Philadelphia Salvage Company
Wear closed-toed shoes and prepare to digas you navigate this heralded salvage company's new location, a 30,000-square-foot warehouse crammed with reclaimed lumber, light fixtures, doors, windows, mirrors and more. Or skip the hunt and ask the pros here for help; they'll custom-build you something from their reclaimed materials, then deliver and install it. 2234 West Westmoreland Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, philadelphiasalvage.com.
ACS Repair Center
Coffeemaker lost its perk? Vacuum refusing to suck? Your toaster, er, toast? These good people get almost anything working again. Your wallet—and the landfill—will thank you. 6407 Rising Sun Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111, acsrepaircenter.net.
Mid-City Tire and Auto
You’ve exhausted AutoZone’s supply of Fix-a-Flat, and it’s time to admit you need a professional to repair your slowly ssssssinking tire. But you don’t have the patience to endure the tire shop’s sales pitch — or the thousand bucks it will cost you if you give in to it. We’ve brought tires into Mid-City with embarrassingly low — probably dangerously so — treads and walked out with patches, and without a sales pitch. That level of honesty brought us back when we decided, “Hey, maybe I really do need new tires.” 709 Washington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19147, midcitytire.com.
Jace Florescio
Jace Florescio’s balloon art. Photograph by Daniel Zampogna The stay-at-home order issued in March was a shock to the system for many Philadelphians, and children responded through art, posting homemade rainbows in their front windows. Inspired by this show of solidarity and expression of optimism, Florescio — whose couture balloon installations deliver excitement and wonder to intimate gatherings and corporate fetes alike — used her talents to craft a rainbow garland on her home’s front stoop and those of others in her Fairmount neighborhood. For everyone feeling unsteady or alone, Florescio’s doing her part to make sure hopefulness stays afloat. thatballoongirl.com.
1812 Productions
Its hard to be funny all the time, but Philadelphia's all-comedy theater company, stationed at Plays and Players, does just that. Last season,Cherry Bomb was, well, the bomb. Their annualThis Is the Week That Is show is always a (smart) hoot. And they changed it up a bit by throwing in a musical cabaret about marriage, to critical acclaim (masters of comic timing, raved theInquirer). Next season, were looking forward toThe First Day of School: A Soccermom Sex Farce (opens 10/1) and April'sAn Evening With(out) Woody Allen. Independence Studio on 3, Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 1812productions.org.
Jelloman
Paul Vile — a.k.a. Jelloman — has been a gelatinous folk hero for years, known for benevolently launching pre-packaged Jell-O shots into eager crowds at music festivals and Eagles tailgates. But his boozy legend reached new heights during the NFC Championship celebration, when he crowd-surfed the gathered Broad Street masses sling-shotting cups of kelly green slurpables. Then the Super Bowl requests flooded in, so of course Vile (yup, Kurt’s bro) spent the run-up prepping an astounding 4,000 shots of jiggly juice.
Brewerytown Beats
Vinyl heads come here to flip through the 50,000-strong record collection (all genres, though the specialty is funk, soul and hip-hop), to listen to live midday performances, and to talk music with owner Max Ochester, who has sold LPs to everyone from Questlove to Q-Tip. Check out the shop’s Instagram feed for a first look at the latest rare finds. 2710 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130, brewerytownbeats.com.
Collision Care Auto Body Center
Got smashed, scratched or dented? Collision Care of Narberth (and six other locations) handles most of the insurance work and all of the rental-car arrangements, and also sends daily emails about the progress they're making on your wheels. 330 Iona Avenue, Narberth, PA 19072, collisioncareabc.com.
ReStore of Philadelphia
What happens to the gorgeous original finishes that are ripped out of historic Philly homes when they undergo renovations? They wind up in this two-story salvage warehouse, which is teeming with ornate crystal light fixtures, glass doorknobs, boxes of real subway tiles, carved wooden mantels and porcelain sinks and tubs. (Do with them what you will!) 3016 East Thompson Street, Philadelphia, PA 19134, re-store-online.com.
Doylestown's State Street
Eclectic boutiques, brand-name shops, and tucked-away lunch spots make downtown D-town both quaintand cool. 00000, doylestownborough.net/visitors/shopping.
Feng Shui Naturals
Last year, Abenaa Timazee, owner of eco-conscious hair- and skin-care brand Feng Shui Naturals, took her business mobile with an electric tricycle truck, bringing us the joy of shopping even when shops were verboten. This year, Timazee is expanding her mobile services and hosting beauty demos around town. You can also pick up her zero-waste natural products at Whole Foods, the Fresh Grocer and ShopRite. fengshuinaturals.com.
The Story Coffee & Bookstore
With its whimsical wall installation made out of books and a cozy coffee-shop ambience (try a cortado), this new shop feels more like a work of fiction than a place that sells it. While the shop has a spiritual bent (it specializes in nonfiction focusing on history, faith and culture), it also houses new and used tomes from the likes of James Patterson and Robert Louis Stevenson. Proceeds benefit the Helping Hand Rescue Mission. 45 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, PA 19003, thestoryardmore.com.
Whirled Peace
Cheesy pun notwithstanding, this fro-yo joint not only serves up a yummy low-cal dessert (all flavors are 150 calories or less); it also practices what it preaches. A portion of the shop's proceeds go to a good cause. Multiple locations |, 00000, whirledpeacefroyo.com.
Vault + Vine
This shop has the four C’s: cacti, ceramics, coffee and croissants, the latter of which you can enjoy in the shop’s sun-soaked cafe. 3507 Midvale Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19129, vaultandvine.co.
Petruce et al.
The Citywide Special, a shot of cheap whiskey and a PBR, goes up-market at Petruce, where it's transformed into a shot of Angel's Envy and a bottle of barleywine. If you survive that, explore the rest of the smart cocktail list. 1121 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, petrucephilly.com.