This is the birthplace of democracy, and with it, comes the responsibilities that America’s founders left behind.
“The founders made clear that we have a real responsibility to do the work to constantly perfect our union,” Shapiro said in an interview this week, ahead of his speech before the ceremonial meeting of Congress, marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed in that same building. “And that the Congress of the United States has a unique responsibility in that to be a check on the executive branch.”
Those words come at a critical inflection point in America’s history, amid a tumultuous presidency, and as Shapiro is rumored to have aspirations of a White House bid in 2028. The first-term Democratic governor will appear before approximately 40 bipartisan members of Congress in Old City at the event convened by U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.), speaking to the lawmakers from across the country about their collective duty to the public. Shapiro will attend numerous other 250th celebrations across Philadelphia in the coming days, during which he said he plans to share his optimism for America’s future and deep concerns that President Donald Trump has led the nation astray from its founders’ design.
“I don’t think patriotism belongs to one party. I don’t think it should ever be partisan,” Shapiro said. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump routinely divides us, routinely injects partisanship into his definition of patriotism, and his actions, in many ways, are the opposite of patriotism.”
Assembly Room in Independence Hall (Pennsylvania State House) Monday, June 15, 2026. This is the exact space where the Second Continental Congress met and the Declaration of Independence was adopted.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
As Trump plans to spend America’s 250th birthday hosting a politicalrally on the National Mall — with no plans to visit Philadelphia, the city where the nation was founded — Shapiro sees his own role as a unifier, and in direct contrast to Trump. As attention shifts to Philadelphia this weekend, he’ll appear on the national stage from sunup to sundown at events and on frequent TV hits — all with a home-turf advantage for his 2028 presidential prospects, as the governor of the nation’s quintessential swing state and also most important to the country’s founding.
“[Celebrating the 250th] allow the spotlight to shine on Shapiro, even though it’s not entirely about him,” said Alison Dagnes, a political-science professor at Shippensburg University. “Do I think that helps his ambitions? Sure.”
‘Direct contrast’
Sitting with Shapiro in his Harrisburg office earlier this week, it’s undeniable that he’s a history nerd — another reason why he was built for the moment.
He casually quotes segments of The Federalist Papers, and references his favorite story about Benjamin Franklin‘s fixation on a half-sun on the back of George Washington’s chair during the 1787 Constitutional Convention, which Franklin remarked during the U.S. Constitution signing that “it is a rising and not setting sun.” Without having to look for its location, he points to his right to a portrait of Franklin, one of his predecessors as governor of Pennsylvania, hanging on his office wall. He notes lesser-known Pennsylvanians who played an important role inthe nation’s founding whom he plans to highlight over the coming days.
“You know, I hate to quote a guy not from Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said, returning to The Federalist Papers to recite James Madison’s concerns about giving an executive too much power.
Gov. Josh Shapiro in the Capitol in Harrisburg Feb. 21, 2023.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
“If Madison were here today, he’d be really concerned about how one man has accumulated so much power and is wielding it in really dangerous ways, and I hope that at this 250-year mark we find our way back to that balance and back to the constraints on the people who lead our government,” he said.
Shapiro sees his leadership style as a “direct contrast” to Trump’s, especially at this moment.
“[Trump] restricts peoples’ freedom and liberties,” the governor added. “He whitewashes our history. That doesn’t further a sense of community, that doesn’t further patriotism. All that does is divide us, and I refuse to participate in that.”
But for the next few days, Shapiro said his approach to the 250th celebrations is to: “Celebrate America, find ways to bring people together, and to have some fun in the process.”
Fair games
Despite his overtures of political unity, Shapiro has faced accusations from Republicans in recent days for playing partisan games over Pennsylvania’s participation in Trump’s 16-day Great American State Fair. Shapiro, in addition to several other Democratic governors last week, announced that Pennsylvania would not take part in the fair due to his administration being unable to secure any state businesses to sponsor the exhibit. Staffing and sponsoring the exhibit on the state’s dime would have cost $700,000 that would be better spent on in-state 250th events, he said this week.
In the weekend that followed, Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators, Republican Dave McCormick and Democrat John Fetterman, made a push to fill the state’s empty exhibit. By Tuesday, it was filled with antique flags lent by a York County man, bags of potato chips from Snyder County, and a Christmas tree display from Fayette County, among other Pennsylvania-centric items.
Pennsylvania’s pavilion showcases state history and memorabilia at the Great American State Fair on June 30, 2026, in Washington, D.C.Sam Janesch / Staff
Some of the businesses originally told Shapiro’s office they didn’t have enough time to participate. But when McCormick and Fetterman approached them with the idea to fill the empty pavilion, they joined in.
“They obviously had a change of heart at the last minute. That’s fine,” Shapiro said about the revived Pennsylvania pavilion.
State Treasurer Stacy Garrity — Shapiro’s Republican challenger for governor, who has aligned herself with Trump — in a statement called Shapiro the “only career politician who has politicized America 250.”
“Josh Shapiro put his political ambitions above his commonwealth and his nation when he pulled Pennsylvania out of the national celebration of our 250th birthday in a pitiful attempt to score cheap political points with the liberal wing of his party,” Garrity said.
Beyond the 250th
Shapiro’s strength as a politician has always been his ability to appear “harmonizing” and bringing people together, dating back to his days as a Montgomery County commissioner, Dagnes said.
A careful politician, Shapiro is known to stick to his message and has faced criticism from some fellow Democrats for his well-rehearsed statements.
When Shapiro delivers his messages of unity and freedom to a broader audience in the coming days, voters are likely toview them as authentic — one of the most important qualities to any presidential hopeful, she added.
“If [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom is the guy who’s gonna punch Trump in the face, then Shapiro is going to be the guy who’s like, ‘No, let me offer you an alternative,’” Dagnes said.
“It’s what he should be doing right now, because this is what America is about,” she added.
We all have a mental image of Benjamin Franklin, thanks to the $100 bill: balding, middle-aged, with tiny glasses and a stern look.
But what if he had a full head of hair poking out the sides of his tricorn? What if we saw Franklin singing and jamming on a guitar?
The Sound of America, a new musical showing at FringeArts this month, imagines Franklin as a young man: America’s very first rock star who finds fame after discovering electric rock and roll from the power of a lightning strike.
In the musical, he gains fame and fortune as a rock star. But stardom sweeps him up and pulls him away from the people and values that once defined him as a struggling musician, leaving him to question his true identity.
