Could Pennsport be getting a new coffee place? An eagle eyed reader tipped us off that this could indeed be the case, in a former auto shop next door to Pennsport Beer Boutique. We were intrigued, so we took a trip over to 1313 S. 3rd St. to see what's up and we must confess, we were shocked by what we discovered.
Just kidding, we found nothing shocking. We peeked through the windows of the garage doors and saw some picnic tables and what looked like a coffee roaster. Posted in the window, we discovered a permit for a prepared food shop with less than 20 seats. Looking at the Zoning Archive, we see that the applicant indicated that a coffee shop will indeed open here.
We couldn't tell you whether this will be an independent coffee shop, a new location for an existing business, or a place that will have some relationship with Caffe Valentino across the street and/or the beer place next door. Those details are somewhat academic though, what's important to know at this point is that the coffee options are going to expand in Pennsport. Can an area that already has Grindcore House and Federal Donuts support another coffee shop? We shall see.
At the very least, there are five new neighbors coming across the street. We told you almost a year ago about the Monarch, five new homes coming to the northeast corner of Moyamensing & Wharton, and you can see that the project has proceeded quite nicely. We see that one of the homes has already sold at a price point of $650K, and at least one more is under agreement at the same price. We don't see any more of the homes listed for sale, and wonder whether any of them remain available. If so, perhaps news of a new coffee shop will encourage additional buyers. And if not, then the project didn't really need the help in the first place.