Keystone Sign & Company
Keystone Sign & Company at work. Photograph by Jeff Fusco Even if you don’t know the name, you know the work. DiNic’s in Reading Terminal Market. Love City Brewing. Garage in Fishtown, Primal Supply Meats in Brewerytown, K’Far, and scores of other signs, all hand-painted by Christian Cantiello and his crew. The next time you walk into a restaurant, bar or shop, look a little more closely at the logo out front — there’s a good chance it’s Cantiello’s work. keystonesignco.com.
Division IV
This sweet shop ups the ante on otherwise pedestrian hostess gifts. Do you usually present a jar of fruit preserves? Try the bacon jam! Typically exchange fine spirits? Pair a bottle with a charred grapefruit tonic! Even humdrum candles — like a basil-and-cucumber eco-candle in an upcycled wine bottle — earn an upgrade. (Note: Division IV was absorbed into Ali’s Wagon, from the same owners, in 2018.) 2017 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130, aliswagon.com.
What a Crock
With ready-made frozen meals requiring nothing more than a few hours in a slow cooker—no chopping, no pans, nada—What a Crock has out-convenienced the Blue Aprons of the world and managed to make delicious Crock Pot meals. (Try the buffalo chicken mac and cheese.) Buy them at stores in Delco and Chestnut Hill or, yes, have the meals delivered right to your door. Multiple locations, whatacrockmeals.com.
Vera Pasta
Joe D’Andrea makes extruded pastas the proper way—with bronze dies for texture and top-notch ingredients for maximum flavor. It’s why a bunch of our favorite restaurants and specialty shops (Di Bruno Bros., Green Aisle Grocery) serve and sell his goods. And now, with his new storefront, you can get those noodles faster and fresher. 319 Westtown Road, Suite K, West Chester, PA 19382, verapasta.com.
Bloom & Blossom
Sure, you could go to 10 different shops to curate the perfect assortment of goodies, package it up yourself, and drive to the post office to mail it. Or you could visit Jersey-based Melissa Brooks’s new online gift service, choose a themed – and super-thoughtful – gift box (baby, pre-travel, housewarming, all packaged in sweet wooden crates), and have it delivered without ever leaving your house. We’ll leave it up to you. blossomsareforever.com.
cBOP
Nope, those aren’t pint-size Comme des Garçons tees – they’re by luxe kiddie loungewear brand Noggi. And those mini Gucci-looking slides? They’re actually Hoo shoes. (The Chloé label, however, is the real deal.) cBOP is stocked with clothes so stylish that you’d covet them for your own closet if the sizes didn’t range from newborn to a children’s 6. 393 West Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041, shopcbop.com.
Stargazy
If you’re a soccer fan, you’re waking up early on Saturdays. You’re trekking to South Philly’s English pie shop, and you’re ordering at least one pie stuffed with egg, beans and ham. You’re sitting with all the other Tottenham jerseys, and you’re screaming at Stargazy’s single TV, just like they are. That is, if you’re a real soccer fan. 1838 East Passyunk Ave , Philadelphia , PA 19148, facebook.com/StargazyPhilly.
Vanilya
It’s true: The best bagels in the city don’t come from a bagel shop. Baker Bonnie Sarana Noll makes a limited batch fresh each morning at her cozy dessert cafe, and they’ve got those New York qualities (chewy on the inside, crisp and bubbly on the outside) that we could never quite replicate in Philly – until now. 1611 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19148, vanilyabakery.com.
Scout Clothing & Decor
This isn't your typical Shore shop, heaped with flashy tanks, ankle bracelets and beach-themed trinkets. Here you'll find vintage treasures (embellished clutches, sparkly jewelry, retro glassware) tucked among relaxed denim, soft tees, and light, airy dresses you need for summer. Leave room in your weekender for the covetable gifts and home goods, too, because there's no way you're walking away without a rosemary sea salt candle or Jonathan Adler decorative dish. 7817 Ventnor Avenue, Margate City, NJ 08402, scoutclothinganddecor.com.
Long in the Tooth
This no-frills shop is old-school in the best sense, with tunes cranking and a music-geek staff that's cool with you giving that obscure '70s Mexican hard-rock album a spin. Even cooler: If you've got cash, you can buy tickets for concerts at Union Transfer and Boot & Saddle here with no service fees. 2027 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, .
Hawthornes Cafe
The fire that ravaged Hawthornes last year didn't keep 'em down long: The cafe and beer shop are both back and better than ever. If those coolers full of the newest releases and old classics aren't enough, thanks to owner Chris Fetfatzes's petitioning of the PLCB, you can order online and have your beer delivered right to your front door. 738 South 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, hawthornecafe.com.
Host
Recession? What recession? This pristine, double-located shelter shop just clocked its best year yet, thanks to owner Doug Reinke's amazing eye for transitional decor (including recent acquisition Mitchell Gold), his traditional-meets-modern case goods and upholstery, and those chic-ly utilitarian Chilewich mats that are forever selling out. 7908 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118, hostinteriors.com.
Third Street Habit
You love Sugarcube. You love Third Street Habit. Twice a year (once in summer, once in winter), they merge inventories into various Old City spaces, mark them down to gasp-inducing prices, and, in one gluttonous shopping event, open their communal doors for the public to have at it. Sharpen your elbows, ladies. We saw those jodhpurs first. 153 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, thirdstreethabit.com.
Telestar Wireless
So you dropped the amazing little contraption face-down on the sidewalk, did you? And you don't have insurance? And now the dude at the AT&T store is telling you a new one's going to set you back, um, $700? And you want to slit your wrists with the shards of broken glass? Go see Nan Yan, GM at this hole-in-the-wall South Philly shop, who'll slap a brand-new touchscreen on your crippled old phone for just $85. See, miracles do happen. 1635 Washington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19146, .
Cajun Kate's
Philadelphia natives Don and Kate Applebaum spent seven years in Louisiana before bringing their N'Awlins specialties back home. We're sure happy they did. Fridays and Saturdays, the longest lines at the Booth's Corner Farmer's Market are at Cajun Kate's, where Don's in charge of the gumbo (shrimp and sausage, duck, or slow-roasted pork, depending on the day) and Kate provides the sweets (fresh-from-the-fryer, dredged-in-powdered-sugar beignets). 1362 Naman's Creek Road, Boothwyn, PA 19061, cajunkates.com.