Pope Francis changing routines in big and small ways

POPE FRANCIS' arrival in Philadelphia this weekend has already altered the city's daily routine in sweeping ways, but everyday people who live and work in the city are weathering personal changes as well.

Some are optimistic, like Holly Stephens, who with her husband, James, opened Logan Square Pizza three weeks ago on 21st Street near Race.

They will keep the place open 24-7 all weekend and offer a pared-down menu heavy on pizza, cheesesteaks, chicken fingers and breakfast pastries to better feed what they hope will be multitudes.

"Make that money," a smiling Stephens said yesterday, standing behind the front counter decorated with a Pope Francis doll, a bobblehead and a stack of collector's edition Newsweek magazines with the pope on the cover.

"There's going to be so many people in town. They're saying half a million people, plus. So, we'll see," she said.

Just a block away, Allison Laurin, co-owner of Peddler Coffee, which opened in March, is considering closing for the weekend, given that many of her regular customers have fled the city and most of her employees won't be able to get to work due to limited mass-transit service, she said.

"We're just playing it by ear. If it's not worth the hassle, I'm not going to hang around," she said.

On City Avenue, which will be shut down from Belmont to Lancaster avenues for much of tomorrow because the pope will be lodging at nearby St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Lower Merion, businesses were all over the map regarding their plans.

"We'll get customers. They'll always find a way to drink," said Wayne Asbury, assistant manager of the state Wine & Spirits store on City Avenue near 52nd in Bala Cynwyd. He said some customers have been stocking up for what he suspects are pope parties.

Manager Raysheema Finney said the store is staying open over the weekend with regular hours.

The same is the case at the state Wine and Spirits store at 16th and John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Center City, where manager Nicole Bowman said the pope throngs in nearby hotels will be good for business.

"If you put yourself in their shoes, you're in a hotel, you want to have a cocktail, you want to have a glass of wine. You might not want to pay 30 bucks for that bottle, when up the street it cost 15," she reasoned.

At CompuWorld, a computer-repair shop at 121 City Ave., no repairs will be done tomorrow, said technician Felix Salinas.

"It's going to be really slow because nobody will be able to get in here," he said. "It's not like they come in here to buy water."

Meanwhile, the sweep continued in clearing Center City streets of illegally parked cars. As of 4:30 p.m. yesterday, 524 cars had been yanked since Sunday, said Richard Dickson, deputy executive director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

"As long as people keep putting their cars in these zones, we'll be out there," he said.

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