Philadelphia Weekly restaurant critic and Blogalicious blogger Adam Erace and brother Andrew announced today that they are entering the grocery game this September, when they debut Green Aisle Grocery on the 1600 block of East Passyunk Avenue.
Adam and Andrew are both serious eaters, and their broad range of edible interests will be reflected in Green Aisle’s stock. Think local and organic produce, free-range eggs, coffee, cheese, honey, pasta, loose-leaf tea and other tasties. Customers will be able to pick up a single lemon to supplement cocktail hour or a luxe Spanish olive oil to gild the dinner lily.
Prepared foods from the experts will make appearances, too; the Erace boys have already worked out a deal with James chef/owner Jim Burke to carry his intense mostardas and toothsome pasta.
Passyunk Avenue sure is a-changin’; we’ve got designer sushi at Izumi, our own Capogiro scoop shop and yet more access to local produce and craft food when Green Aisle opens. If we keep on behaving and stimulating the economy down here, can we get our street cleaning back?
I think this is awesome news, but as the neighborhood changes, I hope it doesn't exclusively cater to the gourmet-going crowd. The beauty of South Philly is its diversity: culturally, racial and socio-economically. Gentrification doesn't have to be a four-letter word; it can strike a balance between catering to the new money coming in and keeping things accessible to the original people of that neighborhood. It is exciting to see how quickly and, thus far at least, successfully East Passyunk has morphed from empty storefronts to a foodie destination. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the 1600 block of Passyunk doesn't become an alien land to the people who have been living around there for decades.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment