here. You get me, and I love what I do.”

There is a bright future ahead for Mark and Neal’s cozy Gay Street B&B. Not only do they have a consistent flow of reservations coming in, 12

SUITE-HEART ROOM: WITH A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF SINGLE, WORKING WOMEN WHO STAY AT MANAYUNK CHAMBERS, MARK INTRICATELY DESIGNED THIS ROOM AS AN ODE TO THE STRENGTH OF THE WOMAN. WITH BOLD, FEMININE DECOR, PAINTINGS THAT CELEBRATE WOMEN, AND A COZY QUEEN-SIZE BED, THIS THIRD-FLOOR SUITE IS SURE TO SERVE AS YOUR PERSONAL SANCTUARY.

they also have some new renovations in the works including a fourth bedroom, a sun porch, and a new breakfast room where Mark will be able to showcase his pastry skills to students. They even plan on hosting “Murder Mystery” escape weekends, culinary demonstration weekends, and dinner club evenings.

Mark wants anyone who considers booking a suite at Manayunk Chambers to know they will be taken care of in any capacity. If you’re looking for a luxurious stay in a quaint neighborhood at an accommodating bed & breakfast, look no further than Manayunk Chambers Guest House.

“I like to stress the amount of service that I offer. It’s wonderful service in a beautiful setting,” Mark said. “My tagline is ‘Rest Assured.’ I want people to feel confident when they stay here. I want them to feel comfortable and that their rest is assured. Most of all, I want them to leave with a wonderful, positive feeling.”

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LIVE: FAITH IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Keeping The Faith At St. John’s By: Leo Dillinger Photography by Bruce Kravetz Photography (kravetzcamera.com)

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n the Catholic community, the Christmas season symbolizes a time of reflection on the past year and looking onward to the next.

For Monsignor Kevin Lawrence and Father John Kelly, 2016 will go down as a significant moment in their parish’s 185-year history.

St. John the Baptist is the 10th oldest parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and continues to be a landmark in the Manayunk community, especially with its iconic bell tower being seen from virtually any point in the neighborhood. But this tower came close to being demolished due to a citation from Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections. Thankfully, the Friends of St. John the Baptist secured more than $1 million through their fundraising effort to undergo the necessary restoration of the bell tower. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, just in time to celebrate St. John’s 185th Anniversary Jubilee on April 24th, 2016.

In addition to these two milestones that will last for generations to come, Msgr. Lawrence and the pastoral council have an eye on their parish’s future by developing a plan that looks to meet the needs of the community at large.

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“One of the strengths of this area of the city is community,” Msgr.

Lawrence said. “I really think people who have long roots here are very proud of their neighborhood and that really lends itself so easily to what we want to be as a church too.”

Since they came to St. John’s in July 2014, Msgr. Lawrence and Fr. Kelly believe their parish has started to make some tremendous strides during this transition period. At that time, three Manayunk parishes were being closed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and forced to merge.

“I think our role within this community is to maintain a Catholic presence, particularly since the difficult and challenging closures of St. Lucy’s, St. Mary’s, and St. Josaphat’s,” Fr. Kelly said. “There’s no Catholic school in Manayunk either.

It’s the last bastion of Catholic presence here in Manayunk.”

“When Father Kelly and I both came here in 2014, the parish had been through some tumultuous times,” Msgr. Lawrence continued. “Several years ago, the parochial schools in the area were closed and for many parishes, they really brought a lot of vitality to them. With the loss of schools and the loss of an ongoing young presence through children and school activities, the parish really was in a time of transition.”

Recently, the church has hosted a number of assemblies and gatherings to elicit the thoughts, ideas, and visions of parishioners with an eye on the community at large. Msgr. Lawrence likes to use the church building itself as an analogy for the community. It’s beautiful and deeply rooted in history, but in need of some attention. Just as the bell tower was restored, he hopes the Catholic community in Manayunk is restored as well. While some of Msgr. Lawrence’s goals are a little more long-term (like the eventual reopening of a parochial school in Manayunk), some are more immediate like the development of how the parish worships, the expansion of youth programs, and reenergizing the millennials in the neighborhood to get involved in the church community.

“The key for us in coming together and sharing ideas is that we’re talking about a Christian community,” Msgr. Lawrence said. “When we gather and share and talk, it’s God’s spirit guiding us, inspiring us, and giving us ideas. So when we pull together a pastoral plan, it’s about us, but more importantly it’s about God’s hope, desire, and vision for us as

a parish community.”

Both priests have known each other since entering the seminary, and both were ordained on May 16th, 1987. Prior to St. John’s, Msgr. Lawrence served at St. Malachy’s at 11th and Master Streets and was the Director of St. John’s Hospice for nearly a decade. Meanwhile, Fr. Kelly served at St. Madeline’s in Ridley Park, St. Bridget’s in East Falls, and was the Spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia while on sabbatical in Rome during the time Pope Francis was selected. Both Msgr. Lawrence and Fr. Kelly agreed that St. John the Baptist is different from their other priestly assignments. Serving a parish of roughly 1,200 families (or 4,000 congregants) in such a unique neighborhood, it didn’t take the usual fullyear cycle for them to get acclimated to their environment.

“I think the church at large is really going through a transition, and I think the Manayunk/Roxborough/ Wissahickon area really reflects that as well,” Msgr. Lawrence said. “I feel very optimistic about what is happening here in the parish.”

For Fr. Kelly, his first holiday season in Manayunk is one he’ll never forget. With the disappearance and death of Shane Montgomery occurring just a few months into his new role, Kelly was amazed to see how quickly the community rallied around the Montgomery family.

“That became such a telling experience for me, and I think for all of us, to see the strength of this community at such a precarious time,” Fr. Kelly said. “Hundreds of people volunteering and the providence of God with food and brochures and legwork and searchers, that went on for 37 or so days… It’s changed me and continues to because they continue to remain immeasurably faithful.”

Looking ahead to the new year, the clergy at St. John the Baptist hopes this holiday season inspires the members of the community to reflect, to care for one another, and continue to make this a vibrant neighborhood that thrives on the kindness of one another.

“Manayunk is a place where people can really create a home,” Msgr.

Lawrence said. “And my hope is that what we do as a church will encourage people to make their home here. We hope they stay and raise their families and contribute to what makes it such a community-oriented place.”

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SHOP: BUSINESS SAVVY

Ashe B. & Co. Offers A Southern Inspired Bridal Experience For The Soul Who Lives Freely Owner Brittany Ashe creates a home away from home for free spirited brides looking for unique wedding gowns.

By Caitlin Maloney Photography By Alexa Nahas (alexanahasphotography.com)

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As a young girl growing up in southern Blacksburg, Virginia, Brittany Ashe, owner of Ashe B. & Co. bridal salon, never dreamt of her own wedding or even the dress she would someday wear. But life has a way of surprising us and Brittany’s adventure to opening a bridal salon in Manayunk is certainly one she never anticipated.

For Brittany, it all stems back to fashion in general. In high school, Brittany was in her school’s fashion merchandising program, a rare opportunity for a high school student. Part of the program included going to New York City every year and learning the ins and outs of the industry and retail market. The last phase of the program included entrepreneur classes—that’s when Brittany says it clicked. “I knew I wanted to have my own store one day,” Brittany said.

After high school, Brittany went on to study business management in college and was looking for a part-time job in college as most students do. Her search led her to Chantilly Lace, a bridal store in her hometown.

She never had a strong interest in bridal before starting at the salon, but the draw for her was working in a specific market versus the mall environment she was tired of.

As Brittany was getting ready to graduate, the current store manager left and the position seemed to fall right into Brittany’s lap. As the store manager, Brittany was given a lot of trust by the owner, and over her four years there, she said she gained not just experience and knowledge, but also confidence.

When Brittany’s mother was offered a position in Michigan, Brittany jumped at the opportunity to join her on the move. While out there, she worked at an upscale women’s boutique and bike shop—biking is a past time of Brittany’s. It’s clear that Brittany is an adventurer at heart and after her time in Michigan, she was looking for another change. She applied to jobs all over the East Coast, but two of her hometown friends

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living in Philadelphia convinced her to visit Manayunk.

“We came down to Main Street and went into the coffee shops and restaurants and I just thought it was the cutest thing,” Brittany said. “It reminded me of home because it has its own downtown and now it feels that way for me. That was a huge comfort coming from never living in a city.”

After making the move to Manayunk, Brittany applied for several store management positions, but bridal called her home again and she took a manager role at L&H Bridal in Northeast Philadelphia. “It was the right move for me to go back to bridal. I like to connect with people and to hear brides’ stories and live vicariously through them,” she said. “I know it might seem hard to believe, but I’m the anti-bride—I never dreamt of my own wedding, but I love hearing everyone else’s stories.”

