With temperatures expected to get close to 90 degrees later this week, some Philadelphia schools will dismiss early Tuesday.
Fifty-two schools still lack air-conditioning.
“The Philadelphia region is experiencing higher-than-normal temperatures, and while the district has made significant progress toward ensuring our schools are adequately cooled to provide safe and comfortable learning environments, some schools still have inadequate cooling systems,” Oz Hill, the deputy superintendent of operations, wrote in a letter sent to families Monday.
The Philadelphia School District’s extreme-weather protocol means that if temperatures are forecast to reach or exceed 85 degrees by noon, those schools dismiss early; if it hits 85 degrees by 9 a.m., the call is for remote learning.
That means an unequal experience for students across the system, with students in some schools not missing any instructional time when it’s hot, and those in a quarter of schools subject to interrupted schedules.
“While we know that in-person learning is the best environment for students, the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and families remains our top priority,” Hill wrote. “Thank you for your flexibility and partnership. Please take care, stay cool, and stay safe.”
The holdup in air-conditioning all district schools is not related to the cost of air-conditioning units, but rather upgrading old electrical systems in the 52 schools.
Such upgrades are tricky. An HVAC project at Kensington High went awry this summer, triggering asbestos issues that forced students and staff to relocate for the rest of the calendar year.
School officials said in 2022 they aimed to have all district schools fully air-conditioned by 2027. But on the cusp of that cutoff, that goal seems unlikely.
Which schools will dismiss early?
The 52 schools that will have a half day Tuesday are:
Sheri Herman, 71, formerly of Philadelphia, pioneering internet and cable TV executive, former senior vice president of content and business development for E! Entertainment Television, former president of internet startup American Cybercast, founder of SLH Communications, tech prophet, and dancer, died Thursday, Aug. 6, of heart failure at her home in Telogia, Fla., about 35 miles west of Tallahassee.
A magna cum laude communications graduate at Temple University, Ms. Herman went to New York after college to produce commercials for an ad agency. Over the next 27 years, she relocated to Denver and Los Angeles, successfully marketed, programmed, and developed dozens of TV networks and online companies, and pioneered the integration of TV and the emerging internet.
She was “mesmerized” by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, her sister, Nadine, said, and predicted in the 1970s that one personal device would eventually take pictures, send messages, stream content, and still make phone calls. Jarl Mohn, former president and chief executive officer at E!, called Ms. Herman “a pioneer in incorporating new technologies and branding in entertainment.”
He said: “She also brought passion and conviction to everything she worked on.”
Ms. Herman founded her own firm, SLH Communications, in 1999. Courtesy of the family
Ms. Herman helped turn the startup Movietime channel into E! Entertainment Television in 1990 and told the Los Angeles Times: “We’re going to totally reposition the network. You won’t recognize us.” Over the next few years, E! grew its subscriber base from two million to 55 million, and Ms. Herman won industry awards for her marketing campaigns.
At American Cybercast, she championed The Spot, a groundbreaking interactiveonline reality show, in 1995, and told the Los Angeles Times in 1996: “We’re creating a new medium, but we’re kind of a cross between publishing and broadcasting in that we’re going to be advertising driven. If we were a movie studio, we’d be Miramax with a little more edge.”
Russell Collins, founder of American Cybercast, said: “Sheri Herman was nothing if not fearless. Her determination was boundless and fierce.”
Ms. Herman was especially effective at fundraising for projects and combining online content with ads and product placement. She trailblazed new internet publishing formats that included text, photos, and videos, and predicted the collision of TV and internet content. In 1996, she told Variety: “Eyeballs will move from TV to PC.”
Ms. Herman (left) oversaw the development of the Discovery Channel, the Fashion Channel, QVC, and other networks.Courtesy of the family
As director of programming for the United Cable Television Corp. in the mid-1980s, Ms. Herman collaborated with dozens of networks and oversaw the development of the Discovery Channel, the Fashion Channel, QVC, and other networks.
As senior vice president of programming and production for the Access Entertainment Network in the late 1990s, she reintroduced popular music videos and, according to Variety in 1998, gained six million subscribers in the network’s first three months of existence.
Shefounded her own firm, SLH Communications, in 1999 and contracted with TV Guide, Barnes & Noble, Hilton Hotels, musicians Quincy Jones and Jon Bon Jovi, and other entertainers and businesses. In New York, in the 1980s, she worked with cosmetics mogul Estée Lauder.
Temple officials noted her “influential career” in a tribute, and longtime friend and colleague Martin Lewis said: “She had a relentless thirst for charting new paths forward. She proselytized new media, new approaches, new everything.”
Ms. Herman (right) enjoyed time with her family.Courtesy of the family
In 2007, Ms. Herman reduced her daily responsibilities after being seriously injured in an auto accident in California. She moved to Florida in 2021.
Lewis said: “She was inventive, creative, exhilarating.”
Sheri Lynn Herman was born May 21, 1955, in Philadelphia. She grew up in Overbrook Park with her parents and older sister, and graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls.
Her family featured several singers, and she spent many holidays singing songs and playing guitar around the piano at her grandparents’ home in Wynnefield. She loved music, studied ballet when she was young, and performed later with the Janosik Polish Dance Ensemble.
Ms. Herman was a magna cum laude communications graduate at Temple University.Courtesy of the family
Stylish and social, Ms. Herman enjoyed traveling and entertaining. She was a skilled seamstress who made her own clothes, an accomplished chef, and adept at interior decorating. She doted on her cats and dogs.
She married and divorced twice, and, after Philadelphia, lived in New York, Denver, and Los Angeles before Florida. Her sister said: “She was brilliant.”
In addition to her sister, Ms. Herman is survived by other relatives.
A celebration of her life is to be held later. Family, friends, and colleagues can connect at www.SheriHerman.com.
Eighth graders tossed a football across the concrete schoolyard. A fourth grader broke into a dead run, intent on catching up with friends she hadn’t seen all summer. A teacher hugged a first grader with a shy smile and a giant pink backpack crammed with school supplies.
The scene at Overbrook Elementary played out across the city Monday morning as most of the Philadelphia School District’s 113,000 students returned to class for the start of the 2026-27 school year. Kindergartners are due to begin classes Thursday.
At McClure Elementary in Hunting Park, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. repeated at a news conference his overarching goal: for Philadelphia to become the fastest-improving big-city school district in the U.S.
McClure Elementary principal Luis Garcia greets students Monday, Aug. 24, 2026 before they head into class on the first day of school in the Philadelphia School District.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The district will “double down this year to continue to drive this fast improvement, and we won’t rest until all of our children are at grade level in reading and math,” Watlington said. According to 2024-25 state data, 34% of district students meet state standards in reading, and 23% in math. (More recent PSSAs, typically available to teachers and principals by now, have not been shared by Philadelphia leaders.)
