Joe gets perking Tuesday
The NYC coffee roaster is setting up across from Rittenhouse Square.
Joe gets perking Tuesday
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Philadelphia will get a double shot of Joe Coffee, the New York City-based roaster/retailer, starting Tuesday, April 2.
Shop No. 1 will open at 1845 Walnut St., on the ground floor of an office building across from Rittenhouse Square. When the weather breaks, Joe will have a few dozen seats on the wide sidewalk - the first new outdoor food operation around the square since Parc opened in 2008. Shop No. 2, expected to open late summer, will be part of the food-heavy Chestnut Square at 3200 Chestnut St.
Joe is the work of siblings Jonathan and Gabrielle Rubinstein, both career changers - he was a talent agent and she was an opera singer - who got into the coffee game a decade ago.
A year ago, Jon told me, they were thinking of expanding to other cities when the owners of 1845 Walnut reached out. After checking out the space and the neighborhood for 15 minutes, he said, they signed on.
The Acela - as Jon points out - takes about an hour and 10 minutes to get to 30th Street from Penn Station. It can take him that long, he said, to get from his apartment in Brooklyn to the Joe location at Columbia University. Amy Hattemer, a manager from NYC, has relocated here to run the Philly shop.
By the way, if "Joe Coffee" sounds vaguely familiar, that's because there was an unrelated Philly-grown shop called Joe at 11th and Walnut Streets run by a real-life Joe, Joe Cesa. The business is now devoted to roasting and is known as Philly Fair Trade Roasters.
I am so happy, I don't know if I can contain myself - NY-based coffee? I can't wait - it's a thousands times better than Philadelphia-based coffee. What sort of benevolent things have we been doing to deserve such bounty?
Wish them well, and I'm sure they'll do great there - and I'm a glad it's an entrepenuer-based store, and not another Starbucks (I think there's one inside the bookstor next door!) but I've no idea why this is a news story.
I am always astounded how, regardless of how many coffee shops are opened, they all seem to do well. The economy for students and bohemians and retirees can't be that bad if people are willing to pay $2.50 for a coffee and $2.75 for a croisant plus tax, plus the ubiquitous "tip" jar, for what is basically $1 worth of value.
Seriously though, best of luck.— PhillyDanny-3.jpg)
I am wondering what the magic potion is to stand out among many other coffee places? I miss the days when you'd go into a place like this and they would feature local Indie artists playing their music for you. Nothing like that anymore. People are not cool like they used to be downtown. Snooty demographics maybe?— MS. LOU.- This coffe is among the best Ms.Slew has ever had.Welcome to Philly.— Ms.Slew
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I wonder how they pay the bills selling cups of coffee and muffins?-1.jpg)
I make my own homebrew and tag it along with me in a travel mug. I meet friends at these places and save myself the $5 for a plain cup of Joe.- Joyce, you are being rude when you do that, not bohemian thrifty.— Phlonaze
- My friends make up the difference with what they purchase. I always walk in with my Chanel sunglasses and a bag from Talbot's, so it's all good. I bring ambiance to the place.
- From other reviews I've read, the coffee is not only from NY, but also roasted there. So, its not done on the premises. And, they're selling drip coffee. It doesn't sound much different than the Starbucks next door. Although, after seeing the reference to Philly Fair Trade Roasters in this article, they definitely seem a little more up my alley. How are they? For reference, I've lately been really into the beans from the Timor Co-Op. I'm not sure who in Philly carries them, and, of course, it depends on how well they're roasted as well.— PaulCHoward
- People who love coffee have a penchant for amphetamines. If they were legal again all of these coffee lovers here would be meeting at their friendly neighborhood CVS instead.
- My modern-day question: do they sell k-cups?— PhillyWings
Love an entrepreneur but Dunkin' is an enrepreneurship endeavor that gives back collectively to the community and all are enretpreneurs.— daisy99