Back at L&H Bridal, Brittany loved working with her clients, but struggled with the traditional style she saw brides choosing over and over again. “It was definitely not my style. They had beautiful gowns, but they were very classic and traditionally Philly,” Brittany said. “I was always drawn to more unique gown designs and after doing some market research, I realized there was a need for something different in the Philly area.”

After a lot of Pinteresting and Instagram stalking, Brittany found unique bridal gown designers she had never heard of, most of which were designed and produced in smaller studios and factories in the United States.

She also researched other bridal stores around the country and found most of the stores offering these unique gowns were based in California or the Midwest. That’s when Brittany knew that once she was ready to open a store of her own, these were the designers she wanted to carry.

“I just knew it had to be different. I was the girl in high school who wore a peacock feather in my hair,” Brittany laughed. “It had to stand apart and break the mold not only with the dresses I carried, but with the design of the store and the shopping experience, too.”

When she finally found the perfect storefront, Brittany immediately had a vision for the shop. She knew she wanted to stray away from the traditional bridal salon design and instead create a bohemian and southern inspired bridal experience—starting with teal paint on the walls was the first step.

“People definitely tried to warn me and I didn’t listen to them,” Brittany

joked. “Now, that’s honestly what we get the most compliments on, the teal and blue paint on the walls.”

The next step was designing the racks. Instead of traditional metal ones, Brittany looked to her hometown friends Dave Chiarello and Marilyn Walfred-Simmerson to make custom racks out of reclaimed barn wood pulled from an old barn on Virginia Tech’s campus and a friend’s family farm.

“I have a piece of home here with me at the shop now,” Brittany said.

“I always thought I would go back south to open my store and since I didn’t, it always makes me feel like I have a little piece of home here.”

Another way Brittany made the space feel like home was by bringing in antiques and vintage collectables that she found from some of her favorite shops in Philly, including Jinxed.

“I grew up having antiques in my house and I knew I wanted a vintage and antique feel to the furniture,” she said.

Live plants were also a must, and there’s certainly not a lack of them in the shop.

“I always thought I had a black thumb, but I just wasn’t buying the right plants,” Brittany said. “We always had palm plants and greenery in the house growing up and I just love that it brings oxygen and life into the space. It feels homey and everyone always compliments us on how the space feels lived in.”

While the remodeling of the storefront was underway, Brittany was working behind the scenes on bringing in dresses that fit her bohemian and southern aesthetic. She went back to the list of designers she created that fit her style.

“From the list I compiled of designers I liked, you have to remember that a lot of those designers might not want you to carry them but also they may already have area exclusivity with another salon,” Brittany explained.

For those that don’t understand the politics of bridal salons, if a store carries a designer, that same designer cannot be carried at any other store within a certain mile radius in order to not oversaturate a specific geographical area. With several bridal stores already in Philadelphia, Brittany’s options were even more limited.

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made on smaller scales and made to order for each bride. The four final chosen designers included Nashville based Olia Zavozina, who offers brides unlimited customizations with all of her gowns; Kelly Faetanini, who Brittany says is her most traditionally modern designer; Rebecca Schoneveld, a designer based in Brooklyn who offers mix and match pieces including lace toppers and kimono jackets; all the way down to Truvelle, who is Ashe B. & Co.’s biggest seller because of their unique designs and more affordable price point.

“After working in bridal for the past seven years, one thing I noticed is that prices haven’t really changed much—they average around $2000$3,000,” Brittany said. “Most brides want a dress under $2,000, but then when you’re looking at the quality and customization options you realize that it won’t happen at that price point. A fair, reasonable and attainable price point for most brides, I felt, was $2,000-$3,000, so that’s my target. We have some under that price, starting around $1,600 and we have dresses going all the way up to $5,000.”

For Brittany, high quality fabrics and textures are her priority when bringing in dresses. Generally, she has more flowy and comfortable dresses made from softer and more luxurious fabrics, and brides take notice.

“Some brides are willing to go that extra mile, but most brides notice the difference in our dresses versus larger name brand stores and they’re willing to pay extra for, say, a silk chiffon dress that we carry versus a poly cotton,” she said.

Though the four designers she carries may not seem like a lot, Brittany offers multiple dresses from each of their collections, and each dress she carries is thoughtfully selected. They serve only as a sample, but Brittany still must purchase every dress she brings in. Essentially, it’s dead inventory, Brittany explained, and can only be sold at sample price after it’s been seasoned and in the store for over a year.

“We started small because we kind of have to,” Brittany explained.

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it’s a lot to consider as far as your rent, insurance, not to mention the inventory. When selecting inventory, it’s very thought out—I won’t bring in a dress that doesn’t fit our vibe or our customer,” Brittany said.

Because of the high cost of bringing in more gowns, Brittany must bring in dresses at a slow pace and may only add one new designer to the shop each year. In order to offer her brides even more dress choices, Brittany holds trunk shows where a designer is showcased in the shop for a long weekend. For the weekend, Ashe B. & Co. gets to borrow dresses in the designer’s newest collection along with some of their best sellers, generally 20-30 additional dresses, giving brides an even larger dress selection to shop from. Generally, designers offer a 10 percent discount to brides purchasing dresses at their trunk shows, and sometimes the designers themselves are at the shop so you have the chance to meet the designer yourself.

“You usually get hookups or a more personalized experience,” Brittany said. “You might get a free customization or a free veil thrown in, so trunk shows are big for us and for our brides and we want them to know and experience that.”

Twice a year—every April and every October—bridal salon owners and gown designers descend on New York City for Bridal Market, including Brittany. During the weekend, designers showcase their newest collections and vendors sell accessories like head pieces, jewelry, belts and anything you would ever need to open a bridal store, Brittany said.

Now that she’s been open for more than a year, the most exciting part for Brittany is seeing her designers’ new collections, meeting new designers she has already been in touch with, and mingling with other store owners who she has met in the past. As a store owner, Brittany also gets some exclusive opportunities, like private fashion shows inside hotel suites by designers she carries.

For Brittany, these experiences are surreal, but owning a small business still comes with its struggles. “It’s still sinking in that I own this

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shop,” Brittany said. “Some days, I really feel like I own it—I feel like a badass—I’m going to photoshoots, have all these amazing connections, and my book is full, and then the next week I may not have many appointments and I start to second guess myself.”

Brittany is honest in saying that being a small business owner and working for herself is not always easy.

“It’s tough, it’s not easy, and I’m still going through a learning curve and still will be for a few years,” she said. “It’s going to take more than just a year or two to get in a more comfortable spot and to bring in more dresses, but I couldn’t be happier about where I am in my life now.”

Having the shop in Manayunk couldn’t be a better location, Brittany said. Besides getting local brides walking down the street, she also gets a lot of out of town and out of state brides—from Harrisburg to Scranton and even from Ohio to Massachusetts.

“While they are here, they always ask us where to go and notice how cute the downtown area is,” Brittany said. “They always go for lunch before or after my appointment and they usually go shopping here too.”

For those readers who are engaged themselves and looking for a gown, a bridal appointment at Ashe B. & Co. is like no other. Although Brittany does take walk-ins if she has an opening, she always recommends making an appointment in advance. She welcomes you to bring anywhere from four to six guests, and provides local treats from Sweet Elizabeth’s and refreshments while you shop.

“I like to let my brides do their own thing,” Brittany said. “They can touch the dresses, look at the tags and then if they want me to help them pick a dress I talk to them about their style and pull the dresses I think would be best for them. A lot of times they just want to look through the racks on their own and pick which ones they like, so I try to give them their space to do their own thing before regrouping in the fitting room and helping them try the gowns on.”

Most brides try on multiple dresses but for some, it’s love at first sight.

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“One of my favorite stories is about a bride who was going to brunch in Manayunk with her mom and best friend and she saw a dress in the window and just loved it,” Brittany said. “She walked in to get information and wasn’t planning on trying on, but we all encouraged her and the second she put it on she started crying. She loved it and had that total bridal moment you see on TV. Sometimes, you just know!”

If you make an appointment at Ashe B. & Co. you’ll be greeted not only by Brittany, but often her mother, Beth, and the shop dog, Coco.

When Brittany’s dream of opening her own store became a reality, her mother left her job in Virginia in the medical field and moved up to Philadelphia to help Brittany get the stop started.

“My mom has helped me not only financially but also physically and mentally to prepare and open the business. She has been my rock, support system, and even punching bag—pretty much everything and she knows it,” Brittany said. “She’s moving back to Virginia and is going to become more of a silent partner, but we’re going to miss her.”

Brittany’s seven-year-old rescue dog, Coco, will remain at the shop and continue to keep watch over the gowns.

“She loves laying on the dresses, hiding her treats in the racks, and sitting in the window,” Brittany laughed. “She likes to bark at other dogs walking by and greeting all the customers. I think having her in the shop makes it feel like a more real and relaxed experience for our brides, too.”

As you might be able to tell by now, it’s all about home for Brittany— creating a welcoming environment for her brides and feeling at home in Manayunk herself.