Leading the ensemble cast is a newly minted Temple musical theater graduate, Kohl Pilgrim. Last week, he stood with fellow actors Federica Andino-Vega and Jameson May, who play Franklin’s wife Deborah Read and best friend Hugh Meredith, respectively.
Pilgrim and cast play their instruments live, serving as both performers and a band.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Delivering their lines and singing at microphone stands, Nashville Bluebird Cafe-style, the three practiced blocking the scene where Franklin and Read first meet. After a flirty exchange, a naive and confused Franklin finds out Read is married to a man who has disappeared without evidence of his death.
“We tend to see [Founding Fathers] as these infallible perfect people who created the perfect society,” director and Temple professor Kyle Metzger said. “It’s exciting to see a young Founding Father making mistakes and being complex and messy. It’s important to remember these were people, too, who didn’t have all the answers and were trying their best.”
The choice of protagonist was a no-brainer for the musical’s cocreator and Emmy-award winning producer Randall Lane and longtime friend and singer-songwriter Todd Schwartz.
“Under Poor Richard, he was the lyricist for colonial America,” said Lane, referring to Franklin’s pseudonym under which he published a yearly almanac. “And then when he discovered the lightning rod, he literally became the first American who was world famous, and toured the world.”
Just like a young rock star.
Federica Andino-Vega (left), who plays Franklin’s wife Deborah Read, adjusts Gerson Malave’s wig during a dress rehearsal for “The Sound of America” on June 24.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Lane, who is also the editor in chief of Forbes magazine, lives in Saratoga Springs but feels deeply connected to Philadelphia through the years he went to Penn to study history and political science.
For him, Franklin “checked every box.”
“He was a teenage fugitive who ran away from home and every Friday he was hanging out [at] the Leather Apron Club,” the mutual-improvement society Franklin and his friends founded in 1727, said Lane.
Every week, they’d meet in taverns, “jamming out intellectual ideas,” said Lane. In the case of his musical, they create a garage band.
Franklin, after all, invented the glass harmonica.
The musical’s soundtrack includes 23 original songs cowritten by Lane and Schwartz, influenced by Queen, Nirvana, Bruce Springsteen, and the Beatles. Metzger describes the production as “80% rock concert, 20% musical.”
Kyle Metzger (center), the director for “The Sound of America,” directs the cast inside FringeArts for the forthcoming musical on June 24.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
The cast will serve as narrators at the front of the stage, while a live band plays behind them. Floor seats will be available and swaying arms and singing along will be highly encouraged. It’s meant to feel like a concert and not just another historical “rock” musical (sorry, Hamilton).
“I’m always drawn to theater that’s untraditional or pushing into other mediums or incorporating other art forms,” Metzger said.
True to style, The Sound of America also doubles as a walking tourled by Pilgrim, still in character as Benjamin Franklin. After curtain call, audiences can participate in a tour of Franklin’s Old City house and grave, a short walk away from the FringeArts venue.
Needless to say, Pilgrim has had to really pack on the homework for this portion of the show.
“Most of my free time when I am not in rehearsal or with friends, I am home reading his autobiography,” he said. “I am reading anything I possibly can because there’s probably going to be a kid that’s like ‘What’s his favorite food? Did he like burgers?’ So I’m researching that, too.”
Barrymore award-winning director Kyle Metzger is also a professor in Temple’s Musical Theater program.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
When asked about Franklin’s favorite drink, Pilgrim was certain it was wine. As for his hypothetical Jersey Shore vacation spot, Pilgrim named Cape May.
“I think he would like the houses,” he said.
“I want to pay homage to how honest, wise, and hard-working he was,” said the actor, who sought inspiration from iconic rock figures like David Lee Roth, Elvis Presley, and Sir Roger Daltrey, frontman of the Who.
Daltrey, in fact, makes a remote cameo in the musical, in support of Teen Cancer America, the nonprofit he founded along with Who bandmate Pete Townshend.
Lane and Schwartz’s royalties will be donated to the charity, which partners with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The production is also collaborating with Federal Donuts & Chicken for a specialty doughnut called “The Ben”; a portion of its sales will benefit the cause.
Kohl Pilgrim, the actor bringing Ben Franklin’s rock and roll persona to life, inside FringeArts.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
“We want this to be a really big win to fight cancer, but we think that it’s also super true to the spirit of Benjamin Franklin,” Lane said. “He was a rock star in all the senses, but he was also somebody who really cared about where he lived, and we want to leave Philadelphia better than we found it.”
But as with any rock star, Franklin’s story would be nothing without his entourage.
In addition to wife Read and bestie Meredith, the ensemble cast includes British antagonist Lord Wedderburn, played by Kaedon Knight and Franklin’s illegitimate son William Temple Franklin (aka “WTF”), played by Gerson Malave.
Read is the only female character in the show, accompanying Franklin on his journey to stardom. Though she is often forgotten in history, her common-law marriage to Franklin saw her holding down the Franklin household and publishing company with a shotgun during the unrest of the Stamp Act.
“She was a baddie, the baddie on Market Street,” Andino-Vega said. “But [Franklin] got most of the spotlight just because she was very shy and a bit illiterate. I want to shine a light on those special ladies that have been forgotten, and bring them up a little more in a way where they can also be seen like Ben Franklin.”
The cast of “The Sound of America” are committed to delivering a rock concert, not just a musical.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
The cast and crew, largely Philadelphia-based and/or raised, are deeply committed to reflecting the grit of the city through this unique portrayal, especially in light of the 250th anniversary of the nation.
“It’s almost like Ben was talking to us saying this year’s really important and this summer is important to Philadelphia,” Lane said. “It gives everybody that visits Philly a reminder that Philadelphia was the birthplace of democracy and it’s the soul of America.”
The Sound of America runs July 1-Aug. 1 at FringeArts, 140 N. Christopher Columbus Blvd. Tickets start at $60. soundofamericamusical.com, 215-413-1318, or hello@fringearts.com.
A previous version of the article misidentified the actors playing Hugh Meredith and Lord Wedderburn. Jameson May and Kaedon Knight play the characters respectively.
🍦 Stella’s Ice Cream out of Idaho (yes, Idaho) just opened on Front Street in Fishtown/Kensington, and Bea has the early scoop.
🍦 Winners, rocking a feel-good message, is new on South Street in Graduate Hospital. As Kiki Aranita says, Winners’ appeal is more than just the flavors, like Sweet Success S’mores.
🍦Our guide to our favorite ice cream is right here.
Critic Craig LaBan is back from his annual Jersey Shore exploration, and he’s shaking the sand out of his notebook. In Part One of his roundup, he heads to the mainland to find some gems. Read that here.
