When meandering around town the other day, we noticed work taking place on the triangular building at 934-44 E. Passyunk Ave. which we first alluded to back in the early days of Naked Philly. Formerly Napoli Pizza, this corner looked much the same over the last decade plus, when other spots came and went (more on that later). This former pointy pizza palace is now getting a facelift, but what could be ahead? Let’s check out the corner’s evolution from the spring up to today, before we get to the future.

So, are we in for a residential conversion? Another restaurant? A different sort of retail pivot? If you guessed the latter, you’d be correct! Asian Bank is taking up shop in this building, keeping the four-space surface parking that separates this building from its neighbors. And while the elevation drawings from the zoning docs by architects Lenhardt Rodgers and early work indicate this won’t necessarily be a stand-out building, there is an Isaiah Zagar mural facing the parking lot that we hope will remain, unlike another that is sadly being dismantled as we type these words.

So, not everything can be a new landmark. While we wish there was no parking included, adding a community-serving commercial spot here is OK by us. And besides, one needs to look just to the north at 932 E. Passyunk Ave., which was the very subject of those early articles, if you’re feeling peckish. The Chilly Banana has set up a permanent home here, slinging their frozen vegan delights that they once served up from a food truck. This building also features a Zagar mural, which is almost as delicious as the treats inside.

Want a comeback story 43 months in the making? Royal Tavern has returned just across the street, bringing their famous burger and other wares back to the neighborhood. The soft opening took place just last night, so we’re eager to get in there and stuff our face with far more food than is appropriate for a single real estate development blogger. Oh, and the facade is adorable even without a mural.

Quite the busy little corner for a pizza-to-bank conversion if you ask us. We could have wandered this pocket of the neighborhood all day long, as this is some of the most quintessentially Philadelphian landscape you can find. And it’s definitely not because we were on the search for a slice where a parlor once stood.