“When I first moved here I honestly thought I would leave Manayunk in a few years—I moved here when I was 27 and had a goal of opening my own store when I was 30, but I always imagined planting my roots somewhere back in the south,” she said. “Now, I couldn’t imagine living and having my shop anywhere else than Manayunk.”

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Above: Culver Florentine Highball Glasses with applied 22K gold.

Below : 1950 “Kitch” Poker glasses set of 6, one not pictured.

Above: Complete set of European Mod Glassware w / carrier.

Below : Culver Red Paisley Highball with applied 22k Gold .

At The Nickels Building.

4323 Main Street, Manayunk

The Bee’s Knees is proud to offered for sale the largest selection of Mid-Century Modern Glassware on the East Coast. We currently have with more than 75 sets on display.

From 1948 thru 1970 some of the most important and influential design esthetics of the era were expressed in many styles of glassware.

Companies competed to produce lines that captured the exuberance and optimism that swept the country in the post World War II era.

The atomic age was here to stay and Americans readily embraced all things modern.

Stop in, take a peak, we hope you’ll love them.

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SHOP: SHOPPING DIRECTORY

More Than A Mall: A Local Guide To Shopping Small

With more than 50 different small businesses in Manayunk, there’s a spot to buy something for everyone on your list. Shop on Main Street on Small Business Saturday and all season long to support these local entrepreneurs while reinvesting in your community. By Rachel Jenkins Apparel & Accessories Armen’s, 104 Levering St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-2515 From jeans to suits and everything in between, Armen’s provides the perfect, tailored fit.

Ashe B & Co., 4327 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-335-5440 This Southern-inspired bridal shop does bridal fittings in a low-stress, laid-back atmosphere.

The Attic, 4335 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-791-8537 This consignment-thrift shop specializes in retro clothing that’s just like new.

Bendi Jewelers, 4339 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-508-5220 From a romantic necklace to wedding rings, Bendi Jewelers creates high-quality jewelry designs for whatever the heart desires this holiday season.

Bleu Denim, 4329 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-297-6294 Bleu Denim brings casual apparel back to its roots by crafting them entirely in the USA. For the casual shopper seeking a mission and style as American as blue jeans.

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The Eyeglass Works, 4407 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-487-2711 Who said glasses were only functional? Visit Eyeglass Works for unique, colorful, and funky frames guaranteed to turn heads.

Gary Mann Jewelers, 4349 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-7051 Visit this premiere boutique for custom and designer jewelry in an intimate shopping environment.

Greene Street Consignment, 4313 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-335-5478 Fueled by a mission of sustainability, Greene Street offers affordable prices and a clean, modern aesthetic for resale clothes and accessories.

LILA Fashion International, 4386 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-331-5993 The cosmopolitan fashionista will love this one-stop shop for artistic clothing inspired by trends from around the globe.

Martin Pulli, 4337 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-508-4610 Martin Pulli takes pride in fine-crafted jewelry and watches with an antique sensibility and top-notch quality.

Millay, 4390 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 678-641-3095 Old souls will love this local vendor of truly authentic vintage clothing. Shop clothes and accessories for the high-fashion nostalgic.

Nicole Miller Manayunk, 4249 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-930-0307 For every special occasion, Nicole Miller Manayunk provides the quality designs you know in the neighborhood you love.

Paula Hian, 106 Gay St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-487-2762 Visit Paula Hian designs if you’re shopping for the independent woman who doesn’t shy away from breaking the mold.

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Remix, 4355 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 215-487-6590 • Shopping for a bold & creative dresser? Stop by Remix for unique vintage, used, and consignment clothing and accessories.

Threads On Main, 4353 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-2917 Shop for the chic lady at Threads on Main, and add the perfect statement piece to their collection.

Vamp Boutique, 4231 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-487-2340 It’s a clothing shop that lives up to its name, featuring edgy and playful apparel for the daring trendsetter.

Worn Yesterday, 4228 Main St, Manayunk, PA 19127 • 215-482-3316 This cool and casual boutique specializes in second

hand maternity wear and high-end children’s clothing from infants to preteens.

Galleries & Specialty The Bazemore Gallery 4339 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-1119 For the connoisseur of contemporary art in your life, this is your go-to spot to pick up the perfect gift to add to their collection.

Consignment Marketplace 4001 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-298-9534 Looking for houseware of every style for any room in the house? Look no further than Consignment Marketplace’s elegant showroom!

Fleur Flowers 4254 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-4609 Nothing livens up a room during the holidays like a fine floral arrangement from the heart of Manayunk.

Johnny Destructo’s Hero Complex 4456 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-7700 For the comic book lover in your family, this place has it all from graphic novels and action figures to t-shirts and original art from JD himself!

Hidden River Yarns 4358 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-920-2603 Shopping for someone who knits, quilts, or crochets? Give Lisa a visit at Hidden River Yarns for all your handcrafted needs.

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SHOP: SHOPPING DIRECTORY

Latitudes and Longitudes 4325 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-0417 This Main Street gift shop has something for everyone including jewelry, candles, cards, baby accessories, toys, mixology gear, and more.

Soft Illusions Fine Art Gallery 4226 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-840-0832 Diane E. Vaughn’s gallery showcases her finest works of abstract expressionism that will brighten up any room in the house.

The Little Apple 4361 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-335-4968 Brandy’s boutique features all sorts of gift ideas like home decor, local art, jewelry, unique baby gifts and special greeting cards for every occasion.

Spectrum Scientific 4403 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-667-8309 From telescopes to microscopes, this nifty shop offers all sorts of science-related toys that entertain and inform kids of all ages.

Main Street Music 4444 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-487-7732 Manayunk’s signature record store offers a wide variety of both new and used vinyl, CDs, and DVDs that will cater to anyone’s musical taste.

The Spiral Bookcase 112 Cotton St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-0704 This local book shop has a vast selection of new and used novels that will please any bibliophile.

The Nickels Building 4323 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • This historic Manayunk building offers unique space to market your business, create, and collaborate in the new year.

Orbit Gallery 4312 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-508-6728 Explore all the hidden treasures that Orbit has to offer. This gallery has the perfect art pieces and crafts to give as gifts for the holiday season.

Smoke Cigar Lounge 4453 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-362-9865 With 500 different Cigars from 40 brands and 80 different flavors of Hookah, this is your one-stop shop for the tobacco enthusiast in your life.

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Triumph Motorcycles 3901 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-8020 Spoil the daredevil in your life with Triumph’s new and used motor bikes.

Health & Beauty 5th Avenue Hair Studio, 106 Levering St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-2226 Bringing the finest techniques in hair styling from New York City to Manayunk while maintaining affordable prices.

Art + Science Salon & Spa, 4259 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-482-2242 The team of individuals combine talent, skills and knowledge to always exceed your expectations while using naturally derived products and working in a green environment.

Beans Beauty, 4405 Main Street Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-487-3333 Beans Beauty Store offers state-of-the-art beauty products, through quality product and services.

Christie’s Nails, 4436 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-508-1224 Christie’s is the Manayunk nail salon for all your manicure, pedicure, tanning and waxing needs.

Euphoria Nail Bar, 4430 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-483-4341 Strives to present customers with the most relaxing, stress-free environment possible while catering to every need.

Fedora Salon & Spa, 4167 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-335-2876 Commitment to excellence, innovation, and customer satisfaction will leave you feeling like a new, more confident, and more beautiful person.

Make Your Mark Barbershop, 4257 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-335-5400 Get a fresh cut from Make Your Mark Barbershop or pick up a gift card for the man in your life.

Salon L, 4120 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-483-2500 Whether you’re looking for a complete change or a simple clean-up, Salon L stylists will tailor their skills to fit your style — all while offering a diverse range of cuts and colors.

Salon Mane, 4151 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-331-5593 This cozy salon gives you one-on-one attention along with a relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere.

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Sports & Fitness

Starshine Salon, 111 Grape St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-483-8180 Hair cuts and styling, facial waxing, make-up, hair treatments and formal up-dos

Cadence Cycling, 5000 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128 • 215-508-4300 Cadence Cycling is Manayunk/Roxborough’s cycling and sports authority.

Style of Man, 4448 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-487-2820 Enjoy this salon’s unique blend of barbershop technique and salon style.

Goals Fit, 4450 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19128 • 610-457-5424 What began as a personal training studio on a small side street in Roxborough is now becoming known as the neighborhood’s premier outdoor fitness company.

Sulimay’s Studio on Main, 4233 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-437-3616 Catering to women and men, Sulimay’s Hair Design is both a hair salon and a barbershop

Human Zoom, 4159 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-487-7433 Human Zoom offers a wide range of bicycles as well as snowboards, surfboards, gear, repairs & rentals.