Reginald Streater, the school board president, said improving educational outcomes is also about creating generational value.
“A student can walk through the doors, irrespective of their race, creed, class, gender, or shared ancestry, in our schools with a world of possibilities in front of them and leave those same doors with the knowledge, confidence, and opportunity to pursue the future they envision for themselves,” said Streater, father of two children in district schools, “armed with the tools to break the bonds of generational curses and barriers designed to keep them and their ancestors and their progeny in a perpetual state of servitude and second-class citizens.”
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker was not present at the district’s first-day festivities, a rarity, but Debora Carrera, her chief education officer, touted Parker’s $48 million agreement that restored some of the 340 positions that otherwise would have been axed because of budget cuts.
That was good newsfor Johnny Beauchamp, a single father and truck driver, who was dropping off his son for his first day at McClure.
While Beauchamp said he is confident the city has addressed its budgetary concerns regarding staffing and school openings, he hopes to see some initiatives on school safety.
“I’m actually more excited than he is. It’s his first day … and his bright future starts today,” Beauchamp said. “But my main concern nowadays is the safety, especially with guns and stuff like that. Also, making sure our schools are clean and sidewalks are clear of glass and other dangerous stuff where our kids are playing.”
Overbrook is a small, high-performing school in a very old building: The school is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. Its tight-knit community wraps its arms around Overbrook and has mounted a fierce fight to keep it open.
“Leave Overbrook alone,” said Fahmee Shabazz, dad of an Overbrook fourth grader. “Please, somebody help us.”
Teachers union and elected officials were on hand at Overbrook for a news conference to pledge continuing efforts to try. Multiple politicians have said they will keep the pressure up to remove Overbrook Elementary, Robeson High, and Lankenau High from the district’s closing list.
Teachers, politicians and Philadelphia Federation of Teachers officials listen to Kenneth Glover, principal of Overbrook Elementary School, speak on the first day of the 2026-27 school year. Glover said the school, which is one of 17 Philadelphia schools slated to close, will focus on academics this year and let adults fight a battle to stave off closure.Kristen A. Graham / Staff
“We cannot disrupt the good things that are happening here,” said State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Philadelphia), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Hughes said action needs to happen in Harrisburg to help better fund schools. But he added: “We’re still going to fight for Overbrook Elementary and the schools like it, [which] deserve to stay open.”
Last year, many Overbrook Elementary teachers used news of the school’s closing as an object lesson — in civics and the world around them — said Kenneth Glover, the school’s principal.
“I’m so happy that it’s day one,” he said. “Like I tell my students all the time, each day is a fresh start, and this year is a fresh start. Last year, a lot of the focus was on adult issues, right, fighting to keep the school open. This year, I really want students to focus on academics … for us to just have a beautiful school year.”
Overbrook Elementary School students get ready to enter the building for the first day of the 2026-27 school year. It could be the 120-year-old school’s last first day, as it’s one of 17 schools the Philadelphia School District has slated to close.Kristen A. Graham / Staff
While Glover said he still hoped the school could be kept open, he has begun to work with the district’s newly created transition office to plan for what comes next.
Still, said Kathryn McQuade, Overbrook Elementary’s art teacher, the closure and the fight to prevent it are overshadowing the year for many.
“Seven million could easily go towards … modernizing this building for the future,” McQuade said. “And that wouldn’t be a lease, that would be a one-time price tag.”
Arthur Steinberg, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said he “was hoping that when I came here today I’d be able to say, ‘Well, we saved Overbrook from the chopping block.’ Unfortunately, that is not the case. However, we have not given up the fight to keep Overbrook and every other school in the city open.”
Steinberg said the PFT would release a plan this week that would give the district a path to keep all 17 schools open.
Robin P. Cooper (upper right) watches as school and city official gather for a group photo outside the district bus. Cooper is president of Commonwealth Association of School Administrators (CASA). At far left is Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. The bus, part of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s Neighborhood Community Action Centers, was to visit and rally at schools in every city council district.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
You say you want a revolution? That’s not quite what SEPTA’s proposing. This weekend, the region’s transit agency will roll out the first phase of its New Bus Network, the bus system’s first significant update since the agency was formed in the 1960s.
Sound familiar? Once dubbed Bus Revolution, the project began in 2021 after transit agencies around the country saw massive declines in ridership. SEPTA’s Bus Revolution was set to launch in 2025 but faced significant community pushback and coincided with the state funding crisis that halted many planned transit initiatives. It was officially shelved in November 2024.
Later phases of the plan, which will roll out in 2027, will impact other neighborhoods. The number of bus routes in SEPTA’s system will drop from the current 124 to 106 when all four phases are complete.
SEPTA says the changes are needed to modernize the system and make it easier to use.
To help you navigate the changes that will impact how you navigate the city, we’re here to breakdown down all 30 impacted routes.
This route remains the same but with reduced service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 16-25 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Saturdays
8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 22-25 minutes
Every 30 minutes
6
Cheltenham-Ogontz to Olney Transportation Center
On weekdays, route 6 will have increased service during peak hours, but a reduced service otherwise.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 11-13 minutes
Every 10 minutes
Weekdays
9 p.m. to midnight
Every 20 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Weekdays
midnight to 4 a.m.
Every 30-40 minutes
Every 60 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
17
Front-Market to 20th-Johnston
Route 17 will be shortened and no longer operate on its old route from 20th Street and Johnston Street down to the stadium complex or the Navy Yard. SEPTA recommends Navy Yard commuters take route 45 instead.
This route will also operate with reduced service overnight.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
midnight to 5 a.m.
Every 30 minutes
Every 60 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
25
Frankford Transportation Center to Front-Spring Garden
Route 25 is essentially being cut in half. The old route ran down Delaware Avenue to Columbus Commons. The new route will terminate at the Spring Garden Market-Frankford Line station. The old route from Spring Garden to Columbus Commons will be serviced by the new route 76.
Route 25 will now operate for 24 hours a day, as part of SEPTA’s late-night OWL network.
This route will also have increased service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 20-30 minutes
Every 15 minutes
Weekends
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 30 minutes
Every 20 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
32
Broad-Carpenter to Ridge-Lyceum
Route 32 will have slightly reduced service with fewer buses overall. All route 32 buses will terminate at Manayunk, as opposed to the previous schedule where half would terminate at 33rd Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue. There’s also a slight route extension into Roxborough for school service.
