Spring Garden Street west of the viaduct is an evolving mass of a corridor, anchored by the wonderful venue, Union Transfer. The north side of the street has a mix of restaurants like Sazon, Llama Tooth, and Chef King, along with offices, a janitorial supply store, a gun range, a bike shop, and some vacancies as well. A few years ago, we were happy to see Teaful Bliss open at the corner of 11th & Spring Garden, providing a gathering place for the neighborhood. But the shop didn't last there, eventually moving to new digs in Brewerytown. When we passed this corner the other day, we discovered that Crown Fried Chicken has opened in the old tea shop's space.

Crown Fried Chicken and the Independence Press building

Looking east on Spring Garden Street

Union Transfer across the street

With the absence of a cafe in the area and new neighbors aplenty to the north, a couple of businesses have appeared to fill the void. Next door to Llama Tooth, Vice offers a unique combination of tattoo parlor, coffee shop, and book lending library. It opened last winter and represents a combination of businesses we can't say we've seen before. And down the block, at 931 Spring Garden St., W/n W/n Coffee Bar opened their doors in just the last few weeks. This place also has a different concept, transitioning from coffee shop to bar at some point in the middle of each day. Sure, plenty of bars out there serve coffee, but this is the rare animal that treats both caffeinated and alcoholic beverages with the same regard. And they have a cool ownership arrangement, too.

W/n W/n Coffee Bar

Time will pass, and more changes will surely come to this corridor. Old businesses will close their doors, and new places will come in. Vacant spots, like the one a couple doors down from W/n W/n, will eventually fill in too. Of course, the eventual arrival of the Rail Park would be dramatically accelerate this process- we'd even venture that some of the progress to date anticipates said park. But in the meantime, it's baby steps for this chunk of Spring Garden, and there will surely be more little openings and closings to detail in the coming months and years.