Home Decor & Furnishings Dwelling, 4050 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-487-7400 Our extensive collection of furniture, artwork, and accessories is skillfully arranged throughout our ever-changing showroom to provide vision, ideas, and inspiration to our visitors Furniture Lifestyle, 4334 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-483-5151 Furniture Lifestyle is committed to helping you achieve your dream of home and express your unique style Nadeau Furniture, 4131 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-483-5095 Soulful furniture that is unique and handmade, never mass­produced

Never Give Up Training, 115 Levering St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-297-6600 One-stop-shop cross training fitness studio with every service and tool one could need to live a healthy lifestyle and reach individualized goals.

Pineapple On Main, 4347 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-437-4014 Interior design, gift shop and shared studio space Pompanoosuc Mills, 4120 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 215-508-3263 Pompanoosuc Mills handcrafts hardwood furnishings for home and office that are beautiful, functional and durable enough for everyday use. Real American furniture handcrafted in Vermont

Philadelphia Runner, 4358 Main St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-336-7409 More than just another running store – they are a hub for the fitness community in the greatest running city in the country.

The Wall Cycling Studio, 107 Cotton St, Philadelphia, PA 19127 • 267-336-7928 We are dedicated to providing intense, calorie-killing workouts in an environment that is vigorous, fun and not only keeps you fit physically, but mentally as well.

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COVER STORY

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Home For The Holidays

Pineapple on Main has the home decor you’ve been pining for.

I

By Megan Douress & Caitlin Maloney Photography By Melissa Kelly (melissakellyphotography.com)

t was back in 2011, when Kathy Piccari and Taryn Rager first met while working for a large national retailer. Kathy was a store manager and Taryn was one of her sales managers.

The two had an instant bond and started taking advantage of the freedom and flexibility they were given by corporate headquarters to make their regional store their own—they often revamped the store layout and window displays and quickly grew fond of merchandising.

“Visual merchandising was really something we were interested in— layouts, colors, putting things together—it was kind of a highlight for us and something we took to quickly,” Kathy remembered.

“And we always had these great out-of-the-box ideas when designing floor plans, and they would work!” Taryn added.

As the women’s professional relationship grew, it quickly turned into a personal friendship as well. But when the large national retailer expanded, and they no longer had the creative freedom to put their own designs into place, Kathy and Taryn each made the hard decision to part ways with the company. Kathy took some time off to figure out where her career would take her next, while Taryn took a job as a manager in charge of visual. As two women who worked well together and shared some of the same interests, they stayed in touch and always hoped to work together again someday. They recounted the dream they used to speak about when designing those store layouts and window

displays—a dream of one day having an interior design business of their own—and what they realized, was that that dream could now be a reality.

Together, Kathy and Taryn, launched Harris & Tweed Interiors, named after their love of the popular textile Harris Tweed. At first, Harris & Tweed Interiors was solely run out of Kathy’s home. But, their newly established design business was quickly gaining popularity and they knew they eventually needed a place of their own.

“We were looking for more of an office space because we were growing so quickly,” Kathy said. “We looked for space everywhere—Conshohocken, Flourtown, Hatboro, Horsham, Plymouth Meeting, and couldn’t really find anything we liked.”

Then, a mutual friend introduced them to Gary and Norma Mann, who had recently renovated a historic storefront located at 4347 Main Street, which was previously home to A.I. Poland Jewelers since the 1890’s. The space still boasts many of the historic elements of the time, including the wood encased front window and original tin ceiling, which eventually became the inspiration for their logo.

“There was something about the energy of the space,” Kathy said. “We knew it was the right fit the minute we walked in and we signed the lease nine days later in April of 2015.”

With the lease signed, Kathy and Taryn began talking about their growWinter 2016 | manayunk.com 27

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ing business, and eventually came to the conclusion that Taryn would have to leave her full-time retail position to get the business where they wanted it to be. That May, Taryn left her job and the two were fully dedicated to creating a name for Harris & Tweed Interiors.

Moving into the new office space was a big risk for the new business owners. Not being as familiar with Manayunk as other areas of the city, they weren’t initially sure if the neighborhood was in the market for a business like theirs, but after touring Main Street with Norma and seeing the other businesses on the street, they knew it was the right fit.

“Everyone was so welcoming,” Taryn said. “I think everybody understands that there needs to be this dynamic between the small business owners because if not, then what are we here for? Why are we in a small business? Why are we trying to help this community grow? I think that was the biggest piece.”

“And, now that Manayunk is revived, we see a lot of amazing, positive, influential things happening to the community,” Kathy added. “We thought this was a really great time to be here.”

When it came time to think of a name for the studio, they wanted to incorporate a symbol of hospitality into their business name. Pineapple is a symbol of warmth, friendship, and hospitality, and thus, Pineapple on Main was born. Although Kathy and Taryn had a new storefront to call their own, they didn’t have a solid plan for what they wanted to do with the space. Initially it was used as a studio to meet with interior design clients and also as a place to stage inspirational design concepts.

“It was funny,” Taryn laughed in retrospect. “People would come in and ask, ‘What do you do here?’ It was always a desk and then a vignette set up, or a long table in the center. People would ask if items were for sale and they never really got it.”

“This studio had so much potential and we knew it,” Kathy added.

“We came in thinking we were only going to do design and styling and 28

the studio would set itself up on its own, but that didn’t happen. It was very difficult.”

As time went on, they found that attracting local design clients was easy, but sourcing local décor for projects was more of a challenge— they often had to travel long distances to source them. Customers also continued to ask if design pieces in their studio were for sale, and that’s when Kathy and Taryn knew there was a desire for a home decor store in Manayunk. It seemed natural for them to go back to their roots—retail.

And in the Fall of 2015, they stumbled upon the home decor brand, Zestt. Kathy and Taryn immediately fell in love with the brand’s style and aesthetic and knew Zestt products were the first line they wanted to bring into the studio.

“We talked about just having a section of the studio that would be a retail space, but when we stumbled upon Zestt’s bedding, we started looking at all of Zestt’s products,” Taryn said. “We were kind of in love with all of them! So, we just ran with that. That became our full vision for the store.”

What Kathy and Taryn didn’t know was that ironically, the textile company out of Chambersburg, PA had done a pop-up shop in the very same storefront just two years prior. Coincidentally, this past summer, Pineapple on Main got a facelift—the outside of the storefront was refreshed with light grey paint and an added pop of color to the front door, which is now a welcoming shade of yellow. It wasn’t until Kathy and Taryn went down to Atlanta and met up with owners of Zestt, Benita Goldblatt and Jess Diehl, that they realized the underlying significance of their color choice. When they told the owners about their new paint job and their yellow door, Benita and Jess told them that their original blog was called “Behind the Yellow Door.” “It gave me chills, we couldn’t believe it,” Kathy said.

It almost seems like fate, that they stumbled upon the Zestt brand and began their own retail venture together. Although Zestt provided beauti-

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ful foundation pieces to the store, Kathy and Taryn continued to search for additional products they wanted to bring in. They sunk every dollar they had into bringing inventory into the space, but since they didn’t initially plan to be a retail store, they had to grow their inventory slowly, being selective about the items they brought in.

“We didn’t walk into an already existing franchise, we had to build it from the ground up,” Kathy said.

Though they didn’t have a lot of money, what they did have was determination, creativity and design skill. Since most of their investment went toward new inventory, the other elements of the business—store fixtures and branding had to be done at minimal cost. Several trips to Ikea later along with homemade tags and hand-stamped bags, and their brand started to come together.

“It was like retail on a dime—I hate to use that cliché, but that’s exactly what it was,” Kathy said.

When it came to making their inventory available online, instead of paying thousands for a web design company, Taryn took it upon herself to create the website so their customers can now shop online and on Main. And another way Kathy and Taryn go creative with their inventory, was by bringing in local artists on a consignment basis.

“Not only do we have the chance to help other small businesses get their start or even reach a larger demographic, but doing consignment afforded us the opportunity to bring in more products,” Kathy said.

The last big push for Pineapple on Main, was a Kiva Zip loan they recently received. Through the program, community members, family, friends, and even strangers around the world contributed to the microloan to help Pineapple on Main expand their business. In just a few short days, and through lots of social media promotion, Kathy and Taryn reached their goal of crowdfunding $5,000 which went directly toward expanding the inventory in the store.

It’s now been a full year since Pineapple on Main opened their doors as an established retail merchant on Main Street. What started as a studio with a few Zestt products has now become home to a full inventory of products from designers and companies across the United States. From candles to dishware and kitchen accessories to baby room decor, as they say, Pineapple on Main has the home decor you’ve been pining for.

Though most of their time is dedicated to their retail business, which is now in full swing, Kathy and Taryn still offer interior design consulting through their design business, Harris & Tweed Interiors. And now, instead of sourcing home decor items from other providers, they can decorate their clients’ homes with items right from their own shop.

When looking for products to bring in, Kathy and Taryn look for natural, clean, and classic items that have a mid-century modern aesthetic— items that can be used in any home. Taryn joked that they can simply look at each other and know if a product is the right fit to bring into Pineapple on Main.