Looking ahead: Part Two, Craig’s reviews from Long Beach Island and thereabouts, will be online this weekend. On July 11, he’ll share his discoveries from points farther south in Part Three.
Ember & Ash on East Passyunk Avenue will be closed for an undetermined period after smoke and flames shot up through the ventilation last week just after closing time. No injuries were reported.
This weekend will see the debut of Broad Street Beer Garden at LOVE Park, the first phase of a planning reuse of the so-called flying saucer building at 16th and JFK. Here’s the long history of the city landmark.
We munched on fried silverfish that reminded us of French fries in Little Saigon, Argentine empanadas in West Philly, and a vegan po’ boy in Old City that tasted like the original.
Scoops
Intrigue! Albert Zheng, whose holdings include Javelin in Fairmount, is backing a yet-to be-named dual concept on the way to 808 Chestnut St., formerly a Dunkin’ Donuts. In front, the feature will be wagyu omakase, while the rear will be what he calls a Cambodian speakeasy. He says it’s six or seven months out.
Mylar Bar, a cocktail bar inspired by the spirit of South Philly’s Dino’s Party Center, is expected to open later this summer from hospitality veterans Liv Arterbridge and Gina Piccari. They bought the former building at Ninth and Morris Streets where Dino’s sold balloons, decorations, and party supplies for decades before it moved across the street. “We want the whole thing to feel like a party,” Arterbridge said. “Nostalgic, fun, a little silly, intentionally unserious — but not a theme bar,” Piccari said. Cocktails will include martinis, punches, and classic drinks, alongside draft beer and familiar favorites. A full kitchen, led by chef Colin White, formerly of Sally and Emmett, will serve shareable “party snacks” and larger plates. They plan to offer late-night desserts, so food will be available until 1 a.m. with the bar wrapping at 2. Arterbridge, whose resume includes Cry Baby, Poison Heart, and a.bar, met Piccari while working at Boot & Saddle, where Piccari was manager. Piccari is now behind the bar at Le Virtù.
Restaurant report
Sixteen restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and bars — including Lillian’s, shown above — are opening in July. Read on for the rundown.
Penny’s Bagels, on its way (for the last two years) to 212 Kings Highway East in Haddonfield, will hand out 250 red, white, and blue bagels on July 3 at the borough’s parade. The shop is eyeing an August opening, says owner Chris Fetfatzes.
Maru, a fast-casual Korean-inspired restaurant from David Backhus and the team behind the now-closed Oori, is expected to open in August in what is now Collective Coffee & Bakery, which Backhus also owns, at 2922 Conestoga Rd. in Glenmoore. Maru’s menu will feature Korean fried chicken sandwiches, wings, tenders, house-made mochi doughnuts, and specialty coffee, while continuing to serve Collective Coffee and honor existing coffee subscriptions.
Briefly noted
Ota-Ya in Newtown has announced that Friday will be its last day after 30 years with the retirement of owners Jeff Wong and Cindy Tam.
PETA is launching its “Nice Cream Trail,” highlighting 10 shops across the state serving vegan ice cream, and there are five local spots on the list: Dreams Ice Cream Factory in Glenside, Lu & Aug’s in Ardmore, the Main Freeze in Lansdale, Milk Jawn in South Philadelphia and Northern Liberties, and Scoop DeVille in Center City and Queen Village. The first Pennsylvania resident to complete the trail by visiting all 10 participating shops through August will win a vegan ice cream party with PETA’s “iScream” truck for themselves and up to 50 guests. Details are here.
Two local BBQ chefs, Matt Groark (Medford Lakes, N.J.) and Maxwell McGibbon (Newark, Del.), are competing on Food Networks’ Pitmasters, premiering July 13 at 9 p.m.
Diner en Blanc registration is still open. This year’s version of the pop-up picnic is Aug. 20.
Miller’s Ale House, in the shopping center next to the Home Depot in Springfield, Delaware County, closed this week after 13 years, while Fishtown is abuzz with speculation that Bottle Bar East, which opened at 1308 Frankford Ave. around the same time in late 2012, has closed. The phone is down, and owners could not be reached for comment
When is Adda ever going to open in Fishtown? — Rich C.
True, Adda has been a long time coming, since I initially wrote about it in June 2025 with an end-of-2025 target. Adda — from New York City’s Unapologetic Foods, whose establishments are acclaimed for their bold, no-holds-barred approach to Indian cooking — is now looking at a late-fall opening at 1700 Frankford Ave., the new building across from the Fishtown post office.
Corrigendum: Reader Stephanie points out that Kalaya is the third Philadelphia restaurant, not the second, to win the James Beard Award for outstanding restaurant, as I wrote two weeks ago. Zahav was the first in 2019, while Friday Saturday Sunday won in 2023.
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I’ve driven across the Ben Franklin Bridge countless times but until last week I’d never walked across it, and I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge once, so I’ve quietly carried that shame with me for years.
When I received a news release about the bridge turning 100 on July 1 and a subsequent anniversary party on July 11 that will close it to vehicles for public use for the first time since Pope Francis’ visit in 2015, I wanted to finally check walking across it off my Philly bucket list before the event.
Fans cross the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia on the morning of the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade in 2018.TIM TAI / Staff Photographer
I was going to go it alone, but I decided to reach out to Mike Williams, spokesperson for the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), which manages the bridge, and he offered to schedule a walkway tour of it for me with DRPA principal engineer Michael Howard.
I met both men at Fifth and Race Streets at the base of the bridge on the Philly side, but as luck would have it, we showed up on opposite sides of the heavily-trafficked span. We waved at each other across the cars and as I tried to figure out how to Frogger my way over to them, Howard and Williams disappeared.
The men popped up out of a stairwell right next to me, having used the Fifth Street pedestrian tunnel under the bridge.
The entrance to the Fifth Street pedestrian tunnel on the south side of the Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia.Stephanie Farr / Staff
“This was one of the original things that we incorporated into the bridge because we didn’t want people to try to walk across the traffic — because they would, you know,” Howard said, and I agreed.
Obviously, it was the first place I wanted to check out.
The “Building Connections through Time” mural inside of the Fifth Street pedestrian tunnel on the Philadelphia side of the Ben Franklin Bridge.Stephanie Farr / Staff
The entire length of the 91-foot-long tunnel was painted with a vibrant Mural Arts Philadelphia work by Brad Carney and Melissa Mandel. Created in 2018, Building Connections through Time shows people using the bridge, the building of it, and images of its early years. There are also paintings of Independence Hall, Benjamin Franklin, and other bridges that span the Delaware River.