35
Manayunk Roxborough Loop
Route 35 will be discontinued on Aug. 23. SEPTA recommends riders take route 61.
According to SEPTA’s operation statistics, route 35 is the seventh most expensive bus based on the average cost per passenger.
39
Richmond-Cumberland to 33rd-Dauphin
Route 39 will remain the same but with reduced service on weekdays and slightly increased service on Saturday evenings..
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 20-30 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Saturday
5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 40-60 minutes
Every 30 minutes
44
Front-Market to Ardmore
Route 44 will no longer run along its old route that would sometimes terminate at Gladwyne. Beginning Aug. 23, all 44 buses will run to Ardmore, with select trips stopping at Narberth.
This route will also have reduced service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Every 15-30 minutes
Every 60 minutes
Weekends
6 a.m. to midnight
Every 30 minutes
Every 60 minutes
45
Navy Yard/Broad-Oregon to 12th-Noble
Route 45 will be extended to the Navy Yard to cover for the changes to route 17.
After 9 p.m. the route will have reduced service on weekdays.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
9 p.m. to midnight
Every 20 minutes
Every 30 minutes
46
58th-Baltimore to 63rd-Malvern
Route 46 will have increased service on weekdays.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Saturdays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Every 20 minutes
Every 15 minutes
Sundays
9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Every 30 minutes
Every 20 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
47
Whitman Plaza to 5th-Godfrey
Route 47 will merge with route 47M and have increased service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 8-9 minutes
Every 7-8 minutes
All days
Midnight. to 5 a.m.
Every 45 minutes
Every 30 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
47M
Whitman Plaza to 7th-Spring Garden via 9th
Route 47M has been discontinued and will now be served by a more frequent route 47.
The merger of these two routes includes a realignment so that the northbound 47 runs on Seventh Street, as opposed to Ninth Street. Southbound buses will still run on Eighth Street.
49
33rd-Dauphin to 40th-Baltimore
Route 49 will look very different from its old route. It will no longer serve Gray’s Ferry. SEPTA recommends riders take route 79 instead.
Route 49 will also operate on many different roads. The most notable change is taking 33rd Street instead of 29th Street. in Strawberry Mansion and Brewerytown.
These changes are paired with generally reduced service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Every 18-22 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Saturdays
8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 22 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Sundays
9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Every 22 minutes
Every 30 minutes
52
49th-Woodland to Wissahickon Transportation Center/50th-Parkside
Route 52 will no longer follow its old route to Gladwyne. SEPTA cites low ridership and doesn’t offer an alternative route.
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
53
Carpenter Station to Richmond-Westmoreland
Buses on route 53 will no longer follow the old route that terminated at Sedgwick Street and Wayne Avenue. Instead, service will end at Carpenter Regional Rail station. There are additionally a bunch of small differences across the route. For example, route 53 will now serve Roosevelt Boulevard. on the western side of Hunting Park.
The 53 will also continue past G Street and extend into Port Richmond.
54
Richmond-Cambria to 33rd-Dauphin
Buses on route 54 will have reduced service during weekdays and increased service during evenings.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Every 15-18 minutes
Every 20 minutes
All days
9 p.m. to midnight
Every 45 minutes
Every 30 minutes
57
Whitman Plaza to Fern Rock Transportation Center
The old route 57 occasionally would terminate at Packer Marine Terminal, that service will be discontinued.
During weekends the route 57 will run at a reduced service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekends
All day
Every 10-12 minutes
Every 15 minutes
Service along Crescentville and Cheltenham Avenues will be reduced to every hour.
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
60
Wissahickon Transportation Center/35th-Allegheny to Richmond-Westmoreland
Most of route 60 will continue to go down Allegheny Avenue, but it will not follow its old route where some buses stopped on Delaware Avenue and Lewis Street.
The 60 will occasionally take an extended route and continue to the Wissahickon Transportation Center. The schedule is roughly split 50:50 whether a bus will continue to this new terminus or stop early at 35th Street and Allegheny Avenue.
Route 60 will also see increased service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Every 10-15 minutes
Every 10 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
61
9th-Market to Ridge-Summit
Route 61 will be extended to Upper Roxborough. This is primarily to cover for the discontinued route 35.
62
9th-Market to Andorra
Route 62 will be discontinued. SEPTA recommends riders take routes 9, 27, or 61 as an alternative. According to SEPTA, route 62 was the fourth most expensive route to operate, costing an average of $45 per passenger.
64
50th-Parkside to Pier 70
Previously, route 64 would occasionally terminate at 49th Street and Woodland Avenue. Under the new network, all trips will terminate at Parkside Loop. The 64 will also no longer take the old route’s detour into Grays Ferry.
Route 64 will operate at a increased service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
All days
6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Every 12-18 minutes
Every 12 minutes
All days
9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 20 minutes
Every 15 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
72
Cedarbrook Plaza to Frankford Transportation Center
72 is a brand new route that mostly operates on Cheltenham Avenue and will run every 30 minutes.
73
Frankford Transportation Center to Richmond-Westmoreland
Route 73 will now run at a reduced service from every 20-25 minutes to every 30 minutes.
Additionally the route 73 will no longer be part of the OWL network, ending 24-hour service on the line. SEPTA recommends riders take route 25 for overnight buses.
76
Rising Sun-Olney to Columbus Commons
Route 76 is a brand new route that will mostly run along Delaware and Frankford Avenues every 30 minutes. This route replaces service removed from the newly aligned route 25.
78
Express from Cornwells Heights to Center City
Route 78 will be discontinued due to lower ridership. SEPTA does not recommend an alternative bus.
According to SEPTA figures, the 78 was the most expensive bus to operate in their network. It has an average of 2.4 passengers per hour, costing the agency $394 per rider.
79
Columbus Commons to 29th-Snyder/40th-Market
Route 79 will occasionally be extended into West Philadelphia. Roughly every other bus will continue to 40th and Market Streets, instead of the current terminus of 29th Street and Synder Avenue.
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
80
Express from Horsham to Olney Transit Center
Route 80 will be discontinued. SEPTA stated that “ridership has declined significantly since 2019 and the same connection can be made with a transfer on local routes 22, 51, and 310.”
According to SEPTA data, route 80 was the third most expensive route to run, costing the agency $50 per passenger.
89
Front-Dauphin to Arrott Transit Center
Route 89 will be discontinued. SEPTA says route 89 is “duplicative of other routes,” and offers “routes 3, 5, 25, 39, 41, 43, 53, 56, 75, 76, and K as alternatives.”
105
Paoli/Rosemont to 69th Street Transit Center
Route 105 will extend to Paoli for roughly every other bus, essentially merging with the now discontinued route 106.