“A lot of our pieces are very versatile. Between holidays or within our staple pieces, you can take one thing and use it three different ways,” Taryn said. “We want you to be able to move things around within your home if you get bored with a room.”

And speaking of holidays, Pineapple on Main has everything to not only get your home ready for the holidays, but also cross some items off your gift buying list. From festive holiday mixing bowls to barware and coasters, or cozy blankets and pillows for cold winter nights in with the family, Pineapple on Main has it all.

So, what professional advice do two interior designers have when it comes to decorating your home for the holidays?

“Use what you have!” Taryn said. “You don’t have to reinvent the entire room. There are little elements that you can add to become holiday ready.”

Kathy added, “You can use greens and berries to add a holiday touch Winter 2016 | manayunk.com 29

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anywhere. You can have every day dishware and just add to it—switch it out with a holiday napkin or linen.”

Sitting with them and feeling their energy, you can tell that Kathy and Taryn are not only good at what they do, but it’s clear that they have fun doing it. They’ve been bouncing design ideas off of each other for years now, so people who hear they’re now business partners certainly aren’t surprised.

“I think a lot of people think we don’t actually work because we’re always laughing together!” Taryn joked. “It’s our personalities—we’re out there enjoying our business and enjoying our life.”

“Having a partner-in-crime during this whole venture has been the best thing,” Kathy added. “There are ups and downs, but we work through them and create an even stronger bond and business.”

They find themselves lucky to not only have each other, but support from other business owners and longtime Main Street shoppers who fondly reminisce about the storefronts history. Now, Kathy and Taryn feel like they’re making a history of their own as a home decor and gift destination and hope to be here as long as Poland’s was, serving Manayunk families for years to come.

These days, when Kathy and Taryn walk into the store, they can’t believe it’s all theirs—in a good way that makes them both proud and terrified, Kathy joked.

“This is a dream job for us!” she said. “We wanted to do this for so long and had no idea how to make it happen. By the grace of God, we’re here, we’re doing it, and it’s beautiful.”

M E L I S S A K E L LY P H OTO G R A P H Y

for all your moments, large and small

M EL ISSA K EL LYP HOTOG R A P H Y.CO M | 21 5 - 63 0 - 4 3 87 | m eliss a @ m eliss a kelly p h o tog ra p hy.com 30

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HomeSi

HOME It is the most powerful 4-letter word anyone can utter.

Home is the dream, the safe place to land, where you build your future.

Give yourself the gift of a new home in 2017!

Find your dream home at www.thecooleygroup.net.

For more information please contact: Michele cooley • Tyler Bradley Mobile 267.688.0488 • Office 215.247.3750 info@thecooleygroup.net Philadelphia’s New Construction Specialists

Find us on Facebook

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DINE: TASTE THIS

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice After giving birth to her second son, Sweet Elizabeth’s owner, Liz Paradiso, is back to baking—just in time for the holidays.

By Megan Douress Photography By JPG Photography (jpgphotography.com)

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Y

ou’re all bundled up as you head out to Main Street. The sound of music brings a smile to your face. The street is lit up as shoppers shuffle to finish their holiday shopping. You pass 4409 Main Street when something hits you—the smell of freshly baked gingerbread and hot chocolate. The scent is a familiar one—one you could count on for the last five and a half years.

The owner of Sweet Elizabeth’s Bakeshop, Liz Paradiso, was out walking her dog on a similar wintery night when the idea of opening her own bakery dawned on her.

“I saw a ‘For Rent’ sign and thought, ‘You know, I wonder if the neighborhood needs a bakery,’” Liz remembered. “I took a leap of faith and signed a lease, and that was five and a half years ago. I spent months asking neighborhood people, ‘Would you go to a bakery if there was one here?’ The neighborhood has really responded well.”

Since she first opened her doors, Sweet Elizabeth’s has become a staple on Main Street. Her signature creations—especially her delicious cupcake flavors—are a favorite among Manayunk residents. But since the summer, the bakery has been running slightly differently—Liz gave birth to her second son, Leo, all while the bakery was transitioning bakers. Liz and her small staff made the decision to slow things down in August and only had the shop open on the weekends to make it more manageable for the new mom.

“I’m a small business,” she said. “This is the reality of being a mom.

Our customers were so great at understanding our position. They were still loyal to us and came back when we reopened to normal hours.”

Despite the challenges of having a baby in the bakery, Sweet Elizabeth’s is back up and running full steam ahead, but things are looking a little different in the kitchen now.

“Life is a little crazy here at the bakery,” Liz said. “Having a four-monthold has its challenges and its rewards. The customers love him! It’s really nice to have him here with me while he’s so little, and I’m grateful that my employees are amazing. When I’m working on something that’s time sensitive or temperature sensitive, they’ll rock him or entertain him.”

These days, Liz typically checks in with her baker first thing in the morning, then can be seen walking Leo on the towpath until he falls

asleep. That’s when she finds time to catch up on emails and decorate her baked goods. Once Leo wakes up, she takes him for another walk down Main Street and catches up with other Manayunk business owners. And it’s not out of the ordinary that Liz returns to the bakery for a night shift, where she rocks out to her own music, drinks late night cups of coffee, and gets creative with cake decorating.

Now that the holidays are approaching, the staff has been creating menus for Thanksgiving and Christmas and working on new designs for their store cakes, which customers can walk in and purchase on the spot.

One thing Liz is especially excited for are their seasonal drip cakes—a trend that she came across by following Australian bakers on social media.

“We’ll have a Thanksgiving one that uses all of the autumn colors,” Liz said. “Our Christmas one is going to be pink and teal with lots of white snowflakes and glitter—kind of fantasy-Christmasy look—so there will be lots of sparkles on that. They are so aesthetically beautiful, and then to add these different textures into the cake is really cool.

We’re excited to offer something a little more unique to our customers than just a traditional cake—something really over the top as well.”

They’ve also been working on some new techniques for their wedding cakes. With New Year’s Eve being on a Saturday, Liz and her team are bracing for a busy day, especially for the True Romance cake.

“That’s a chocolate cake with a champagne buttercream, layered with fresh strawberries that have been soaked in champagne, a chocolate ganache drizzle on top, a hand-painted sugar rose, and we sprinkle it with glitter,” Liz said. “We would put glitter on everything if we could, but not everyone loves glitter so we have to restrain ourselves.”

The bakery will also be baking up some of their yearly holiday favorites—their chocolate bourbon pecan pie, pumpkin spice cake, and sticky gingerbread cupcakes, which were previously featured on The Cooking Channel.

“They are a really sticky, moist, super gingery, perfect warm-you-up type of cupcake,” Liz said. “I can’t wait for Christmas now!”

The bakeshop also has some extra fancy cupcakes in the works for kids coming in to get a sweet treat, like turkey, Santa Claus, and glittery snowflake cupcakes.

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DINE: TASTE THIS

“It’s amazing that we get to create nostalgia for kids in Manayunk,” said Liz. “I take that very seriously, that we are part of creating memories for kids. What’s better than kids and Christmas? Nothing…except maybe kittens and cupcakes!”

“I really love the holidays,” she added. “I think the events we have here are amazing, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to be a deeper part of the community by opening up a store rather than just being a resident. The storefronts are beautiful, the events are fabulous, my fouryear-old Wilder loves seeing Santa and loves the music on Main Street—it makes you want to shop when you hear that happy music! And I love how the bakeshop always smells amazing around Christmas time.”

So when she’s not in the bakeshop, what does Liz like to bake for her family around the holidays? The Christmas classic, Buche de Noel, or the Yule log cake as some know it. Knowing that people consume a lot of calories during the holidays, Liz is making it a little bit of a lighter dessert this year—a chocolate sponge cake with an espresso mousse filling, caramel drizzle, and whipped cream on the outside.

“It’s very festive,” Liz said. “Forget the flowers—put this beautiful cake in the middle of your table with fresh flowers around it!”

The bakeshop will be baking up their own Buche de Noels for customers this holiday season as well, using only the freshest ingredients.

“I feel like everything we create is for a special occasion, so that’s why I feel like it’s so important to bake everything from scratch using really top quality ingredients,” Liz explained. “If you’re going to indulge and treat yourself, it should be top notch. It should be luxurious—it should be the best chocolate, the best butter, the best vanilla we can get because that’s going to turn into a memory for you.”

The statement is especially true around the holidays, something Liz and her staff take to heart.

“We’re honored to be a part of our customers’ holidays. Even in the smallest way, it’s a very sweet way to be a part of it.”

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DINE: CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CHEF

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Chabaa Thai is back— this time, with a casual, quick-serve sidekick: Take a peek inside Chef Moon’s re-opened Chabaa Thai and new quick market, Binto.