Finding one of the city’s most secluded murals felt like finding one of those wonderful Philly secrets the city gives sometimes, if you never stop exploring it.
Come along with me as I explore one of Philly’s most secluded murals.
Back on the surface, Howard said that while the bridge has two pedestrian walkways, for operational reasons, only one side is open at a time and it’s usually the south side. The walkway has restricted hours, so be sure to check the signs (currently, it’s open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.).
Howard pointed out the old Wilbur Chocolate factory on Third Street and explained that a part was sliced off to make way for the bridge.
“One of the things that we had to do when we were constructing was kind of take a surgeon’s scalpel to the area because you know with Old City, everything’s tightly packed and we wanted to make sure we took the bare minimum of structures,” he said.
A piece of the former Wilbur’s Chocolate Factory had to be sliced off to make way for the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.Stephanie Farr / Staff
Also under threat when the bridge was built was nearby St. George’s United Methodist Church on Fourth Street. Opened in 1769, it’s the country’s oldest Methodist church in continuous service.
“Luckily, the engineers were able to just adjust the angle of the approach ever so slightly to avoid encountering the building,” Howard said.
I marveled as I looked at the mere 14 feet that still separates St. George’s from Philly’s big Ben. The engineers left just enough room for the Holy Spirit.
‘Bridge angels’
As we began our journey across the bridge, Howard said it took about four-and-a-half years to build and it was designed by architect Paul Philippe Cret, who also designed Philly’s Rodin Museum. The bridge was constructed with eight lanes — six for traffic and two for trolleys, as well as two tracks for heavy rail.
But in the time it took to build it, trolleys went out of fashion and buses came in. The trolley tracks sat unused until the 1940s, when they were paved over. A vast, empty space for a never-opened trolley station remains under the Bolt of Lightning sculpture near the base of the bridge.
Sailboats pass under the Ben Franklin Bridge in 2020.TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Another original component lost when the trolley tracks were paved over were four 75-foot-tall pylons — two on either side of the bridge — that were topped with bronze angel statues called Winged Victory.
One of the angel statues is in the lobby of DRPA’s headquarters and three are in storage, but one will be displayed at the upcoming 100th anniversary celebration, according to Williams.
One of the four “Winged Victory” statues that used to decorate the Ben Franklin Bridge is now on display at the Delaware River Port Authority’s headquarters.Courtesy of the Delaware River Port Authority
‘A living beast’
Shortly after we began our trek on the 1.3-mile walkway, I felt a PATCO train speeding beneath my feet and the bridge move ever so slightly.
“The bridge is dynamic, almost like a living beast because the steel expands when it gets warm out and with traffic, it bounces,” Howard said.
A PATCO train travels from Philadelphia to Camden underneath the pedestrian walkway of the Ben Franklin Bridge. ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer
I got used to the sensations within minutes. That being said, I’m not afraid of heights. It could be unnerving if you are.
It took $36 million and 1,300 people to build the 376-foot-tall bridge that extends an additional 100 feet or so below the river, Howard said. Guys known as “sand hogs” worked in submerged watertight structures called caissons where temps sweltered into the 90s, even in winter, to dig down to the bedrock of the Delaware River.
In a photo dated 1922, men known as “sand hogs” work in a submerged watertight structure called a caisson to dig down to the bedrock of the Delaware River during the construction of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.Courtesy of the Delaware River Port Authority
Fifteen workers died in the construction of the bridge. We passed a circular plaque in their memory as we walked. I wondered who they were, how they died, and how they lived.
“Unfortunately, the rule of thumb at the time was for every million dollars you’re spending, you expect to lose a life … so by that rationale you could have had 36 fatalities.” Howard said. “Nowadays, you know, one injury is unacceptable.”
A plaque on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge is dedicated in memory of those who lost their lives while building it.Stephanie Farr / Staff
Unique elements
Our pace was a steady stroll, so we were often passed by runners, walkers, and cyclists. Some appeared to be having a good time, and others looked like they were going through tough times. Some talked to themselves and some stopped to take photos. It was a microcosm of Philly and Camden, suspended high above the river.
Howard said when the bridge was built, its chief engineer believed the walkways wouldn’t be used “in an increasingly or completely motorized age.”
A photo dating from 1924 shows the first official crossing of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge’s pedestrian walkway prior to the 1926 opening of the bridge.Courtesy of the Delaware River Port Authority
“But you see today the amount of people that are using this walkway and it’s one of the unique elements of this bridge,” he said.
I looked ahead to Camden and then back to Philly. I was so grateful for this walkway and this view. I couldn’t imagine not having it and I couldn’t believe it took me so long to see the city from this new perspective.
Spectators watch from the Ben Franklin Bridge pedestrian walkway as the Picton Castle sails up the Delaware River in 2015 during the Parade of Tall Ships.
The only thing I found worrisome and the thing that kept all three of us looking over our shoulders, were the e-bike and e-scooter riders we didn’t always hear zooming behind us. Skateboards and rollerblades aren’t allowed, but certain classes of e-bikes and e-scooters are. Gas-powered vehicles are also prohibited on the walkway, but a guy on a dirt bike definitely zoomed by at one point.
In the bridge’s early days, horses and carriages were allowed on the main span alongside cars, according to Howard, but their slow pace proved dangerous and their excrement, troublesome, so they were banned in the 1940s.
A rainbow appears behind the Camden anchorage of the Ben Franklin Bridge after an early evening rainstorm passes through.TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
We stopped at one of the Philadelphia anchorages, the massive concrete-and-granite structures where the bridge’s cables are anchored.
These structures were made to house elevators for the trolleys. Alas, the anchorages are off-limits spaces, but Howard told me that each of the four have the same seven artistic tiles inside commemorating milestones in transportation, from one of a Conestoga wagon to one of the USS Shenandoah, the ill-fated dirigible that crashed before the bridge even opened.
One of the anchorages on the Philadelphia side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge as seen from the pedestrian walkway.Stephanie Farr / Staff
Another name
The Ben Franklin Bridge was the longest suspension span in the world, with a distance of 1,750 feet between the two towers, when it opened on July 1, 1926.
In a front-page Inquirer report, journalist Richard J. Beamish noted 250,000 people crossed the bridge on foot opening day and that the structure was “beautiful as gossamer web and seemingly as frail.”
