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| Down Dog Healing Café in Philadelphia's Italian Market area |
The property at the corner of 10th and Carpenter in Philadelphia’s Italian Market area has been a neighborhood social club, three different coffee houses with three separate owners, and an Egyptian eatery, all within the last ten years. That’s good for variety’s sake, but bad for business. Now, it looks as if another coffee shop, the Down Dog Healing Café, will be opening at that location.
Throughout the 80s and 90s, the corner spot at Carpenter was a respite for DiNoble smoking, espresso drinking, card playing Italian American elders in the neighborhood. In quick succession, the property went from being an InFusion coffee house, to a Filter coffee house, to – in 2011 – the Mazag Café. The café was a unique area favorite for a time as it served fabulous Egyptian fare with Koshary (a savory street food dish of pasta, chick peas, rice, lentils, and tomato chile sauce) Wednesdays being an essential part of every week.
Sadly, Mazag didn’t last and, in 2012, the corner became Books n’ Beans, a tea-and-coffee nook with a used book component which eventually closed before year’s end. The place has remained empty – and for rent – for about ten months, until last week when we noticed that that a business named the Down Dog Healing Café moved in.
There hasn’t been too much action yet, but the new operators hung a sign, and their website projects a Spring 2013 opening with offerings including coffee, tea, herbs, tonics, pro-biotic smoothies and healing soups; we’ll keep you posted.
Down Dog Healing Café
1001 S 10th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
DownDogHealing.com
Photo ©Glamorosi 2013
Posted on Monday, May 6, 2013