By Ainsley Maloney Photography By Susan Beard Photography (susanbeardphotography.com)

O

Binto

n an unseasonably warm October evening, I’m enjoying refreshing sips of pandan leaf-infused iced tea and sharing easy conversation with Moon Krapugthong in her new Binto Market & Café as customers flow in and out and gentle piano music fills the air. Radiating warmth, Chef Moon is infinitely more laidback and approachable than I expected of the owner of two of the most esteemed restaurants in Manayunk—Chabaa Thai and Yanako.

Interestingly, Moon keeps using similar words to describe her new quick-serve café Binto.

“It’s accessible,” she says. “It’s relaxed. Casual. It’s

quick, grab-and-go Asian dishes. You can come in, and for $2, go out with a drink or a snack. And it’s for all ages—even babies!”

This past August, Moon reopened her beloved BYOB Chabaa Thai at the corner of Grape and Main Streets (4343-4345 Main St.), just a few buildings down from its previous location, but this time, with a brand new quick-serve market and café concept, Binto, attached right next door.

Chef Moon decided to close Chabaa’s original spot in 2014, while in the interim continuing to serve Pad Thai-craving customers all of their favorites out of her Winter 2016 | manayunk.com 37

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DINE: CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CHEF

“When I shop at the market, my eyes go like this: whoooo,” Moon says, circling her fingers around her widened eyes. “I want this, this—that!”

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Japanese eatery, Yanako, a few blocks away.

“You know when it’s like you grow out of your bed, and it cannot accommodate you for the concept you have? I was looking for a bigger space, and I had my eye on this building for awhile,” she said, referring to the tandem property that was previously Main Street Market.

The concept Chef Moon had in mind was to not only move Chabaa to a kitchen big enough to expand to a newly launched catering service, but also to answer her customers’ desire for Asian food to be more accessible.

“Longtime customers used to tell me they would go to the Asian market and find something really fun, but they didn’t know what to do with it!” she says, incredulous.

This fact simply wasn’t going to stand with the Bangkok-raised chef who, frankly, lives for morning markets.

“When I shop at the market, my eyes go like this: whoooo,” she says, circling her fingers around her widened eyes. “I want this, this— that!” She wants customers to experience that excitement without leaving Main Street to find it.

Now, every morning, Moon wakes early to shop the Asian markets in Northeast and South Philly and Chinatown to personally stock her Main Street market with Vietnamese, Japanese, and Thai staples, all at affordable prices. At Binto, shoppers can peruse fresh produce such as okra, eggplant, lentil, sweet basil, and mint, or pick up dinner items such as Asian noodles, tofu, and homemade curry sauce.

“Binto represents my accumulative experience as a chef, as a shopper, as a wife, as a mom, and as a cook who loves cooking at home,” she says. “They all come together here.

We guarantee that everything is fresh. And if I do not have it in stock, and a customer asks for it, I know where to get it!”

In addition to grocery items, Binto offers premade items for lunch or dinner. There’s Chef Moon’s homemade spring rolls, seaweed salad, or her signature green curry with tofu and rice in a personal portion just under $6 to heat up at home. After a spin or yoga class, patrons can grab a refreshing $2 tea house infused with pandan leaf, mint, jujube, or lemongrass. During lunch, office workers from Manayunk, East Falls or City Line can stop in from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a rotating lineup of hot-serve lunch options, such as taro tofu dumplings, massaman chicken curry, or tomyam soup (the menu changes daily—“depends on my mood!” Chef Moon says.) Finally, customers seeking a mid-day pick me up can grab a creamy homemade Thai Iced Coffee or Thai Iced Tea, prepared fresh daily.

For customers looking to venture further into Asian home cooking, wooden shelves line the walls with a sophisticated lineup of woks, steamers, mortar and pestles, dipping sauce sets and beautiful tea sets (some imported from Thailand, others made by local artists). In the future, Moon hopes to offer cooking classes and to-go boxes of pre-portioned items, complete with Moon’s signature recipes.

Creating two unique spaces with a shared energy was, to Moon, equally as important as her commitment to serving high-quality, authentic cuisine. The chef-artist combed through the finest details over the past several years of renovations.

“I’m a really creative person, and I’m flexi-

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ble. So I could pre-visualize the framework—I could go right, left, up, down,” she says of the bi-level, dual property, “while still unifying the whole theme of the space. As a customer, when you walk into a restaurant, you should feel the spirit of the place. You should feel like you’ve been taken care of, that you receive a warm welcome. If you don’t receive a warm welcome, if the server doesn’t say anything, you feel disconnected. Why do you go to that place? The message we’re sending is really strong that it has to be the right energy.”

Chef Moon entrusted all local vendors with this very intricate undertaking. For the remodeling and building, she relied on Main Street’s United Makers. For the architecture and interior design, she partnered with Re:Vision Architecture on Grape Street and for the kitchen design, she turned to Judy Spielman of Space By Spielman.

“The architect, Mike, he understands my language. He listens to my voice, you know? I told him, ‘I want to sit under an umbrella in an open space.’ And guess what? He created the design for the canopy that’s hanging under the ceiling [in Chabaa Thai]. People love it!”

The canopy includes a copper frame designed by Todd Rubio, an architecture graduate student at Philadelphia University and gorgeous burlap fabric created by Moon’s assistant, Melly Lukito.

The interior design of Chabaa is at once handsome and elegant. As customers enter the restaurant, they are greeted by an airy interior trellis overhead. Sectioned off to the right and left are black cushioned private dining areas, plated to perfection. Bronze lotus sculptures and candles decorate the walls, while a serene Buddha centers the energy of the restaurant.

Displayed in the front window, respectfully, is a hand-carved wood spirit house mounted on a pillar, its steep roof pointing toward the sky, a selection Moon discovered and had imported from a morning market in Thailand.

“In the house there’s a baby sleeping, dreaming of the moon. This [temple] brings in the Thai belief that every place has a spirit or angel to protect the space,” Moon explains. “Everything here has a story.”

Moon chose an open concept so that customers could move seamlessly from the swanky Chabaa side to the casual Binto side, while feeling the continuity of a calming, nurturing ambiance. Binto’s relaxed atmosphere is further encouraged with the presence of a back play area for children to hang out while mom and dad shop. Foam puzzle letters carpet the floor, while a giant pop-up book props up against a xylophone. On the wall is a self-portrait drawn by Moon’s 9-year-old daughter, Winter 2016 | manayunk.com 39

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DINE: CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CHEF Tinnha. The room is so close to the Chabaa Thai’s kitchen, that sometimes, when Moon is cooking, she can hear the xylophone playing.

“If mom and dad come to pick up food or go shopping, they can drop off their kid. Mom can bring her laptop and sit at the high top by the window, have a quick lunch with friends,” Moon said. “I wanted a space that’s fun—a grab-and-go, in-and-out all day, cool corner store for the community. When I see mom come with her baby in the carrier, talking to her girlfriends, I like that! I’m like, ‘Yes, come, hang out! Make it a public space!’”

As Moon shows me her daughter’s drawing, I can’t help but feel like she has welcomed me into her home, rather than her place of business. I share with her that Chabaa Thai has always held a special place in my heart: her original spot is where my boyfriend and I had our first date more than three years ago.

“Really!” she exclaims. Her eyes light up.

“Wow. That is so great!” She rests her cheek in her palm, reflecting on what a staple her restaurant has become in Manayunk over the past decade.

“I have a special relationship with my customers. They have their first date here, get engaged here, have their wedding shower here,”

Moon said. “I’ve been here for 12 years, so long enough to see it start. Some have kids, they move away, come back—I’m such an old momma! Some call me ‘Momma Moon.’”

It seems fitting that customers can, in one step, move from Chabaa’s elegant, perfectly plated restaurant into Binto’s casual, laid-back café. These spaces appear to reflect Moon’s dual life roles at the moment: one, as the executive chef who owns two top-rated restaurants in Philly, and the other, as the friendly, downto-earth “momma” who welcomes regulars with an easy smile and warm embrace.

“When am I happy?” Moon asks, her answer illuminating the twin passions that drive her.

“When everything’s right: when the lighting is correct, when everything is nice and clean, when the tables are straight, when the food is fresh and prepared just right.” Moon gets up to straighten items in the freezer—to remind her staff of a few key details on her mind. Then the 5’1” owner returns, back to being fully engaged in our conversation. “I am happy when I hear customers compliment, ‘Oh, it was such a good experience!’ I want you to walk out of these doors feeling like you treated yourself to something special that this little woman can create for you as a gift for the day! Then? Then,

I feel like I already got paid.”

Right now, Moon is truly back in momma-chef mode as she begins her journey of nurturing this newborn of a market/café/ restaurant, one that may take a village to raise—but at least she’s the best one for the job. Manayunk has done it before, supporting Chabaa over the past decade as it became Zagat rated and elevated to one of the best Thai restaurants in the city.

“This is like a baby again,” she says of Chabaa.

“Even 10 years later, it was closed for two years.

So it gets most of my attention for now.”

