Our memory is a little fuzzy on the subject, but when we got our first veggie chicken cheesesteak at Govinda's back in 2001, we're pretty sure they were located in the storefront at 1408 South St., next door to their current location on the corner of Broad & South. We can't quite remember exactly when they moved into the corner space, but we're confident that their former location has sat unused, at least for the public, in the years since. But according to Passyunk Post, that's going to change very soon.
Apparently, the folks at Govinda's have decided that the vegetarian sandwich-shop concept that's served them well over the years will be appropriately complemented by an adjacent vegan pizza shop. Several pizza shops around town offer vegan options these days, but none do it better than the exclusively vegan Blackbird Pizza, a place we've touted on numerous occasions and it located just down the street from the coffee place that opened a couple weeks ago at 6th & Lombard. One place we're fairly certain doesn't offer vegan pizza is New Tower Pizza, which is located right next door to Govinda's future sister establishment.
Will a vegan pizza place be able to coexist with a non-vegan pizza place next door? Seems possible, at least. Is this the first time that two pizza places will be located right next to each other in Philadelphia? Seems likely. Might this new place finally inspire the redevelopment of the long-vacant building two doors down? Uh, we're not holding our breath. But wouldn't that be awesome if it did?