The old route that serviced Suburban Square will no longer operate. There are also minor alignment changes in Overbrook.
Route 105 will operate at a increased service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
All day
Every 30-60 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Weekends
All day
Every 60 minutes
Every 30 minutes
These changes will take effect on Aug. 24.
106
Paoli to 69th Street Transit Center
Route 106 will be discontinued on Aug. 24.
Do you still have questions about the changes to SEPTA’s bus network? Read our Q&A guide for details on how to contact SEPTA, information about future alterations in 2027, and much more.
Methodology
The animating buses on the diagram are an approximation of the number of buses active at 9 a.m. on a weekday schedule.
Old routes are accurate to SEPTA’s bus network on Aug. 4.
For simplicity, if a route can have different terminuses, we show all possible paths the bus operates on.
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Staff Contributors
Design, Development, and Data: Sam Morris
Reporting: Sam Morris and Erica Palan
Editing: Cynthia Henry
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Northeast Philadelphia’s last traditional Jewish delicatessen will close this weekend, ending a chapter in a food culture that for decades seemed inseparable from the area itself.
Steve Stein’s Famous Deli, in Bustleton’s Grant Plaza, outlasted a food landscape once crowded with Jewish delis, bakeries, butchers, and other specialty shops. Its closing Sunday comes more than nine years after the finale of Jack’s Deli in Bell’s Corner, the Northeast’s penultimate deli. Like Stein’s, Jack’s combined a retail counter with a restaurant.
The deli counter at Steve Stein’s Famous Deli on Aug. 14, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
For Steve Stein, 83, the closing will end a family business whose roots stretch back to the late 1950s, when his family became involved with the Famous Deli location at 6826 Bustleton Ave. in Castor Gardens.
Famous was part of an older Philadelphia deli dynasty. Beginning in the 1920s, the Auspitz brothers launched a string of delis around the city, including the flagship at Fourth and Bainbridge Streets in Queen Village, now owned by Al Gamble.
Around 1960, Stein said, the Auspitzes sold the Bustleton Avenue Famous to Stein’s father, Mike, his brother Arnold, and his cousin Jack. The boys had run the produce concession there. Steve and Arnie, who died in 2010, later ran it side by side. Steve now runs the place with his son, Lee, now 57.
Lee Stein weighs corned beef at his father’s deli on Aug. 14, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Since Stein announced the closing, customers have been stocking up on corned beef, smoked fish, rye bread, and other foods they fear they will not easily replace. Stein has cut prices as he tries to move inventory.
“Nobody’s charging $9.99 a pound for house-cured corned beef,” Lee Stein said.
On Friday, Tracey Lynn of Fox Chase ordered two pounds of corned beef while plucking garlic-perfumed sour tomatoes from a barrel, telling Stein that she planned to freeze some of the meat.
Lynn said she and her husband have been customers since 1993. She is not sure where she will shop next. “I don’t want whitefish salad from BJ’s or from Costco,” she said.
The closing is partly a retirement story. Stein said problems with his legs have made it increasingly difficult to work.
But it is also about labor costs, food prices, succession, and a neighborhood whose demographics have changed dramatically over the life of the business.
As Jewish families moved farther into the Northeast, Famous followed: first, in the mid-1970s, to Krewstown Road (where it had two locations) and, 14 years ago, to Grant Avenue. Stein, who later also had a short-lived store in Holland, Bucks County, sold the Bustleton Avenue store in the mid-1970s.
In that sense, the history of Famous tracks the movement of Jewish Philadelphia itself.
Steve Stein, owner of Steve Stein’s Famous Deli, takes a break in his office.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
A suburban diaspora
After World War II, thousands of Jewish families left older Philadelphia neighborhoods such as Strawberry Mansion, Queen Village, and Wynnefield for Oxford Circle, Castor Gardens, Rhawnhurst, and Bustleton in the rapidly developing Northeast. Others moved to Lower Merion and Cherry Hill, which developed large Jewish communities and deli cultures of their own that remain.
By 1970, demographer Ira Rosenwaike estimated, using Census data on Yiddish as a mother tongue, that more than 68,000 Jewish adults 25 and older lived in the Near and Far Northeast.
That population supported an extraordinary density of Jewish food businesses: Abe’s Appetizers, Castor Deli, R&W, Stern’s, Paul’s, Four Lads, Dave’s, Casino, the Nasherei, four Barson-Overbrook locations.
Steve Stein (left), owner of Steve Stein’s Famous Deli, behind the counter with his son, Lee.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
To Hasia Diner, a historian and New York University professor who specializes in American Jewish history, the significance of delis was precisely their ordinariness. They were not institutions created to preserve Jewish culture. They were where neighborhood life happened.
“On the one hand, [delis] seem so everyday,” Diner said in an interview. “They’re not great synagogues where religion was expounded, or places where great ideas were pronounced. But they were places where life was lived.”
Some were kosher and others were not. What mattered, Diner said, was that the deli offered a secular Jewish space, rooted as much in neighborhood and food as in religious observance.
By the 1980s, however, those neighborhoods were changing. In a 1987 Inquirer article, Bruce Isakoff of Paul’s Deli, on Castor Avenue near Brighton Street, said his business was doing more lunchtime trade as Jews left the neighborhood and it became a more generic deli. By then, Four Lads, on Castor Avenue at Creston Street in Oxford Circle, had stopped carrying smoked fish and pastrami. Both are long gone.
A ‘kind of shrine’
Many Jewish households moved farther north and into Bucks and Montgomery Counties. A 1996-97 Jewish Federation study found that Philadelphia accounted for 41% of the region’s population living in Jewish households, down from 54% in 1984, while Bucks County’s share had nearly doubled.
The studies used different definitions and geographic boundaries, but the direction was unmistakable: The dense Jewish population that once sustained neighborhood delis had dispersed.
Steve Stein, owner of Steve Stein’s Famous Deli, taking a deli order on Aug. 14, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The movement itself was nothing new, Diner said. American Jewish communities repeatedly established themselves in neighborhoods and moved elsewhere. What changed was the role of the old neighborhood — and of the deli within it.
“The deli was often the kind of shrine to which they went back,” she said.
The old delis offered something beyond nostalgia. In their heyday, Diner said, they were overwhelmingly Jewish spaces where customers did not have to explain themselves or worry about how they appeared to outsiders.
“These places were so rich with a kind of embeddedness, of comfort and security and, again, letting your hair down,” she said.