Luckily, she considers her team like a family, some of whom have been with her all 12 years. Moon’s partner manages the day-to-day at Yanako, and her esteemed chefs—Agus “Howie” Lukito, Eddie Kwong and Ya Charatsil—are cross-trained at both establishments.

Then there’s Sasima “Jay” Suponrit who helps Moon behind the scenes in the office and with event coordination. “There is enough love here,” she says of the Manayunk community.

“If there was no love, no support, I would be long gone. It’s fun—it’s busy —but it’s a labor of love. You have to love it.”

And we do, Moon.

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PLAY: LOCAL A&E

It’s Just Not A Party Without CTO

How Carmen Tomassetti made his locally grown company globally recognized from a studio space above Main Street.

By Caitlin Maloney • Photography By JPG Photography (jpgphotography.com)

T

hirty years ago, on any given night, you could find Carmen Tomassetti playing music at bars in the city. At the time, Carmen’s music career was just getting started, but he soon worked his way down to the Jersey Shore and eventually onto Florida to perform on the cruise ship circuit.

“It was then that I realized I had to get serious about music,” Carmen said. “I saw myself becoming a cruise ship piano player with a ruffled shirt playing for tips and I said, ‘I can’t do this, I need to start a business.’”

That’s when he first launched Carmen Tomassetti Orchestras (the original CTO) and began managing bands in the region—booking them for weddings, corporate and nonprofit events. Over the next 10 years, as his bands became popular, Carmen realized he needed a place to properly showcase their talent to potential clients. He eventually found the perfect space above 4450 Main Street and has been there for the last 15 years.

At the time, Carmen probably thought the intimate space was plenty big, but now, some showcases are standing room only and clients even stand in the stairway just to hear the bands perform.

“Nobody showcased for the first five years, we were the only company doing it and we really changed the marketplace here,” he said. “And now everyone does, you can’t make it in the industry if you don’t.”

Not only was Carmen a trendsetter for band showcases, he was also the first in the industry to use a three letter company name. After a few years as Carmen Tomassetti Orchestras, the company quickly became known simply as CTO, and now in the Philadelphia area alone there’s CTO, EBE and BVT. Besides being known for their name and their showcases, what CTO 42

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is most known for, is their talent. Carmen gets his talent in one of three ways: he either puts talented musicians together to create a band of their own, finds a band that already exists and brings them into the CTO family, or sometimes he takes in bands and retools them by swapping out a few members or adding additional instruments or singers.

“Sometimes just adding in one person is all it takes,” Carmen said. “It’s amazing to watch a band transform so much from the minute we bring them in from when you first see them at a showcase to when they are ready for their first performance.”

As far as bands are concerned, CTO has something for everyone. When booking a band through CTO, clients work directly with Carmen’s right hand girl Angelina Costa, who has been with Carmen in the Manayunk space from the beginning.

Angie has an initial meeting with the client to get to know their personality and help match them with the band that’s the best fit for them.

If someone wants a band with a wild personality, Angie would recommend Park Central; Fifth Avenue is their more seasoned band; and then there’s Tribeca, who’s more young and trendy; Midtown Express is a good mix of everything; and Grand Central is their rock and roll band.

“I always recommend coming to a showcase,” she said. “It’s usually an ‘aha’ moment when you see a band you know is right for you. People who come in for showcases are blown away by the talent.”

At the showcases, the band’s give a 20-30 minute live performance to give clients a taste of their performance style.

“Trying to plan a wedding is like putting on the Academy Awards, it’s a lot of stress,” Carmen joked. “Angelina takes them through the process

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of hiring the band, which is the most critical part of the wedding.”

Besides their well known bands, CTO also can provide DJ services, ceremony strings and unique entertainment. But when it comes to working with a band or DJ, Carmen is the first to say that bands are clearly the winner.

“When a band is playing, you are creating the emotion right then and there,” Carmen explained. “There’s something even in this modern world that cannot come close to creating that emotion on the fly and there’s a feedback loop between the audience and band—it’s a symbiotic relationship. People come to us because we are known to keep people dancing.”

What keeps the best talent coming is that CTO concentrates on creating an environment for their artists to grow instead of focusing on a top-down approach, Carmen explained.

“We keep the guidelines simple—show up and do a great job—but we leave the creativity up to the bands, and because of that our bands really enjoy being together. That’s something you really can’t measure because it’s concrete emotion,” Carmen said.

And they’ve had quite a few talented musicians through their doors, including many who have cycled through reality voice and talent shows, and others who went on to be background singers or band members for performers like Rihanna and Jay Z. With all of this talent, it’s no wonder that CTO was hired to perform at former president Bill Clinton’s inauguration and two state inaugurations for former governor Ed Rendell. They’ve also traveled as far south as Buenos Aires and Jamaica and as far west as South Dakota.

“We’ve pretty much played for everybody and anybody,” Carmen said with a smile.

Carmen has also had the opportunity to book several famous performers. He was instrumental in securing the band Train to perform at the University of Pennsylvania after he overheard Penn officials saying they were having trouble booking them. That later led him to book Michael Feinstein and John Legend for the university as well.

“We’re the exact same height and when we met were wearing almost the same jacket,” Carmen laughed, speaking about John Legend. “We were like negative images of each other, it was really funny.”

And booking well known talent is not all that Carmen is up to these days. As CTO grew, Carmen always found himself hunkered down creating new programs to meet the needs of his growing company. He began to find a void for a system that would help him stay organized, productive, and more importantly, efficient. Though he didn’t have a programming background, Carmen took it upon himself to learn the skill, and shortly after developed his own management software. The program does invoicing, accounting, sales management and essentially runs his entire company.

“I’m a compulsively organized person in what I do,” Carmen admitted.

“This program was a great way to reduce redundancy in every way, shape and form, and create efficiency.”

At first, Carmen created the software just for CTO, but when the economy crashed in 2007, he knew he needed to do something to survive.

One of those ideas was to diversify his technology and start sharing it with the public.

“To my delight, we now have users all over the country and in India and Australia,” he said. “The technology keeps growing—we just added the ability to use exchange rates because so many of our clients are international.”

Though it was originally designed for entertainment based companies like CTO, the software works seamlessly with other event based businesses including event spaces, rental companies and caterers. Right here

in Manayunk, Beat Street Station currently uses the program and Carmen recently signed on the Hub in Conshohocken.

When I asked him what he calls this magical program, he paused for a minute, and said with a smile, “It’s called OZ. I always thought it was funny that I was this small guy controlling all of these large companies and nobody knew who I was. I was the man behind the curtain.” And in fact, his business card says just that.

Now, CTO not only stands for the Creative Talent Organization, the division of the company that manages the bands, but also includes the Creative Technology Organization, which manages OZ. So, what’s allowed CTO to remain as one of the leading entertainment providers in the region for all these years?

“Number one, we care, we really care,” Carmen said. “Number two, is our formula for getting really really great talent. And thirdly, this is how we eat, so if we want to eat, we have to pay really close attention to rule one and two.”

And it’s about adapting to the times, Carmen added. Because of television programs like America’s Got Talent and The Voice, Carmen thinks people have become desensitized to great talent, but what that did was make Carmen step up his game.

“You have to adaptive—the bands now resemble nothing like how the bands looked when we started because tastes have changed,” he said.

“Years ago you would never really get a request for a country song and now clients are requesting them because of people like Blake Shelton,” Angie added.

These days, Carmen commutes back and forth from Manayunk to his other office in Naples, Florida. Though he always loved Florida since his cruise ship days in Cape Canaveral and Miami, he will always have a soft spot for the hills of Manayunk because they remind him of the small towns in Italy.

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He’s also enjoyed watching the community grow. One of his dreams is to see the Empress Theater rise again, and he looks forward to the day when CTO bands will play on that stage.

“Everytime I look out this window, I think, ‘God, I wish I could figure out how to make that rise again,” Carmen said.

Now, on any given morning when he is in Manayunk, you’ll find Carmen at Volo Coffeehouse hanging out with his morning coffee crew at the same table (so long as nobody took their usual spot) from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., sipping away and catching up. In fact, it was right there in Volo where Carmen spent so many hours programming OZ and where he first met some of the Volo coffee crew members who have since become some of his best friends.

“I have the best of both world, of course, what’s not to love about Florida, but Manayunk gives me my sense of community,” he said. “I can’t imagine a morning not going to that coffee shop. It’s a part of my life and that really is what the community of Manayunk is all about.”

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Other funding:

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11/3/16 4:53 PM

PLAY: WHAT’S HAPPENING

Everything Is Illuminated The Green Lane Bridge lights got a facelift this fall.

By Jane Lipton Quietly and without much fanfare, something special happened to historic Manayunk this September. Not a big event the town has become known for, or something as spectacular as the opening of the Manayunk Bridge Trail— it was something subtle, but important.

