Rival Bros.
Rival Bros. coffee (and its snacks) was already a cut above. But this second location, with its high ceilings, gilded flourishes and retro-chic aesthetic, makes it the Le Bec-Fin of coffee shops. 1528 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, rivalbros.com/coffeebar.
La Colombe in Fishtown
The new La Colombe flagship is basically the Rolls-Royce of coffee shops, with two kitchens, a distillery, beer, wine, rum, the best La Colombe coffee you've ever tasted (with lattes on draft!), and a full menu of things like tartines and shrimp-and-grits. Sorry, regular coffee shops. 1335 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125, lacolombe.com/cafes?city=0.
TREATMiNT Box
It's quite possibly the best idea we've seen this year: a subscription-based gift-box service for people dealing with cancer. The Philly-based brand, brainchild of cancer survivor Kimberly Fink and her childhood friend Wendy Nichols, curates thoughtful gift boxes (full of uplifting and pampering products like journals and organic lotions) that you can order on a onetime or monthly basis. treatmintbox.com.
Style Box by Skirt
Skirt the fashionable Main Line mainstay has answered our busy-women prayers with its new service: Log onto the site, answer a bunch of style questions, and within a day you'll get the most exciting delivery of your week a pretty printed box packed with complete outfits pulled together just for you, plus an accompanying custom booklet explaining how to build each look. Pay only for what you keep. styleboxbyskirt.com.
Menagerie Coffee
Whitewashed wood, soft lighting, morning-appropriate tunes, potted greenery, and espressos pulled by expert but unpretentious baristas this is the kind of place that can turn a Monday into a good day. 18 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, menageriecoffee.com.
ToBox
Boyds expat Tung To only stocks options with quality and style (handmade-in-Paris loafers by La Cordonnerie Anglaise, Scarpe di Bianco monk straps, John Lobb oxfords) and offers $6 on-site shoe shines. 25 South 19th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, toboxshoes.com.
Clover Market
Now in its 14th year, Clover has exploded from its beginnings as a 25-vendor pop-up market in Ardmore to a roving shopping extravaganza with four locations, eight different events, and a curated roster of nearly 100 different small-biz vendors, artists and artisans, plus live music and food trucks. In short, it’s the happiest treasure hunt around. theclovermarket.com.
Funny Monk Emporium
Don’t let the museum-worthy glass bongs and handblown pipes intimidate you. The staff at Funny Monk welcomes newbies and hard-core stoners alike. 4369 Cresson Street, Philadelphia, PA 19127, funnymonk.com.
Private School by Bela Shehu
You could find rainbow art installations, bleacher seating, DJs, chef tastings, and dozens of local vendors selling everything from jewelry (Forge + Finish) to clothing (the founder’s own NINOBrand) to design-forward furniture (Minima) at this tastemaker’s ticketed month-long pop-up last spring. Missed it? Don’t fret: More, at different locations, are coming soon.
Clothes Mentor
Step one: Arrive with armfuls of clothes from your “get rid of” pile — no appointment needed. Step two: Wait for the cash offer they make you. Step three: Reject cash offer and take credit, because right behind you are racks of like-new shift dresses from Kate Spade, wallets from Louis Vuitton, and cool Giuseppe Zanotti kicks. Step four: Repeat every six months. Multiple locations. clothesmentor.com/springfield-pa.
Hefty Hounds
If your labradoodle, mastiff or greyhound is jealous of all those tiny teacup Yorkies wearing precious outfits, she’ll freak over clear raincoats, fleecy jackets and Eagles jerseys at this local e-shop. heftyhounds.com.
Whole Foods
Sure, it’s not quite as luxurious a shopping experience when you’re tossing your BB cream into a cart alongside butter and bananas, but consider this: While the FDA has pretty strict standards for the food we eat, it’s way more lax about the stuff we put on our skin. (Go figure.) This means the beauty market is flooded with products containing phthalates and formaldehyde – both no-no’s for their potential links to cancer. Whole Foods, however, has banned more than 100 such ingredients from its shelves, and it prioritizes plant-based and naturally sourced ingredients, so its serums, masks, cleansers and cosmetics are practically pure enough to eat. So yeah, the brands WF carries may not be designer, but I’ll take a clean ingredient list – and, fine, the free food samples – over a luxe lipstick any day. – Caroline Cunningham wholefoodsmarket.com.
Herman's
There’s something to be said about a tiny cafe and micro-roastery that can look a seething global pandemic right in the eye and not so much as flinch at the idea of going toe-to-toe with it. There’s even more to be said about the creativity it takes to completely transform, to wholly rebrand, to expand in ways nobody expects, at a time when fear and tragedy can be so debilitating. Herman’s did both. Owners Matt Falco and Amy Strauss were able to turn their converted-auto-repair-shop cafe into a pop-up hub for aspiring chefs and business owners in need of a home, a retail pop-up outlet for vintage brands and plant shops, and a boutique market with an enviable collection of imported pastas, tinned seafood, chocolates, and more food-things you never knew you ever wanted, let alone needed. When the pandemic forced so much of Philly to become less, Herman’s became more, for the neighborhood it’s in and for all of us who needed some inspiration, hope and delicious things in especially trying times. 1313 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, hermanscoffee.com.
Paikoro Botanicals & Boutique
Everything in this wellness enclave has a story, like natural deodorants introduced after the maker’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. Or the clean-burning coconut-blended candles made by integrated-wellness-certified owner Zaje Richardson, who has run the brick-and-mortar with husband Seafus since February. Even the name has a tale, honoring Richardson’s South African heritage. 202 West Baltimore Avenue, Media, PA 19063, paikoro.com.
David J. Witchell
Remember the montage from Pretty Woman where Vivian goes from gaudy to glam in a Beverly Hills minute? Had she been in Newtown instead, she could have come here for a soothing scrub in the grotto-like spa, a conditioning treatment and blowout in the bustling salon (if David's booked and he always is request Jack), a whirl through the lovely makeup bar, and a twirl into the super-secret upstairs boutique, which she'd find stocked with essentials from Theory and James Perse, plus the show--stopping frock required for her night at the opera. 25 South State Street, Newtown, PA 18940, davidjwitchell.com.