A sign proclaiming, “Yes, We Have Tongue!!!” at the entrance at Steve Stein’s Famous Deli.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Population was only part of the story. Supermarkets increasingly stock foods that once sent customers to specialty counters: corned beef, pastrami, smoked fish, whitefish salad, herring, rye bread, bagels, pickles, and knishes. But not everything. Signs at Famous proclaim, “Yes, We Have Tongue!!!” Not many others do.
More important, Diner said, is what cannot be sold at a supermarket: the deli as a secular gathering place, where being Jewish required neither religious observance nor agreement about politics. “A pastrami sandwich is a pastrami sandwich,” she said.
Costly ingredients
The traditional deli model itself is expensive and labor-intensive, built around extensive preparation and a sprawling inventory. Famous still cures its corned beef and makes its own turkey, pastrami, whitefish salad, and spice beef.
Steve Stein’s Famous Deli is equal parts market, deli counter, and restaurant.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Steve Stein said finding employees has become increasingly difficult. Lee Stein said prospective workers have easier options, such as driving for Uber or making deliveries for Grubhub.
The deli has about 35 employees, many part-time. Some are placed through SPIN, the Philadelphia nonprofit that supports people with intellectual, developmental, and autism spectrum disabilities.
Survival has also required adapting to the customer base, increasingly non-Jewish. Lee said he remembers when Famous carried a single canned ham, hidden behind the counter. Though few Jewish delis are kosher, pork traditionally has been another matter.
“Nobody was allowed to say the word ham,” he said.
Today, their case holds about a dozen varieties.
Rob Woloshin, 40, owner of Manny’s Deli Stop in Willow Grove, grew up going to Stein’s Famous with his father. His deli represents a leaner version of the old model: counter service, a few tables, online ordering, and delivery, with traditional deli sandwiches alongside chicken cutlets, wraps, and other contemporary offerings.
Cashier Linda DiNenno, who has worked at Steve Stein’s Famous for about 13 years, checks out a customer.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
“We’ve kind of modernized, I guess, as much as the Jewish deli can be modernized,” Woloshin said.
Famous may yet have an afterlife. Lee Stein said he is talking with the landlord about a deal that could keep him in the space, under another name, in time for the Jewish High Holy Days, which begin Sept. 11. If not, he might offer catering from a synagogue kitchen.
For longtime cashier Linda DiNenno, the closing is less about corned beef than the people around the counter. She said she will miss the family atmosphere among employees and customers who have been calling to say goodbye.
“I’ve got customers calling on the phone, like, ‘Oh my God, I’m gonna miss you, Linda,’” she said.
The Philadelphia School District is about to face significant new scrutiny, with City Council President Kenyatta Johnson asking for a sweeping performance audit of the school system’s management and operations.
City Controller Christy Brady has agreed to the request, which came via a letter in recent weekssigned by all 17 Council members, Johnson’s office told The Inquirer. The comprehensive review will go beyond the audit Brady’s office performs annually, delving into areas such as staffing and outside contractors.
Council laid out no deadline for the audit but made clear it is expecting the results in time for next budget season, which will begin in the new year and ramp up in the spring.
The district, one of the largest in the United States, has a $4.6 billion budget, which funds education for 113,000 students in 213 district schools and 65,000 in 81 charters. About $2 billion of that money comes directly from the city.
“While the SDP is subject to regular financial statement audits that examine the accuracy of financial reporting and compliance with applicable accounting standards, this request seeks a performance audit focused on evaluating the efficiency, effectiveness, and management of financial and operational practices, including budgeting decisions, resource allocation, internal controls, and long-term fiscal planning,” Johnson said in a statement Thursday.
The news comes during a period of heightened tensions between Council and the district, spurred by members’ frustration over the school board’s move to close 17 schools and a separate $300 million structural deficit that took Council by surprise.
Last week, at a news conference where several members “begged” the district to come to the table to negotiate over school closings, Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. said Council has “tools in our tool belt that we will use” if the board does not change its mind about some building closures.
Jones has sponsored legislation to hold hearings on creating an independent financial authority, like the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, to oversee the district’s finances.
Council sources told The Inquirer that there is no indication that the district has conducted malfeasance, but that given the billions that flow to the district from city coffers, Philadelphia officials want a closer accounting of how the money is being spent.
After the board voted to begin the closure process in April, multiple members of the public also called for increased financial scrutiny of the district.
Reginald Streater, the school board president, said in a statement Thursday that the board and district will work with the controller’s office “to continue strengthening our financial processes and procedures.”
Streater said the audit squares with the board’s approach to governance.
“Good governance is not about assuming we have all the answers; it is about asking the right questions, using evidence to guide decisions and being willing to improve. We look forward to understanding the proposed scope of the audit and ensuring that the examination is constructive and focused on helping the district work well for students, families and educators,” Streater said.
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. stressed the district’s academic strides, history of audits with no material weaknesses, and moves to solidify its credit rating.
Frustration over a budget deficit and school closings
Johnson, in his statement, said that the audit will reassure Council that “resources are being managed effectively and operations are functioning efficiently by the SDP,” and that he believes its findings will help inform priorities for next fiscal year’s budget.
This year’s budget season was chaotic.
After Mayor Cherelle L. Parker introduced her initial budget, Watlington ordered $225 million in cuts, including some school cuts, with 300-plus teachers, counselors, and climate staff slated to lose their positions.
The problem, Watlington underscored in remarks in March, was “not because we’re not good stewards of the dollars, but because of historic underfunding.” (The district achieved its highest credit rating ever under Watlington, who has said he wants to be the superintendent to retire the system’s structural financial issues permanently.)
Philadelphia’s school system cannot raise its own revenue but instead depends on the city and state to bankroll it, unlike every other district in Pennsylvania.
(Left to Right) Councilmembers Isaiah Thomas, Curtis Jones Jr., and Jamie Gauthier protest at Thursday’s school board meeting as the board prepared to vote on the facilities plan.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
In April, several Council members took the dramatic step of repeatedly disrupting the school board’s vote in an attempt to get it to reconsider the closures of a handful of schools, including Lankenau and Robeson High Schools and Overbrook Elementary.
The school board proceeded anyway — Council approves school board members, who are appointed by the mayor, and the city’s budget, but had no formal authority over the closures.
But it quickly became clear that some Council members remained frustrated with the school system and were looking for a way forward.
Councilmember Isaiah Thomas has said he will not vote to reconfirm any school board member who voted for the closings; he and others have also said they believe it is time to rethink the school board’s governance structure.
The city, as a primary funder of the district, needs a clearer picture of what is going on, they say.