Pedestrian cross the Delaware River Bridge on its opening day in 1926. Philadelphia Inquirer archive
Howard, who quoted that report to me, then asked: “When do you think our first accident was?”
I guessed July 2, 1926. I guessed wrong.
“It was the day it opened,” he said. “People were jockeying to be one of the first to cross the bridge, and over in Camden, you had a fender bender.”
Back then, the span also had a different name — the Delaware River Bridge. It was rechristened in 1956 to avoid confusion when the Walt Whitman Bridge was also built over the Delaware River.
A view of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in the 1950s.Courtesy of the Delaware River Port Authority
The Ben Franklin Bridge wasn’t always blue, either. It was originally gray and was repainted to its current color just ahead of the Bicentennial, Howard said.
‘Calm and serene’
As we stood talking, a man jogging by in Rocky Run T-shirt asked if we’d take a photo of him with the Philly skyline.
Jim Bach of Voorhees works in Camden and likes to run the bridge during his lunch break.
“It’s fantastic. I mean the views that you get when you’re up here, it’s just calm and serene,” he said.
I too felt serene. It was quiet and peaceful on the bridge and being atop it helped me see the city I love in a new way.
A jogger runs across the Ben Franklin Bridge in an Inquirer file photo.TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Howard also helped me to see something else — the Betsy Ross, Walt Whitman, and Commodore Barry Bridges are all visible from the top of the Ben Franklin.
“All bridges essentially become monuments to the area,” he said. This was most true of the one we were standing on.
We talked about the Ben Franklin’s many appearances in television and movies, from Blow Out to 12 Monkeys.
The sun sets behind the Ben Franklin Bridge, seen from Cooper’s Poynt Park on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025 in Camden, NJ.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“Last year they kept coming back from commercial breaks during Monday Night Football and they showed one of three things — the Liberty Bell, someone making cheesesteaks, or the bridge,” Howard said.
In its 100 years, the bridge has become a visual touchstone for the region. You see it and you know you’re in Philly, whether you’re watching a movie or coming back from a road trip. It’s given Philly its sense of place as much as the LOVE sculpture or Independence Hall.
A great connector
When we got to Camden, we walked through the pedestrian tunnel on that end, too. It doesn’t have a mural, but the exterior is decorated with a bright mosaic of birds and animals created by Camden schoolchildren in the early 2000s.
A mosaic created by Camden schoolchildren decorates the exterior of the pedestrian tunnel on the Camden side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.Stephanie Farr / Staff
On our return walk, I asked Howard if he had a moment on the bridge that’s stuck with him. He said a few years ago, while he was leading a tour, there was a commotion on the Philly side. A kitten found its way onto the bridge and police were called. The feline then crawled into the engine compartment of a police cruiser, which had to be taken apart to get it freed.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, so I gotta go adopt it,’” Howard said.
And so he did, and he named the furry little girl Beanie.
I thought of a poignant moment I had once on the bridge. I was a passenger in a vehicle years ago, when I looked over and saw that the car I was in was traveling at relatively the same speed as the PATCO train next to us.
The sun sets over the Philadelphia Skyline behind the Benjamin Franklin Bridge looking southwest from Cooper’s Point Waterfront Park in Camden in this Inquirer file photo.Tom Gralish
I locked eyes with a woman on the train, who looked a lot like me. We smiled at each other and I waved and she waved back. It’s a brief moment that’s always stuck with me. Maybe it’s because I felt like I could have been her in another life, or she could have been me.
Walking the bridge and hearing its stories, I realized that it connects so much more than just Camden and Philly. It connects all of us to each other — in big and small ways — and it connects our future with our history.
Today, I have a new story about the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, the day I walked across it. If you haven’t done so yet, I encourage you to walk it, too, and make a new memory with one of Philadelphia’s great old structures.
A man walks across the Ben Franklin Bridge towards Camden in an Inquirer file photo.ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer
The anniversary celebration for the Ben Franklin Bridge will take place from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. July 11. Details can be found at drpa.org/bfb100/.
Daniel Martino didn’t set out to build an empire of pie shops. He just wanted somewhere to get coffee without leaving the neighborhood.
When he bought his home in Port Richmond in 2013, the closest coffee shop was an hour round trip, he said. “Selfishly, I thought, I can put a little coffee shop here.”
The takeout window at Little Susie’s flagship location at 2532 E. Lehigh Ave.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
And what goes better with a cup of coffee than pie? He had a recipe he’d been baking for family get-togethers.
Seven years after Martino opened Little Susie’s Coffee & Pie in the building next door to his house, his modest idea has grown into four Philadelphia locations, with a fifth expected to open Friday at the former Pop’s Bun Shop in Bella Vista, a franchise headed to Milwaukee, and plans for additional shops in Fairmount and Northern Liberties. All his stores run from takeout windows, requiring little more than coffee stations and electric ovens.
Today, the company employs 28 people and turns out about 1,200 pies a day from a bakery occupying two cramped rooms in the corner rowhouse on Lehigh Avenue.
Owner Daniel Martino with trays of pies at Little Susie’s.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Martino, 46, who grew up in Northeast Philadelphia, has spent much of his working life around food. As a teenager, he worked at a swim club snack bar before taking a kitchen job at what is now Jefferson Torresdale Hospital.
After studying film at Temple University, he joined Public House Investments, which ran City Tap House, as a DJ before becoming the hospitality company’s creative director, designing menus, logos, ads, and marketing material.
When the property next door to his house became available, Martino said he used a home-equity line of credit to buy it before securing a Small Business Administration loan to renovate it.
The takeout window at Little Susie’s. Hand-lettered signs advertise the specials.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
By the time Little Susie’s opened in December 2019, he said, “I had maxed out every credit card I had. I even had to go to the bank, hat in hand, and sign a signature loan for the last $10,000 just to get it open.”
His shop offered a simple menu, little more than coffees and lattes and four kinds of pies. There was a counter for seating. The first day brought in about $180, and “it was the greatest day of my life,” Martino said.
Then the pandemic arrived. When COVID-19 restrictions shut down indoor dining, Little Susie’s shifted to window service. Customers called in orders, paid over the phone, and picked up coffee and pies outside. Even after restrictions were lifted, the shop never reopened indoors.
It wasn’t what Martino had imagined. His idea was ”Cheers with coffee — the neighbors and the mailman talking about the weather,” he said.
Instead, customers embraced the walk-up model and the seating at a picnic table beneath a maple tree. The pies especially quickly caught on. The signature is the crust. Rather than trimming away the excess dough, workers twist it around each pie by hand, creating what Martino calls “a fluffiness that the fork doesn’t provide — that flaky tenderness you want in a pie crust. The twist is its own special treat in and of itself.”
