The Grays Ferry neighborhood has taken some positive steps of late, with new homes under construction and plans for some apartment buildings too. Grays Ferry Avenue though, looks pretty much the same as it has in recent years. Because of the width of the street and the fact that it links West Philly and Center City, this corridor is loaded with potential. But it's presently a mash-up of a street, dominated by warehouses, a PECO substation, vacancy, and the Grays Ferry Pathmark. So it's a little curious to see a 'For Rent' sign at 2717 Annin St., a vacant triangular corner lot.
A reader tipped us off about this, and they even called the number on the sign! The land is available for $350/mo. A similarly sized parcel just up the street contains a billboard, so that would seem like an option, but we don't have the first clue about what goes into getting a billboard built. Alternately, maybe a food truck could be stored here? According to the reader who spoke to the owner, they aren't looking to sell but they are willing to listen to offers. Views across the street are pretty amazing.
Just about a block away, we have news of something new (well, a couple weeks old) for Grays Ferry Avenue. For the last several years, Moe's Hot Dog House made its home at the corner of Grays Ferry & Washington, offering delicious and creative hot dogs at extremely reasonable prices. And they had a creepy hot dog statue, too. The family business closed earlier this year, and when the building sold for $750K a few months later, we expected it would be demolished and perhaps replaced with a storage facility mixed-use project.
But as you can see, the building remained intact and a new restaurant took over the old Moe's space. Apron's Soul Food Restaurant was previously located on Temple's campus, but they're open for business in South Philly as of this month. We poked our head inside and discovered that the interior is almost totally unchanged from when it was Moe's (they removed the statue, thank goodness) and like Moe's this place also offers breakfast daily. Based on their Facebook page, it seems fried chicken and waffles is a big seller for them, so that might be a good thing to try when you visit. After you're done, be sure to check out our food truck storage/billboard just a block away.