“Given the SDP’s current budget challenges, requests for additional public revenue, and recent proposals involving school closures and operational reductions, City Council believes a comprehensive performance and management review is warranted to ensure transparency, accountability, and informed public decision-making,” Johnson said in the statement. “The City of Philadelphia has a responsibility to ensure that all available revenues, expenditures, obligations, and funding strategies have been thoroughly reviewed before significant decisions affecting students, families, educators, neighborhoods, and public assets are implemented.”
What will the special audit examine?
City Controller Christy Brady (second from left, standing next to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker) is seen in this January file photo. Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Brady, in a statement, said the audit will “ensure resources are being managed effectively, operations are functioning efficiently and students are receiving the support they deserve. We’ve been encouraged by the SDP administration’s response to our previous audits and the steps it has taken to implement our recommendations. We expect this audit will continue that collaborative approach and continue to produce positive results for the benefit of students, educators and taxpayers.”
Council has asked Brady to go deep, from probing into the current structural deficit and the projections used to get there to the status of Philadelphia Parking Authority revenues, both expected and received.
Brady will also look at the district’s use of reserves and its administrative costs, and she will explore “the effectiveness and efficiency of administrative and operational expenditures, including central office functions, non-instructional spending and other costs not directly tied to classroom instruction.”
She will look into how the district’s budgeting methods and long-term planning square with industry best practices, and examine contract management and consultant utilization to try to find areas “for improved accountability, transparency, and cost efficiency.”
Brady is also charged with a deep dive into the financial effects of forthcoming school closings, and the potential ramifications of the closings on surrounding neighborhoods.
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. has announced a flurry of Philadelphia School District shifts in recent weeks, from promotions and principal changes to additional responsibilities for some of his senior officials.
Changes are common at this point in the school calendar, but this year is particularly busy. The district’s 113,000 students return to school August 24.
Baldwin is the former longtime human resources executive in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where she was credited with lowering teacher vacancies and recruiting a more diverse educator workforce.
Watlington, in a release, said Baldwin was “battle-tested” and collaborative.
“Dr. Baldwin brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the district, as well as a demonstrated track record of effectively staffing schools with high-qualified teachers, increasing the number of Black and Latine educators, and working with union leaders,” Watlington said.
Baldwin officially in her new role on July 27, and will be paid $235,000.
Changes in assistant superintendents, salaries announced
Also announced last week was a new role for Kahlia Johnson, who had worked as deputy chief of talent management and recruitment selection. Johnson, the former principal of Overbrook High, is moving to become interim assistant superintendent for a network of district high schools. Johnson will be paid $197,302.
Johnson replaces Noah Tennant, who was previously announced as associate superintendent for secondary schools. Tomás Hanna, who was associate superintendent for secondary schools, moved over to become associate superintendent for student life and school operations. Hanna will be paid $221,658 per year, and Tennant’s salary will be $215,202.
In other recent changes that the district identified in recent weeks, Brenda Elliott was named deputy superintendent of academic services. Her salary is $285,488.
Michael Farrell, chief academic officer, is paid $221,658. Nathalie Nérée, chief of special education, diverse learners and wellness, has a salary of $221,658. Nyshawana Francis-Thompson, senior adviser for strategic initiatives and innovation, is paid $208,627.
Jamina Clay, assistant superintendent of school management and organization, makes $197,302. Kelly Espinosa, assistant superintendent for Learning Network 4, makes $197,302.
Interim assistant superintendents Wilfredo Ortiz and Lucy Feria, who will run Learning Networks 8 and 9, respectively,will also be paid $197,302 annually.
Additional responsibilities for Watlington deputies
Two of Watlington’s top deputies are also taking on additional responsibilities.
Alexandra Coppadge Wright is now supervising theoperations, externaland community affairs departments. Coppadge Wright, the chief of communications and customer service, was already supervising the Office of Communications, Office of Customer Service, and the Family and Community Engagement Office.
Sarah Galbally, Watlington’s chief of staff, will add the School Transitions Office to her portfolio. Galbally also handles Board Relations, Government Relations, Grants Development, Strategic Partnerships, and Strategic Planning.
Both Coppadge Wright and Galbally are paid $225,096 annually.
Naima DeBrest, a spokesperson for the district, said in a statement that the changes were necessary as the district remains “focused on balancing the budget while recruiting and appointing talented individuals who have a demonstrated track record of improving student outcomes, as we continue to drive towards becoming the fastest-improving, large urban school district in the nation.”
Principal changes
A number of district schools have new principals. They are:
Adaire Elementary, Amanda Strain. Strain had been principal of Waring Elementary.
Bridesburg Elementary, Louis Depa. Depa had been assistant principal at Pennell Elementary.
Clemente Middle School, Regina Barr. Barr had been assistant principal at Bluford Elementary.
Edison High, Albert Sniezevage. Sniezevagehad been assistant principal at the school.
Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, Ryan Sullivan. Sullivan had been assistant principal at Penrose Elementary.
Heston Elementary, Kamia Smith. Smith had been assistant principal at Heston.
Lawton Elementary, Michelle Todd-Coleman. Todd-Coleman had been assistant principal at Forrest Elementary.
Memphis Street Academy, Wayne Diggs. Diggs had been assistant principal at Mastbaum; Memphis Street Academy is reverting back to district control after being a charter school for years.
Northeast High, Andrew Lukov. Lukov had been principal of Southwark Elementary, he also has experience as a Northeast assistant principal.
Southwark Elementary, Mason Luksch Wilson. Luksch Wilson had been assistant principal at Elkin Elementary.
Bayard Taylor Elementary, Claire Charles. Charles had been assistant principal at the school.
Tilden Middle School, Jessica Culp. Culp had been assistant principal at Comegys Elementary.
Waring Elementary School, Cathryn Anderson. Anderson had been assistant principal at Bache-Martin Elementary.
Philadelphia principals are typically paid between $153,296 and $172,636 annually, with salaries set by union contract. Principals are represented by the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators, Teamsters Local 502.
Gluten-free pizzas are generally less than exciting, as Craig LaBan notes, with textures ranging between pressboard and Styrofoam. At Barclay Pies, it’s not like that at all. Even the mozz sticks and their conventional pizzas are well worth a stop.
Wild Yeast Bakehouse, Wayne’s new sourdough bakery, has a living room vibe, writes Jenn Ladd. That makes sense, because the founder started baking out of his living room.
Saif Manna started baking during the pandemic in his Temple dorm room. He’s opening a brick-and-mortar home for his Levantine and Palestinian pastries, and tomorrow is the first day.
Ba Le Bakery in South Philly is practically synonymous with the city’s bánh mì scene. Now, writes Kiki Aranita, a third generation is expanding the business dramatically.