Owner Daniel Martino (rear, right) with staff and pies at Little Susie’s, set up in a rowhouse.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
The pies, which are baked and not fried, are made with a simple crust of flour, butter, sugar, and salt. It’s a 48-hour process. Dough is mixed at the company’s Kensington location, where a 20-quart mixer runs nearly all day. The dough rests for 24 hours before it is brought to Port Richmond, where it is sheeted, filled, twisted, frozen, and delivered to the other stores to be baked to order.
Little Susie’s first menu included only blueberry, pork roll, apple, and mushroom Swiss fillings. Today, it offers about a dozen varieties, with eight available year-round and others rotating seasonally. “You can practically throw anything in this pie crust,” Martino said. “I haven’t been disappointed yet.”
Pies at Little Susie’s.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Pork roll remains the top seller, followed by apple, and a sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast pie encrusted with everything bagel seasoning. Seasonal flavors have included ham and Brie, chocolate-covered strawberry, and Cajun crab and corn. None are gluten-free because of the shop’s limitations, he said.
Not every idea works. “We tried to make a cannoli pie, but the cream just melted right out,” he said.
Each shop sells 200 to 300 pies a day. The production kitchen now employs 11 bakers, who track production on a whiteboard nicknamed “the Pieble.” Each variety get its own knife mark on top; an inverted V, for example, denotes mushroom Swiss.
The “Pieble” at Little Susie’s, the flagship pie takeout place located at 2532 E. Lehigh Ave., in Philadelphia, June 24, 2026.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Lena Hurchick, who has worked at Little Susie’s for three years, said she enjoys “the competition of filling all the shops” and watching customers eat pies she helped make.
“Susie” was the name of the dog that belonged to the former owner of the building. “When we had the community meeting here, I said, ‘I’m thinking Little Susie’s,’ and people started crying,” he said.
Lena Hurchick crimps mushroom pies at Little Susie’s.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Expansion has brought complications. A planned Fairmount location was nearly ready to open before the city determined that the property required zoning approval for food sales. “The city does not make it easy,” he said, adding that it will take months to get onto the zoning board’s calendar.
Even so, he expects the company to keep growing. He has a handshake deal for a spot in Northern Liberties. Milwaukee is planned as the first franchise — operated by a friend — while Martino has begun thinking about a larger bakery in Philadelphia.
“We’re basically bursting at the seams,” he said. “We’re probably going to need a 10,000-square-foot facility.”
Owner Daniel Martino at Little Susie’s.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
He wants that growth to remain slow enough that the pies are still made fresh every day. “I don’t want to get too far away from making them every day, because then it just becomes some frozen-food empire,” he said.
Little Susie’s Coffee & Pies’ locations are at 2532 E. Lehigh Ave. in Port Richmond, Second and Chestnut Streets in Old City, 1772 N. Front St. in Kensington, and 1754 S. Chadwick St. in Point Breeze. A fifth, at 800 S. Ninth St. in Bella Vista, is due to open Friday. Hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
The vibrant, paint-flecked, confetti-esque glazed bowls are Philly icons. But at the end of January, these and hundreds of other ceramic dishes lay in ruins inside Felt and Fat’s kiln.
The wreckage after a winter cold snap destroyed Felt and Fat’s kiln in January 2026.Nate Mell
Philly’s back-to-back snowstorms and cold temperatures froze the ceramic producer’s warehouse’s sprinkler lines, causing sprinkler heads to crack.
Mist blanketed Felt and Fat’s kiln — and kilns are not supposed to ever get wet — for 12 hours. The kiln was just over a year old, custom-ordered from the Netherlands. It cost over $300,000 and was the keystone of founder Nate Mell’s plans for expansion.
The kiln took a year to arrive and was outfitted with a specialized rack system that made loading and unloading pieces — up to 250,000 per year — easy.
“The kiln company told us they couldn’t repair it and with high-pressure gas going into the kiln, even if they could, they couldn’t speak for it in terms of liability,” said Mell, 40. The electrical components were all soaked and frozen. The inside was completely destroyed. “We still haven’t quantified our revenue loss,” he said, despite getting his old kiln back in use about a month after the disaster.
The kiln explosion came on the heels of Felt and Fat filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. “We were really struggling in 2024 and 2025, which was a terrible time to raise money. The early 2020s for us were all about growth,” said Mell.
To get out of bankruptcy, Mell had to come up with a reorganization plan for his creditors. It required getting back to Felt and Fat’s roots.
It all started in 2013, when Ellen Yin and Eli Kulp commissioned custom ceramics from Mell for the original High Street restaurant, which opened in September of that year. He officially formed the business in 2014, and over the next decade, Felt and Fat grew from a two-person ceramics studio — encompassing Mell and former business partner Wynn Bauer, who left the company in 2017 — into one of the region’s most recognizable dinnerware manufacturers. Their plates were seemingly at every award-winning Philadelphia restaurant, from River Twice to Tesiny to the now-closed Laurel.
“We had been growing the same way everyone else grows: build a factory, add people, add machines,” said Mell, a Temple grad who admitted that this trajectory had little to do with what he had been trained in. “I went to the Tyler School of Art and Architecture and studied glass but took classes in ceramics. I worked as a server in Philadelphia restaurants for eight years and started delving deeper into ceramics by working part-time at the Clay Studio back when it was in Old City.”
Felt and Fat provides Provenance with custom ceramic dinnerware.Nate Cluss
He realized that what he and his team does well is “great design, really interesting glaze work with relatively low minimum-order quantities, and interesting collaborations.” His expansion plans were taking him away from that design and glaze work. “The bulk of what we were doing, and what every other factory does, is taking clay and turning it into a shape.”
Collection of canapés served at Provenance in 2024 on Felt and Fat ceramic dinnerware.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
He reached out to an old contact, the company Anfora, located outside of Mexico City, which has been making ceramics for over a century. “They do massive volume, making stuff the way we do. They treat their people well and make the same quality dinnerware with the same porcelain clay we use.”
Food from Zahav on Felt and Fat dishes.Mike Prince
His restructuring plan meant Anfora would produce the shapes for Felt and Fat, and they would be glazed by hand in Philadelphia. Mell has just received the first of his shapes from Anfora, with more to come.
“We’re going to have our standard shapes formed at Anfora. But we’re going to expand our high-touch, low-output forming — hand thrown and slip cast,” he said. “We’re going to be even more handmade than we were before. And we’ll be able to lean into that. But we’ll also have the consistency of our standard pieces.”
