One of the three businesses that closed after a Christmas Eve fire at Elena’s Soul at 49th & Baltimore will reopen by mid-August, according to the West Philly Local.

The block in question

Last fall at Cedar Park Café, business was better than ever in the months leading up to the fire. After this unfortunate event, the community came together, raising money for the businesses that suffered as a result. Last year, a few new businesses opened on the block, and this year Little Baby’s Ice Cream opened across the street. And in the past couple of months, we’ve talked so much about the 5000 block of Baltimore, you might think it was the only part of West Philly. On that block, plans for new a juice and coffee bar, a restaurant, and a garden center have all recently been announced. The new businesses will help transform a currently rough block into a chic extension of Baltimore Avenue’s commercial corridor.

The cafe

Since the fire closed it down, Cedar Park Café has operated out of a space on 63rd. Street in Overbrook. When it returns to Cedar Park this August, it will be without its former Elena’s and Gary’s Nails counterparts. The owners of Gary’s Nail Salon are still negotiating with the insurance company, said Mei Cui Ye, one of the owners. When that’s settled, they will rebuild and reopen, but as of now there is no timeline for that to happen, Ye told us. Be that as it may, it will be nice to see the café return this month.

–Lou Mancinelli