Two Sweet Boutique has had an interesting problem in its new location in Washington Township, writes Sarah Nicell. It’s selling out. Want that banana pudding? Get there early.
After four decades, The Frog Commissary Cookbook remains a Philadelphia icon — “our book,” says one acolyte. Contributor Devra Ferst takes a stroll down memory lane and winds up at the Commissary’s original location, where the current restaurant occupant bakes its carrot cake.
Oroshi, a new omakase restaurant at Broad and Lombard Streets, is part of a minitrend of faster, less expensive omakase experiences. The lights are bright and the decor is spare, but Kiki Aranita walked away happy after 90 minutes.
Here’s a twist: Local food brands such as Philly Pretzel Factory are working to accommodate consumers who are eating less and “protein-maxxing,” Olivia Prusky writes.
Craig visited an old fave — Porcini in Rittenhouse — and found the pastas have not lost a beat even after three decades. And yes, it’s still a BYOB.
Scoops
Chef Nic Macri and restaurant-ops specialist Suzanne O’Brien are proving you’re never too old experienced to open your first restaurant. They’re partnering with Stephen Simons on a spot just off 13th and Sansom in Washington Square West, and Macri describes the menu as “Philadelphia cooking with an Italian accent.”
Anh Em, a Vietnamese bar-restaurant and bar from husband-and-wife team Victor Nguyen and Anna Huynh, is aiming for an Aug. 8 grand opening at 1252 S. 21st St. in Point Breeze, the former Madira. Nguyen, a longtime Philadelphia hospitality veteran who bartended at Mad Mex in the late 1990s, co-owned a Chinatown bubble tea shop in the early 2000s and later spent 15 years managing Tango, is realizing a longtime goal of opening his own place. The roughly 45-seater will pair Vietnamese comfort food (pho and bánh xèo alongside home-style dishes) with a 20-seat bar pouring 24 local drafts and a small cocktail list.
Andorra Kitchen & Tap will join Andorra Shopping Center’s $32 million glow-up by Federal Realty, possibly in the fourth quarter. Spanning 6,900 square feet in the former Applebee’s, the restaurant is positioning as an all-day neighborhood gathering place serving breakfast/brunch, lunch, and dinner, with a full bar and dedicated coffee area for the morning. Owner Emmanouil Lagoudakis says he was drawn to Andorra-Roxborough for its “wonderful energy.”
Restaurant report
333 Belrose, one of the Main Line’s old-guard restaurants, has reopened after a dramatic renovation that flipped the bar with a dining room, opening up the layout. The menu is still “nothing too cerebral, nothing too crazy,” as chef Ross Essner told me, adding that there’s one dish he will never take off the menu.
Toll Man Joe’s, whose South Philly run was abbreviated by the pandemic, will resurface at the former Mixto on Pine Street near 12th. The owners hope to get the sports bar open in just a few weeks.
Pomelo Rooftop Terrace, atop the new Brandywine hotel in Radnor and counterpoint to Merrick’s Tavern off the lobby, will grand-open Aug. 8. It’ll be open year-round with indoor-outdoor seating. Weekend brunch begins Aug. 22.
The region’s last Brio Italian Grille, in Cherry Hill’s Towne Place at Garden State Park, closed abruptly Monday, two months after its Marlton location shuttered. The site 42Freeway joined the Facebook account A View From Evesham in first reporting that steakhouse Fogo de Chao will occupy the Cherry Hill location, citing township permits. A rep from Fogo declined my request for comment.
Briefly noted
Flash back to 2023, when chef Dionicio Jiménez and Mariangeli Alicea Saez of Cantina la Martina, La Baja, and the Cantina on the Go locations went to Mexico with Inquirer critic Craig LaBan and photographer Jessica Griffin for articles that won a James Beard Award in 2024. The restaurateurs are using part of that trip as inspiration for a five-day excursion to Oaxaca they’re planning for Oct. 30–Nov. 4. (LaBan and Griffin, who also met with Tequilas’ David Suro for a lesson in mezcal and tequila production during that 2023 trip, will sit this one out.) Limited to eight guests, the experience will feature family celebrations, cultural traditions, home-cooked meals, a private mezcal tasting, artisan visits, and special dinners, including one from Jiménez himself. It’s $2,000pp plus airfare. Details via cantina@cantinaonthego.com.
Nine Philadelphia bartenders will throw down Patrón Tequila-based cocktails in the Dirty Rocks Cocktail Competition from 3-7:30 p.m. Sunday at Fringe Bar (140 N. Columbus Blvd.). Attendees will determine the winner among Matt Welch (R&D), Kari Rosenfeld (Bourbon & Branch), Kevin Castro (Soufiane at the Morris), Roland Bui (Com.Unity Consulting), Damian Langarcia (Drams by Damian), Chris Harrop (Known Associates), Tony Jimenez (Static), Jackie Miller (Fringe Bar), and defending champion Jessica Stark (Trestle Inn). Also: a DJ, pizza truck, food and drink specials. Admission ($20) includes three tasting votes; VIP tickets are $45 and include a welcome cocktail, gift bag, and 10 votes. Cocktails: $5-$12. Tickets via DirtyRocks.com.
2nd Street Festival returns to Northern Liberties from noon-10 p.m. Sunday, transforming the stretch from Spring Garden to Girard Avenue into a festival with more than more than 50 restaurants and food trucks, 10 beer and cocktail gardens, two live music stages, and family activities.
❓Pop quiz
Name the brand that Wawa has partnered with on a hot-selling tote bag.
Owner Rayyan Kayyali sounded discouraged but not defeated when we caught up yesterday, more than two months after a gas explosion destroyed his Overbrook Park bagel bakery on the very morning of its reopening following another blast in March. He said he is waiting for a new burner pipe for the oven, and “so far, I haven’t seen a dime” from the insurance company. Meanwhile, lords Jeffrey Gladstone and Andy Rubin of Herbert Yentis & Co. say they have not charged him rent since the first explosion. Kayyali vows to rebuild and reopen.
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Billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s company is selling Pep Boys, the Philadelphia-founded auto service chain, to private equity-backed Mavis Tire Express Services for $700 million in cash, the parties said Tuesday.
Icahn’s publicly traded company, Icahn Enterprises LP, will keep owned real estate as well as Montgomery County-based Aamco Transmissions and Precision Tune Auto Care businesses.
Founded more than a century ago by Navy veterans Emanuel Rosenfeld, Maurice L. Strauss, W. Graham “Jack” Jackson, and Moe Radavitz, Pep Boys started with a store at 63rd and Market Streets in Philadelphia’s Overbrook section. It now offers repair and maintenance services at more than 750 locations across the country.