Felt and Fat dishes are stacked and lined up at the ceramic company’s Kensington facility.Graham Brosius
These days, Felt and Fat has just seven employees, including Mell. “Everybody gets their hands in everything. We’re a tight little team,” said Mell, though he hopes to add more employees at a more sustainable rate than before.
“The two years leading up to this were tortuous,” said Mell. But he hopes the future will be brighter, with slower, more purposeful growth.
Felt and Fat’s studio is open for browsing by appointment from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3750 M St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19124. To make an appointment, email support@feltandfat.com or call 215-259-8773. Orders can also be placed online at Felt and Fat’s website and picked up at the studio.
The good times roll at Khyber Pass Pub in Old City, where the menu of New Orleans-style comfort food includes a hearty share of vegan items. The chicken-style po’ boy, for example, delivers crispy, thinly breaded seitan while keeping the classic New Orleans formula intact. Served on a crackly Leidenheimer roll, it’s dressed with shredded lettuce, tomato, pickles, vegan mayo, and Creole mustard, delivering a satisfying mix of crunch, tang, and subtle heat. It’s a convincing plant-based rendition that feels like a true po’ boy, not a compromise. Khyber Pass Pub, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888, khyberpasspub.com
— Michael Klein
Fried silverfish — a Cantonese delicacy that’s pretty similar to a French Fry — at Grand Palace, 600 Washington Ave. #3B.Kiki Aranita / Staff
Fried Silverfish at Grand Palace
Weekend dim sum at Grand Palace in South Philly’s Little Saigon is a party where the whole family (second cousins and all) is invited, so the party-sized portions of Cantonese delicacies deserve special attention. The rice-flour-battered and fried silverfish (also known as noodlefish or whitebait) are generously sized and hopelessly addictive. More delicious than any French fry — though similarly salty, crunchy, and thin — the tiny fish are lightly funky and just barely scented with jalapeños and scallions. I haven’t stopped thinking about them since. Grand Palace Restaurant, 600 Washington Ave. #3B, 215-645-0079, grandpalacechineserestaurant.com
— Kiki Aranita
An array of empanadas and a dulce de leche medialuna at Jezabel’s in West Philadelphia.Beatrice Forman / Staff
Empanadas and a dulce de leche medialuna at Jezabel’s
Empanadas are the main attraction at Jezabel Careaga’s eponymous West Philly cafe, where the open-concept kitchen feeds into a dining room that allows customers to watch bakers knead, shape, and pack the dough tight with fillings. The lineup is special, but simple: a stewed chicken empanada lightly seasoned with aji dulce; a vegetarian version stuffed with leeks and gooey white cheese; and a vegan version packed with a summery lentil and corn salad. Careaga’s empanadas are baked — not fried — and so light that it’s easy to snack on several in one sitting.
Even more excellent are the cafe’s medialunas, an Argentinian pastry that sits somewhere between brioche and a croissant. The dulce de leche version is ultra-decadent, its butter crescent-shaped layers peeling apart to reveal a core of caramel cream. When Careaga returns to Fitler Square with a second location — likely opening this fall, I’m told — it’ll still be empanadas and medialunas galaore. Thank goodness. Jezabel’s, 206-208 S. 45th St., 215-554-7380, jezabelsphl.com
Philadelphia officials are planning a major renovation of Market Street’s sidewalks, landscaping, and streetscapes, from Sixth Street toward City Hall.
The announcement of a $2.5 million federal grant to begin the planning and design comes on the heels of the recently completed renovation of the thoroughfare in Old City from Second to Sixth streets. That effort took 18 months of construction and $16 million.
Most recently, the row of storefronts on the 900 block of Market owned by Comcast and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment have begun hosting small pop-up businesses for the summer,as the city celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The Department of Planning and Development is overseeing the revitalization, and the public-private Market East Corridor Advisory Group is helping to craft a vision.
The new $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which the city will match, is limited to planning the streetscape along Market Street between 6th and Juniper Streets.
Construction is years away, said Kelley Yemen, Philadelphia’s director of the Office of Multimodal Planning. Her office is gathering information to evaluate everything from traffic patterns to potential road diets and bike lanes.
“Everything’s on the table at this point,” Yemen said.
Safety remains a primary driver, she said, given that the section of Market Street is situated on the city’s “high-injury network.”
However, she said redesigning the corridor poses unique logistical challenges compared with the recent improvements in Old City.
Market East serves as a major commercial hub with heavy transit use, requiring planners to balance the needs of transit riders, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Additionally, the shallow depth of the underground subway system may constrain surface-level landscaping.
Yemen explained that any trees or plantings must account for the height of the subway ceiling, potentially leading to elevated planters rather than vegetation that’s rooted in the ground.
The city is working with the consulting firm WSP and a team of subconsultants to develop design options.
Yemen anticipates the design will take two to three years, as the city also has to navigate federal environmental reviews.
Though the planning phase is now paid for, the city does not yet have money to fund construction and will likely look to federal or state grants for help in the future.
Public involvement will be a key next step, she said.
The planning commission is expected to launch a broader public engagement push this July to gather community input on the larger Market East revival.
When chef Christopher Kearse was planning Forsythia, the French restaurant he opened in Old City in 2019, he had two ideas that could not fit into the same room.
One was Forsythia. The other opens in Washington Square West on Friday, seven years later.
Phoebe Schuh of PS & Daughters (left) with owners Lauren and Christopher Kearse toast on a banquette at Known Associates.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
It’s a 40-seat cocktail bar called Known Associates, taking over the corner space at 10th and Spruce Streets that previously housed Varga Bar. The concept is built around cocktails and a compact food menu rather than full dinner service, though the fare is substantial.
For Kearse, the opening is another chapter in a career that began far from cocktail bars and French dining rooms. He grew up in Levittown, one of eight children, and learned to cook while recovering from a serious car crash at 16 that left him with severe facial injuries. During that long recovery, he cooked for his parents and siblings. He later worked in some of the country’s most exacting kitchens — Charlie Trotter’s and Alinea in Chicago, and the French Laundry in California — before returning to the Philadelphia area to become sous chef at Lacroix and Blackfish, followed by 2½ years as chef de cuisine at Pumpkin. In 2012, at 28, he opened Will BYOB on East Passyunk Avenue, closing it to move uptown to open the French restaurant Forsythia in the former Capofitto space in Old City. Forsythia earned a Michelin recommendation last year.