This fall, the Green Lane Bridge got a little bit brighter. It’s easy to miss, but thousands of cars drive over this small and often overlooked bridge every day—it’s the one that connects Main Street to Belmont Avenue and the Schuylkill Expressway. Enthusiasts of Philadelphia architecture may know it as one of the Paul Cret (pronounced ‘Cray’) bridges.

Originally constructed in 1928, the plans included 14 six-foot-tall art deco light fixtures.

Sometime later, likely the 1950s, the city decided that upkeep was too expensive and all of the lights were discarded. In their stead, the city placed standard highway cobra head lamps atop each pillar. Then in 1983, when the entire commercial district in Manayunk was placed on the register of historic places, residents and business owners started talking about restoring the bridge lights back to the original. In 1997, with financial support from the Rendell administration, the dollars were finally allocated to recreate the lights which were redesigned from old photographs.

Even though things seemed ready to go, it was still not quite a “done deal.” Agreements had to be reached on light intensity and maintenance, as PennDOT claimed the Green Lane Bridge was a state road so it had to meet illumination levels for driver safety. The Philadelphia Streets Department said they preferred the cobra heads for ease of maintenance and that the new lights were non-conforming—therefore they were not responsible for maintenance. After much back and forth, both agencies eventually accepted the lights and the city and state agreed that they would pay for the electric, while Manayunk would pay for maintenance.

Over the years as the lights needed repair, the Manayunk Development Corporation (MDC) and Manayunk Special Services District (MSSD) hired private firms to do the work on a piecemeal basis. But even with the best of intentions, by 2012 more than half of the lights were out of commission and the remaining lights had a large variety of replacement lamps 46

installed. Some lights looked yellow, some looked blue, and some were even a strange shade of orange. As one business owner described it, they looked “terrible.”

MDC began making inquiries to the City about how the lights could be replaced, and it wasn’t that anyone was particularly opposed to the idea, but after two years of emails and phone calls, it became apparent that no municipal or state entity felt that it was their responsibility. Finally, in 2014 at an MSSD board meeting, it was decided that the organization would have to take on the project themselves.

“It had to be done,” Martin Pulli, an MSSD board member and local business owner said. “The lights desperately needed work and I’m proud that we stepped up to do it with our own money.”

First, they had to find a lighting consultant.

After researching the 1997 build, MSSD was connected with Courtney Sarge from Streamlight Design, who had worked on the original project. Once the project manager was in place, they formed a committee that would determine the wants and needs for the lights, and just as importantly, what they could afford.

For a moment, there was an idea of fully programmable, multi-colored internal lights reflecting the seasons or various causes—but alas, that idea was too expensive. MSSD then agreed to have the retrofit done with LEDs, not only for energy conservation but for optimal brightness and color. They also decided to add an outlet to each fixture for future enhancements. After a competitive bid process, Carr and Duff (oddly the company that did the 1997 installation) won the contract and the fabrication of the new light kits began. The retrofit install began in late August of this year and was nearly completed in under two weeks. The entire project was 100 percent finished by late September.

All in all, the project took a little less than two years and $70,000 of MSSD funds to complete.

The lights look beautiful and are brighter than ever. And, of course, the bridge has now been brought back to a safe level of illumination.

Local business owners are quite pleased and we think Paul Cret would be too.

“We could not be more thrilled to see The Green Lane Bridge, which serves as the gateway to Manayunk, so beautifully lit up,” said Daniel Neducsin, board chair of the MSSD.

Fun Facts: The Green Lane Bridge is not Paul Cret’s only Philadelphia Bridge. His other bridge designs include the gorgeous Henry Avenue Bridge that crosses high over Lincoln Drive, the University Avenue Bridge more commonly called The Gray’s Ferry Bridge, and the famous Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Imagine, Manayunk as a sister bridge to the mighty Ben Franklin!

With Jacques Greber, Cret co-designed the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and the Rodin Museum. He also designed the original Barnes Gallery and the home of Alfred Barnes in Merion.

Paul Cret was born in France in 1876 and moved to Philadelphia in 1903 after being recruited by the University of Pennsylvania to teach architecture. He was a professor and had a design studio there until 1937. Cret was an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal Winner.

One of Cret’s most famous students and protégés was famed Philadelphia architect Louis Khan.

Paul Cret designed in a new style he called “Neo Classicism” or “Stripped Down Classicism.” This style used clean geometric lines and monumental forms, which were widely studied in Germany in the 1930s. In 1935, Albert Speer, who was appointed

by Adolph Hitler to be the official architect of the Third Reich, designed a colonnade of square monument-like piers for the Zeppelinfield Stadium that directly referenced Cret. This stadium design ultimately became the signature style of the Third Reich. Ironically, Fascism was the antithesis of what Cret’s new design aesthetic was about--capitalism and American exceptionalism. Nonetheless, Cret’s design styles were associated with the Nazis and quickly fell from favor here in the U.S. Cret continued to work, but his designs mirrored more colonial and classic roman columnar forms later in his life.

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William J. O’Brien Esq.

MNYKLaw.com

The Nickels Building (4323 Main Street) Once home to a joint Five & Dime and dance hall along the canal at the turn of the century, the “re-imagined” Nickels Building has revived the spirit of the original multipurpose space. Over a century later, the historic building is now a collaborative entrepreneurial office space, retail incubator, event venue, and more. It is also home to a new line of mid century modern glassware called The Bee’s Knees.

Pictured above is a set of vintage 1960’s Culver Glass Red Paisley Highball glasses.

Contact info@tnbmanayunk.com to learn more about The Bee’s Knee’s and to join this energetic community.

Salon Mane (4151 Main Street) There’s a new high-end salon in town.

In August, stylists Ava Gaye-White, Sum-

Go Puff The highly popular convenience delivery service has arrived in Manayunk. Download the app and groceries, toiletries, and more can be delivered to your door in thirty minutes or less.

Jake’s & Cooper’s Wine Bar (4365 Main Street) After months of recovering from water main break damage, Jake’s and Cooper’s will be celebrating their grand re-opening this winter. Keep an eye out for more updates from owner Bruce Cooper on the renovation progress this holiday season.

7 DAY

VIP PASS TO THE ONLY PLACE YOU WILL EVER NEED TO SWEAT

MANAYUNK 4151 MAIN ST. 215.487.7100

CONSHOHOCKEN 200 W. RIDGE 610.941.3600

OLD CITY 45 N 3RD ST. 215.923.8763

CENTER CITY 1425 ARCH ST. 215.564.0303

QUEEN VILLAGE 700 PASSYUNK 215.627.5600

FILTER SQUARE 200 S. 24TH ST. 215.351.0100

SOUTH PHILLY 1509 E. PASSYUNK 215.271.0303 SWEATFITNESS.COM

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KING OF PRUSSIA 217 W. CHURCH RD. 610.337.9328 SEE CLUB FOR DETAILS

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Anniversary BEST OF MAIN LINE AND WESTERN SUBURBS

MAKE YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY RESERVATION! GIFT CARDS ALSO AVAILABLE

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RELIABLE PET CARE IN PHILADELPHIA AND THE SUBURBS

267.516.2436 danny@cityofpawspetcare.com cityofpawspetcare.com

At City of Paws Pet Care, we pride ourselves in offering loving, dependable and affordable pet care services.

Dog Walking • Pet Sitting • Vacation Services

• daily dog walks

• doggy bed and breakfast

• cat care

• in-home pet sitting

• home checkups

• pet taxi

NEIGHBORHOODS WE SERVICE

ABOUT US

Personal and Affordable We treat your pet like a member of our own family, and Dependable because we love them too!

We have over 15 years Our services cater to all your of experience providing pets’ needs and rates start attentive and tailored care at a reasonable $12. to suit your pets individual needs. Our loving team is Dog Walking starting at $12 there when you can’t be!

Pet Sitting starting at $14 Boarding starting at $45 Trustworthy

Philadelphia East Falls, Manayunk, Roxborough, and Wissahickon

215-508-1903 4374 Main Street Manayunk info@toptailsdogwalking.com www.toptailsdogwalking.com

Lower Merion Ardmore, Bala Cynwyd, Belmont Hills, Bryn Mawr, Gladwyne, Merion, Narberth, Penn Valley, Villanova, and Wynnewood Not in our service area?

We’ll watch your dog in our home regardless of your location, and our pet taxi service makes drop off and pick up a breeze.

CONTACT US TO BOOK!

Call or email us today to schedule a meet and greet!

Visit our website to review our range of services.

cityofpawspetcare.com

Jen Colahan McIlhenny ReMax Eastern, Inc.

Trusted local specialist for all your real estate needs.

Sellers, contact me for a free comparative market analysis on the sale of your property.

Buyers, contact me for a free meeting on the home buying process.

Office: 215-961-6005 Cell: 215-266-4549 Email: jencolahan@remax.net

RealEstateAroundPhilly.com Facebook.com/RealEstateAroundPhilly

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