The founders became immortalized in the company’s branding, with a logo that included the cartoon faces of Manny, Moe, and Jack.
“For more than 100 years, Pep Boys has earned the trust of drivers across the country by delivering quality service with honesty and care,” Pep Boys CEO Joe Auriemma said in a statement. “Mavis shares these values and, as part of the Mavis family, Pep Boys will have the scale, footprint, and operational and technological strength to continue building on its legacy as it enters a new chapter of growth.”
A spokesperson for White Plains, N.Y.-based Mavis said Pep Boys “will continue operating under its iconic brand name.”
The deal expands Mavis’ footprint to more than 4,400 service locations. David Sorbaro, co-chief executive officer of Mavis, said in a statement that Pep Boys “brings a loyal customer base, deep-rooted market presence across the United States, and a distribution network that will meaningfully enhance our supply chain nationwide.”
The acquisition comes a decade after Icahn won Pep Boys in a bidding war with Japan-based tire giant Bridgestone for $1 billion. Around the same time, Icahn also bought the smaller Auto Plus chain, based in Kennesaw, Ga.
That bet did not go as planned. Auto Plus filed for bankruptcy in 2023, with Icahn citing “lessened demand, supply chain disruptions, an inflationary environment, and the effects of COVID-19.”
Under Icahn’s ownership, Pep Boys closed retail auto parts stores as it focused on repairs and tire sales.
Icahn Enterprises’ auto segment reported a 3% decline in revenue in 2025 over the prior year, for a total of $1.4 billion, according to a securities filing. Icahn’s company cited “the strategic closure of underperforming locations.”
Icahn Enterprises has also pointed to reduced consumer spending on auto repairs and maintenance.
Around 2020 Icahn sold Pep Boys’ longtime headquarters on Allegheny Avenue in North Philly — which had been home to 500 employees — but leased back some space. Pep Boys no longer occupies the building, a spokesperson said.
The company is now based in Bala Cynwyd. Pep Boys spokesperson Amanda Crisafulli declined to say how many jobs are based there. She also declined to say how many employees work for the company in total.
Asked whether Mavis will keep the Bala Cynwyd office, a Mavis spokesperson said: “The integration of Mavis and Pep Boys will follow the closing of the transaction, which we expect to occur in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional information about Mavis’ plans for Pep Boys.
Philadelphians sweated through Julys in the 1940s, brooding over World War II as temperatures averaged in the mid-to-upper 70s, including nighttime lows.
Today, as the city prepares to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, they swelter under average July temperatures of around 80 degrees — and those nighttimes have gotten warmer.
Over the past 85 years, Julys in Philadelphia are running on average 4.4 degrees warmer than in 1940, based on an analysis of historical weather data. That translates to an increase of about 0.52 degrees per decade.
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Nights are even toastier, showing a rise of 4.8 degrees over the same time period.
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“Science shows that while summer heat is nothing new, climate change is pushing it beyond what we’ve experienced in the past,” Zachary Labe, a climate scientist at the nonprofit Climate Central, said in an email.
The Inquirer used 1940 as a base year in its analysis because it is the oldest year for consistent records at Philadelphia International Airport. The data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Regional Climate Centers ends at July 2025.
The data does not include this July, which could set records.
105 degrees possible
The National Weather has issued an extreme heat warning with possible record highs starting Thursday and heading into the July 4 weekend.
And Philadelphia has declared a heat emergency, activating the city’s pioneering heat-response system.
High temperatures Thursday, Friday, and Independence Day are all forecast to top 100 degrees and threaten daily records. The current record highs for those dates are 103 degrees for Thursday, 104 for Friday, and 103 for the Fourth.
The record-warmest lows are 82, 77, and 79 for those days respectively, according to data from the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
The weather service says dangerously hot conditions with heat index values between 100 and 110 degrees are expected each day. Very warm low temperatures in the mid-70s to the low 80s at night won’t offer much relief, the office noted.
When combined, multiple days of such high temperatures and humidity will exacerbate impacts, say those meteorologists. The hottest conditions are expected Thursday through Friday.
Climate change
Although it’s difficult to pin any single heat wave to climate change, the majority of climate scientists say the burning of fossil fuels has led to ever-increasing amounts of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and transformed the climate.
The Princeton-based Climate Center says human activities have warmed the planet by about 1.2°C (2.2°F) above pre-industrial levels. The Princeton-based organization of scientists says that since 1970, July has warmed in 94% of the 243 U.S. cities it studied. Temperatures for the month have risen by 2.6 degrees on average.
“That includes hotter and more humid nights like those this week, which raise health risks because the body has less time to cool down and recover,” Labe said.
A big impact on cities
Excessive heat hits urban areas like Philadelphia hard, said Mathy Stanislaus, of the Philadelphia Climate Justice Collective.
The collective is a partnership of the Mantua Civic Association, SEAMAAC, Esperanza, Overbrook Environmental Education Center, and the Environmental Collaboratory at Drexel University. Stanislaus is vice provost and executive director of The Environmental Collaboratory.
In the most densely populated, least tree-lined parts of Philadelphia temperatures can soar 20 degrees higherthan in greener, wealthier neighborhoods, he notes.
That’s because of the heat island effect, which occurs when cities are significantly warmer than surroundingareas because of the lack of tree canopy combined with high concentrations of heat-absorbing pavement, dark roofs, and buildings.
It’s something many people in the suburbs, or wealthier areas, might not think about, Stanislaus said.
“I don’t think people realize the gravity of the circumstances for lower income urban communities who have an affordability crisis compounded by the heat crisis,” he said.
Stanislaus said some households in the city don’t have air-conditioning, and those that do can face a choice as to whether they should use it or not.
“Even if they have an AC, they may not be able to afford to actually run it,” he said.
According to a report by the collective, Philadelphia households overall on average spend about 6.7% of their income on energy, but that the burden is much higher for Black and Hispanic households. The poor conditions of many homes because of their age contribute to the strain.
Stanislaus says temperatures strain critical public and healthcare systems.
He credits Philadelphia for its array of cooling centers, pools, and spraygrounds. But, he said, many residents are notaware of them or lack transportation. He’d like to see more money devoted to public awareness during heat waves.
In addition, he said healthcare systems need more staff trained in heat-related care and education, as well as better tracking heat-related illnesses and deaths.
There has been one death attributed to heat so far this year, according to data from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. In the past two decades, the biggest number of deaths came in 2011 and 11 with 35. But the city has upped its response measurably since then and the number of deaths has trended down.
Stanislaus believes heat-related deaths and illnesses are underreported.
“There’s an urgency to heat,” Stanislaus said. “We need to meet the moment.”
