When the Arbol cafe closed its doors along with its adjacent outdoor seating garden a few months ago in Northern Liberties, property owners Mike Spiker and Heidi Duffey had to decide what to do with their prime outdoor space on the corner of 2nd and Poplar. As Spiker tells us, over the past months, police began enforcing a long(ish) standing ordinance forbidding food trucks from parking on 2nd street that had been generally ignored in the past. Spotting an opportunity to both satisfy the neighborhood’s love for the food trucks and the city’s law banning them from 2nd street, Mike and Heidi renamed their space “Garden Variety,” and opened it to three of carts: La Copine‘s brunch cart, The Dapper Dog‘s hot dog cart, and the People’s Republic burrito cart. The days and hours of operation for each cart, which should soon be expanded, are listed on Garden Variety’s blog.

Photo Courtesy of Garden Variety

Photo Courtesy of Garden Variety

But food carts are just the tip of the iceberg for the new Garden Variety, as the space continues to satisfy the needs of the neighborhood around it. Last First Friday saw the garden filled with artwork, this past Wednesday saw the garden set up with a farm stand by Leiper Valley farms from Media, PA, and a weekly movie night is being planned, tentatively set for Tuesday nights. Not to mention that if you wish to rent the space for a private event, you may do that as well.

The future looks bright for Garden Variety, as Mike reflects on the past few months, “The hard work, creativity, and enthusiasm of so many people are at the core of what is being created here. But right now, serendipity and destiny are two words that are top of mind. Simply put, everything seems to be falling into place.” –Conrad Benner