FYI Philly's Feed our Food Workers campaign, new pandemic bakeries, Chinatown reopens
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Feed Our Food Workers
As restaurants continue to struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic, FYI Philly and Action News have reported on the ways you can support your favorite eateries, by ordering delivery and to-go and visiting their locations to use their limited seating opportunities. Still, the reality is that the industry is fighting to stay afloat, and the people who are feeling the pains the most are the restaurant workers.
6abc and Philabundance are teaming up with the Garces Foundation, and an extraordinary group of corporate partners to Feed our Food Workers. But our work needs your work as well. Your donation will feed families. After all of the times they have put food on your tables, please help put food on theirs.
Donate here: Feed our Food Workers
COVID-19 has led to a spike in bakeries
As restaurant and hospitality workers find themselves unemployed because of the pandemic, some are turning that tragedy into triumph, using the opportunity to take the leap into entrepreneurship.
Two sisters from Delaware County opened Second Daughter Baking Co., specializing in towering cakes that are six layers tall, believing that cakes are for celebrating and you want to feel like a king or queen on your special day.
Brady Hatin, a longtime vegan, launched a vegan and gluten free bakery called High Fidelity Bakery. He started it so he and his family could enjoy meals together (his 9 year old daughter has celiac). He makes donuts, cookies, tarts and pies both sweet and savory.
His partner, an avid snack mixer, added snack bags to the menu and there's hummus, too.
And while High Street isn't new, it does have a new home, a new name and a new focus on chef-driven pizzas, while baking the bread it's known for, along with making pastries, soups, sandwiches, salads and other ready-to-eat foods.
Second Daughter Baking Co. | Facebook | Instagram
1901 S 9th St, Philadelphia, Pa. 19148
215-350-2207
High Fidelity Bakery | Facebook | Instagram
(215) 510-6822
High Street Philly | Facebook | Instagram
101 S 9th St, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107
215-625-0988
LOCALISH - DOLCI DESSERTS
When 12-year old Makyla Linder had to stay home from school for months due to pandemic lockdowns, she turned her love of baking from a hobby to an LLC.
She learned to bake with her grandmother when she was 8 and has loved it ever since.
As she expanded her knowledge by doing research and experimenting with colors and ingredients, she says she pestered her mother, Chelsea Hatcher, to let her make it into a real business.
Now she has customers, and fulfills orders on weekends for her company, Dolci Desserts LLC.
Dolci Desserts | Instagram
267-850-1565
Orders can also be placed via email: d.desserts@yahoo.com
Chinatown one year after the pandemic hit
Chinatown was one of the earliest areas of the city to feel the effects of the pandemic.
Nearly a year later, the pandemic is still taking its toll.
Ninety percent of businesses in the neighborhood have reopened but those spots are operating with limited hours and only 30-percent of the usual income.
With many Center City workers still not at their offices and the Pennsylvania Convention Center not holding events, the normally bustling lunch crowd has been limited.
The Sang Kee Peking Duck House has been in the neighborhood for 40 years. They have changed the restaurant's approach to business focusing on safe takeout.
The Lair KTV Skyclub was a brand new karaoke bar before the pandemic turned the music off. Now, they are trying to find ways to safely reopen the club.
There are some new places opening in the neighborhood but the recovery remains slow.
Philadelphia Chinatown Devlopment Corporation | Facebook | Instagram
301 North 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia | Facebook | Instagram
1401 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Sang Kee Peking Duck House| Facebook | Instagram
238 North 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Lair KTV | Sky Club| Facebook | Instagram
1025 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
The 2021 Sisterly Love Food Fair
The Sisterly Love Food Fair is like a traveling farmer's market but all of the vendors are from female-owned businesses in Philadelphia.
You'll find everything from pasta kits to empanadas, chocolate and local honey.
For the women, it's a way to find camaraderie during COVID-19, promote each other's businesses and talk about what's working during these challenging times.
The markets started in December as a holiday sale but were so successful, the ladies have decided to keep it going.
They pop up in a different neighborhood every weekend and are now branching out to the suburbs as well.
Follow them on social media to see where they'll be next and look for something really special in March during Women's History Month.
Sisterly Love Food Fair | Facebook | Instagram
Garces Group expands its reach with ghost kitchen, online offerings
When COVID-19 caused Philadelphia's dining scene to shut down for several months, famed chef Jose Garces used his downtime to think about ways he could adapt his multi-location Garces Group of restaurants.
The results are multiple online and in-person offerings, like the return of the Garces Trading Company brand.
Using The Olde Bar as a ghost kitchen hub for menu items from Amada, Village Whiskey, Tinto, and Buena Onda, food orders can be placed online for pickup or delivery.
There are also experiences like The Chef's Table, and online offerings like Latin Live and Cooking Space - interactive classes and videos to cook along with, or just watch Chef Garces in action.
Garces Trading Company | Facebook | Instagram
267-284-7950
The Olde Bar is also open for indoor dining
ChefGarces.com | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Doughnut spots for Fat Tuesday
Donuts on Fat Tuesday is a well-known and popular tradition. 6ABC's Ducis Rodgers rounds up some donut spots to get your fix.
