Front Street Café plans to nourish, sustain Fishtown community

Philadelphia, PA –The Front Street Café, a vibrant new eatery opening on the corner of Thompson and Front streets, is the latest on a growing list of restaurants revitalizing the community of Philadelphia. There are so many new places to eat and drink in Philadelphia, such as different cafes and even some bakery options in the area. Places like The Front Street Café are just one of the many new franchises opening their doors up to the public.
Drawing inspiration from the unique character of the neighborhood, the creators of the Front Street Café aspire to do more than serve great food. From its inception, the restaurant has been designed to nourish this growing community, satisfying both body and spirit from sun up to lights out.
Long-time Fishtown resident Nicole Barclay, was driven by a strong sense of place and purpose to create a restaurant built around fresh, sustainable ingredients, with ample choices for people who have dietary preferences for health or lifestyle reasons. If you’re inspired by Nicole’s passion to start a coffee business, there’s no reason you couldn’t look at beginning your own. Often, starting a coffee shop can be difficult. This is usually because it’s not that easy to get customers coming to your business instead of some of the bigger coffee companies. However, there’s always the route of franchise opportunities instead of marketing a brand new coffee business. One of the best tips for opening a coffee shop is to ensure that potential customers can see inside the store. This can be done by installing Storefront doors to your shop, helping customers to decide whether or not to enter your cafe. This should help business as customers will want to sit inside a bright coffee shop, not a dark one. Those big windows and doors can usually be seen in most coffee shops, so they must help attract customers!
Nicole’s USP for this coffee shop is that the juice bar and coffee shop will open early to serve morning commuters, offering freshly made juices, smoothies, coffee from Counter Culture Coffee, as well as grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches, just one block away from Girard Station.
Casual brunch service will begin early and run through mid-afternoon seven days a week, with a menu offering sandwiches, salads, burgers … and breakfast tacos with more than 18 topping choices, including heirloom tomatoes, organic baby kale, mushroom bacon, avocado and nacho cashew cheese. All of the ingredients down to the condiments are made in-house or sourced organically and sustainably. Free WiFi is offered in a comfortable second-floor community space overlooking the El, while a backyard garden retreat has table seating for 80.
A full bar will serve creative cocktails made with freshly squeezed juices and local ingredients, an array of craft beers drawing from both local and west-coast breweries, and a selection of organic and biodynamic wines designed to match the menu and pair well with artisanal cheese selections sourced from creameries across the U.S.
The dinner menu puts a fresh spin on comfort food, including:

• Wild Rice Collard Dolmas: with citrus hemp dressing.
• Avocado Citrus Salad: Organic baby kale, avocado, mango, radish greens, hemp, pumpkin seeds, citrus jalapeno dressing
• Mediterranean Tofu: Pan-seared fennel, sage, chili-rubbed tofu, wilted garlic kale, fresh tomato marinara, salt-cured olives and crispy capers
• Heirloom Tomato Zucchini Lasagna: Thinly sliced zucchini, Macadamia ricotta, basil-arugula pesto, sundried tomato, olive oil
• Organic Rotisserie Half Chicken: Orange-brined chicken, roasted baby potatoes, stewed collard greens, chicken jus, house-made biscuits

“We really want to have a neighborhood café where people can eat many times a week, and instead of weighing them down, it actually makes them healthier,” Nicole said.
The menu at the Front Street Cafe was created by Chef Andrew Petruzelli (XIX at the Bellevue, Grand Hyatt DC, Knock)
“The concept for our cuisine is very much related to health and happiness,” Andrew said. “We would like for people to be able to dine here daily and be better for it, by providing them with the best possible options for food they know and love.”
The space Front Street Café will occupy is one of the few 19th-century brick buildings to survive along the Front Street train corridor. During design and construction, building owner and builder Lee Larkin retained all of the original architectural details, including an intricate 3rd story tin cornice and Schuylkill Pine hardwood floors. Almost all of the additional building components where sourced and reclaimed from old Philadelphia buildings. Steps were built from joists taken from a home being demolished at Temple University, while wooden beams for the outside bar came from a warehouse at 25th and Oxford. A display cabinet on the second floor pays homage to the history of Fishtown and the Riverwards by showcasing hundreds of pre-Civil War artifacts that were discovered under the property during construction.
“Everything in this place has a story to tell,” Lee said. “And the story of this restaurant is tied to the story of this neighborhood – refreshed, revitalized and bursting with energy.”
About The Front Street Cafe
Front Street Café is located at 1253 N. Front Street, on the corner of Thompson Street, in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia. The coffee shop and juice bar open at 6 a.m. Breakfast and brunch service runs from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. seven days a week. Dinner service runs from 4-10 p.m., with a late-night menu available until closing. A second-floor community room that seats 60 is available for private events. Call 215-515-3073 for reservations and bookings.
Media Contact: Rob Wright of Small Talk Media