The tile floor is one of the few elements saved from Known Associates’ previous incarnation, Varga Bar. Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
Known Associates is not intended to be an extension of Forsythia. Kearse and his wife, Lauren, who is also an owner, said the concept came into focus during their honeymoon trip through Europe, traveling by train from Zurich to Florence and spending time in smaller bars and cafés in places like Lake Como and Milan.
Lauren Kearse said one nearly empty bar in Como became the image they kept returning to: quiet, low-key, hospitable, and free of the sort of self-conscious “experience” building that now attaches itself to so many cocktail bars.
The bar at Known Associates, chef Chris Kearse’s new cocktail bar on 10th and Spruce streets, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
That idea is reflected in the room itself, which was rebuilt almost entirely. Phoebe Schuh of PS & Daughters, who also designed Forsythia, said the black-and-white tile floors were among the few elements retained from Varga, an unassuming gastropub with serious beer chops that closed after the unexpected death of owner Rich Colli in February 2025.
The Varga Bar murals painted on the ceiling — the “Varga girls” that were part of the bar’s identity for years — were salvaged and may be auctioned, with proceeds going to a fund in Colli’s memory, Schuh said.
Crudite with potato puffs and caramelized sour cream and onion dip at Known Associates.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
The finished room is emphatically café lounge, not neighborhood drinking den. Floral wallpaper wraps the walls. Patterned banquettes line marble-topped tables. Mustard velvet chairs sit beneath wall sconces, with checkerboard flooring underfoot and a red-and-white striped canopy treatment stretched overhead. The overall effect is layered and slightly theatrical.
Schuh said her working relationship with Kearse is built on familiarity. “Chris and I just kind of speak the same language because we’re both artists,” she said. “We’re not that great at talking about our work, but we’re great at producing our work.”
The location — within blocks of Jefferson, Wills Eye, and Pennsylvania Hospitals — also helped shape the project. Lauren Kearse said they envisioned a room that could work for after-work drinks and dinner-adjacent snacking as much as destination cocktail traffic.
That balance shows up on the food menu, which is limited to 10 savory dishes and two desserts. Kearse said the kitchen’s role is to support the bar rather than turn it into another restaurant. Still, the menu is more ambitious than standard bar snacks and has some of Forsythia’s cheffy feel.
Cool ranch peas at Known Associates.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
The burger that is a signature at Forsythia appears at Known Associates as burger au poivre, topped with Comté, cut in half, and served cut-side down in a pool of peppercorn reduction ($20). Char siu duck legs ($22) come on a pretzel milk bun with fish sauce and pickles. There’s also a chicken club ($23) with green goddess dressing and Benton’s bacon.
Lighter dishes include black-eye pea falafel with muhammara and green-scallion hummus ($15); hamachi toast with hard-boiled egg and piri piri ($22); pomme frites with Comté cheese foam ($10); and freeze-dried cool ranch peas meant for snacking with drinks. Seasonal crudité ($12) comes with potato puffs and a caramelized sour cream and onion dip. Desserts ($12) are limited to two: toasted rice milk ice cream with sesame and peanut brittle, and triple chocolate mousse with dulce de leche and toasted hazelnut.
The kitchen is led by chef Brandon Brokenbough, formerly of Enswell and Scarpetta.
Chefs Christopher Kearse (left) and Brandon Brokenbough at Known Associates.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
Beverage director Chris Harrop’s cocktails are built around prep work and technique. The TNT ($18) — tomato and tonic — uses clarified tomato water made from tomato, red bell pepper, shallot, fennel, and cucumber. The solids left behind after clarification are dehydrated and served as chips alongside the drink. Harrop said the same clarified base can also be used as a zero-proof savory soda.
The Bittered in Bond ($20), a Boulevardier variation, is made with a house mezcal amaro, Bonal Gentiane, Cappelletti Aperitivo, Licor 43, and salt. It is bottled in a small flask with a batch number and bottling date and poured tableside, a nod to bottled-in-bond whiskey labeling.
Between Harvest ($19), meanwhile, is a Martinez variation with Hayman’s Old Tom gin, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, Nardini Rabarbaro, and muddled cucumber. Harrop said the name came from a Forsythia customer’s observation that rhubarb and cucumber almost never overlap in season — one fading as the other begins. For summer, he said, the bar has a frozen zombie ($19) assembled to order, with the rum blend kept separate from the slush machine so each drink can still be measured and built fresh.
The name Known Associates carries a passing wink to spy movies — the Kearses are fans of Bond films — but Lauren Kearse said the bar is not built as a themed concept.
“We have no interest in doing that,” she said. “We wanted something punchy that had a little bit of mystery to it.”
Known Associates, 941 Spruce St., opens June 26 and will be open daily from 3 p.m. to midnight.
Three Philadelphia-area athletes were recently arrested in connection with an April assault in Old City that left the victim with a concussion, a broken nose, and two chipped teeth, among other injuries.
Charles W. Foulke and Masiia Acrey, both 18, have been charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and harassment.
Jalen Millevoix, 19, was charged with criminal mischief and conspiracy.
Foulke is a former starting quarterback for St. Joseph’s Prep who transferred to Glassboro High School in the last schoolyear. Acrey is currently a cornerback at St. Joe’s. Millevoix played football at Eastern Regional High School in New Jersey and graduated in 2025, according to his social media.
As first reported by Syracuse.com, Foulke and Acrey are Syracuse University football recruits. The university’s athletics department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a source familiar with the football program’s thinking told Syracuse.com the school still considers Foulke and Acrey part of the 2027 football class.
The incident started with a “noogie” just before 2:30 a.m.on April 12, according to Philadelphia police.
The group of athletes encountered a man and woman outside waiting for their rideshare when one of the football players proceeded to rub his knuckles against the man’s head. The interaction appeared to have ended after the man told the group to knock it off.
But as the rideshare arrived, one athlete gave the man another noogie. The man lunged in response, took a swing, and the group began to attack him.
Police said the victim was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital with abrasions to the left side of his face and body, requiring stitching for his nose, which was also broken. The rideshare car was also damaged in the scuffle.
Millevoix was arrested May 23 and released without bail, with his preliminary hearing scheduled for June 22. His attorney, Gregory Joseph Pagano, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Foulke was arrested May 26 with his unsecured bail set at $200,000 and his preliminary hearing scheduled for July 10. His attorney, Joseph Kelly, declined to comment.
Acrey was arrested June 3 with unsecured bail set at $50,000 and a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 22. His attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., could not immediately be reached for comment.