Powdered, sprinkled, and jellied, Suzy-Jo Donuts are hand-cut fresh every morning.
The Mom-and-Pop shop is family-owned and operated since 1955 with about 25 different donut flavors. Run by husband-and-wife team Raymond and Joanne Barkmeyer, who inherited the neighborhood staple from Joanne's parents, are now partly retired, with their children now taken the helm. Today, there are 3 locations and the family credits that growth to its quality ingredients.
Most popular on the menu is the white cream stick, made using Joanne's mother's original recipe, tweaked ever so slightly by Ray. Some unique flavors include Maple Bacon, Sour Cream, Apple Fritter, and a custom supersize donut.
Suzy-Jo donuts | Facebook | Instagram
49 East 4th Street Bridgeport, Pennsylvania
Hours: 5:30am - 12:00pm (unless sold out)
205 West Germantown Pike, East Norriton, Pennsylvania 19401
Hours: 6am - 12:00pm (unless sold out)
301 North Lewis Road, Limerick, Pennsylvania 19468
Hours: 6am - 12:00pm (unless sold out)
Highland Orchards in West Chester specializes in freshly made Apple Cider Donuts with apples grown on the family-run farm.
The 200-acre farm has been in operation since the 1940's and they grow a variety of fruits and vegetables, including 32 different apple varieties.
To make the cider donuts, freshly picked apples are sent to a local cider plant. Next, the cider is combined with the dough and fed to the hoppers. Donuts are then dipped in sugar and cinnamon, but they're also available plain. Find them in the Highland Orchards Farmers Market along with other baked goodies and gourmet foods.
Highland Orchards | Instagram| Facebook
1000 Marshallton-Thorndale Road, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380
Winter Market hours (effective 1/2/2021): Thursday & Friday 9am-6pm; Saturday & Sunday 9am-5pm
Carol Ha is the self-taught maker at Okie Dokie Donuts in South Philadelphia focusing on gluten free cake donuts with vegan options, made with seasonal ingredients. Creations include the Earl Gray Lemon infused cake donut which pairs fantastic with tea. The Chocolate Rose Vegan Cake donut is topped with real rose petals. Carol also makes donut pudding. It's like bread pudding but instead of bread, she uses leftover donuts. All donuts are hand-rolled and hand-glazed. Fun to look at as well as eat. Bill Kelly is Carol's partner. The couple turned what had been a side project into a business a few months ago due to the Pandemic.
Okie Dokie | Instagram | Facebook
1439 Snyder Avenue Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19145
Thursday-Sunday, 8:30am-1pm
Hello Donuts and Coffee in Kensington was created by three friends in the music industry. Kitchen Director and one of the founders Zack Zarrillo wanted to replicate a nostalgic feeling bandmates often feel when on tour at different donut shops. They switch the menu weekly, but there are some audience favorites that make a frequent showing. Some of note include the Vegan Chocolate Old-Fashion cake, Milk and Cookies, Vegan Apple Cider and a Passionfruit Curd'-Filled Donut, that hits well with the bitterness in winter with a nice cup of coffee. The coffee is a custom blend from their neighbors at ReAnimator. There are Savories as well. A type of sandwich using the dough of the donut, baked with egg and other fillings.
Hello Donuts and Coffee | Facebook | Instagram
2557 Amber Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19125
Friday-Sunday, 9am-1pm
Nothing goes to waste at Ember & Ash restaurant
At Ember & Ash, the chefs do what they call snout to root cooking.
It's an Old World-style peasant approach that uses the entire plant and the entire animal, with the food prepared over an open fire.
The Dirty Mole is a chicken liver dish inspired by Southern-style Dirty Rice and Mexican Mole.
On the dessert side, there's a chocolate blood pudding, with the blood of a pig replacing the egg to create the custard. It's a recipe, the chefs credit to Italy and the once a year slaughter of a pig, with villagers then using every part of the animal.
Philadelphia is a foodie city so they believe diners will be open-minded as long as the food is delicious.
Ember & Ash | Facebook | Instagram
1520 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19147
267-606-6775
FYI For You - Show Extras
For fans of Philadelphia's favorite orange mascot, artisan chocolate company Hey Sugar has introduced the Gritty Bomb.
It's white chocolate dyed orange then molded into a shell filled with Lucky charms, vanilla marshmallows and rich Belgian cocoa mix.
Heat up your favorite milk, drop the bomb and watch Gritty's google eyes bubble up to the surface.
Buy online or at Bloomsday Cafe | https://bloomsdaycafe.com/
414 S 2nd St, Philadelphia, Pa. 19147
267-319-8018
Iron Hill Brewery is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the opening of its very first tap house.
Located in a former grocery store in Exton, there's a restaurant, retail and beer production on site.
Iron Hill Brewery TapHouse | Facebook | Instagram
260 Eagleview Blvd, Exton, Pa. 19341
484-874-2897
