Mnyk fall2015 updated

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FALL 2015

Kitchen Ambition: A Look Inside Bourbon Blue

The Burgeoning Business Of Beds Chanel, Hermes And Prada Oh My A Piece Of The Pie

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Locally Sourced Locally Sourced Fresh Food Fresh Food

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LeBus • Manayunk Great Great Wine Wine List List •• Craft Craft Beers Beers on on Tap Tap •• Artisan Artisan Bread Bread Full Catering Menu • Market Menu • Outdoor Dining Full Catering Menu • Market Menu • Outdoor Dining Breakfast Breakfast •• Lunch Lunch •• Dinner–every Dinner–every day day

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BARBEQUE & ROTISSERIE • WHISKEY • CRAFT BEERS • BOURBON

HOURS: Tuesday - Wednesday: 4pm to 10pm Thursday - Saturday: 11am - 11pm Sunday: 11am - 9pm

4258 MAIN STREET, MANAYUNK, PA 19127 • (267) 858-3000 • SMOKINJOHNSMANAYUNK.COM

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MANAYUNK magazine

LIVE SHOP DINE PLAY

SEPTEMBER / NOVEMBER 2015

contents 06

Mark Your Calendar

You won’t want to miss this fall’s events.

08

Sneak A Peek

Snapshots of the annual Arts Festival and first ever Hidden River Blues Festival.

24

Cover Profil

A home away from home.

SHOP.

Business Savvy

Designer consignment in the heart of Manayunk.

30

Design Guide

A look at Manayunk’s furniture stores.

DINE.

Pizza pizza.

36

Taste This

44

Now Open

From pizza to vintage and everything in between.

40

Conversation With The Chef

Drink up at the Juice Merchant.

LIVE.

Airbnb hotspots in Manayunk.

16

Expert Advice

Around Town

48

PLAY.

Get Physical A new form of fitnes

Meet two more Manayunk professionals.

Editorial + Production Editors Jane Lipton, Caitlin Maloney, Shannon Geddes, Joan Denenberg, Leo Dillinger, Design Cantor Design, cantordesign.com Sales M7 Media 610.417.9261; bauerjim7@gmail.com Photography Susan Beard Design - susanbearddesign.com JPG Photography - jpgphotography.com Stephanie Nolt - snfoto.com Alexa Nahas - alexanahas.com

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Manayunk Magazine

is published quarterly by the Manayunk Development Corp.

Manayunk Development Corporation 4312 Main Street Philadelphia, PA 19127 215.482.9565 | info@manayunk.org

COVER Photographed by SUSAN BEARD (pictured) / SUSAN BEARD DESIGN (susanbearddesign.com).

Assisted by Erika Smith

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4312 MAIN STREET MANAYUNK, PA 19127

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215.483.9990

WWW.CANALHOUSE.COM

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR

sept 12/oct 10 Philly Mart

The open air artisan market is back again this fall for two dates. Shop for vintage collectables, original art and handmade crafts at the mart on Venice Island.

sept 14-25 Manayunk Restaurant Week

sept 13 Manayunk StrEAT Food Festival The StrEAT Food Festival returns with Philly’s best food trucks and food vendors lining Main Street from 11AM-5PM.

oct 24 Halloween In Manayunk Get dressed up and head to Manayunk on the 24th for trick or treating, a costume parade and candy galore.

The StrEAT Food Festival kicks off two weeks of Manayunk Restaurant Week with restaurants featuring three courses for three prices - $15, $25, $35.

oct 241 Philadelphia Flea Market Philly flea market vendors will pop up on Main St eet for this one day flea market event. Get the e early before everything gets picked over.

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MANAYUNK URBAN EXPERIENCE, SMALL TOWN CHARM

IN PHILLY?

MANAYUNK IS A “DON’T MISS” DESTINATION. CENTRALLY LOCATED. 15 MINUTES FROM CENTER CITY. ONE STOP SHOPPING. SHOP SMALL, SHOP LOCAL. INTERNATIONAL CUISINES. AL FRESCO DINING. TRAILS & BIKING. FESTIVALS & EVENTS.

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SNEAK-A-PEEK

Photography By JPG Photography (jpgphotography.com)

In June, the Manayunk Arts Festival returned for its 26th year featuring artists in seven different categories from all over the country. Main Street was packed with buyers and art lovers from around the region during this two day event. Then in August, the first ever Hidden River Blues Festival was held in the outdoor amphitheater at the new Venice Island Performing Arts & Recreation Center in Manayunk.

The all day music festival featured local Philly blues talent along with national acts Sugar Blue and Otis Taylor. Thanks to our friends at JPG Photography for capturing all the fun!

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Photography By JPG Photography (jpgphotography.com)

LIVE: AROUND TOWN

Thinking Of Joining The Airbnb Craze?

Manayunk hosts share tales, tips, and thoughts to consider before opening your home to strangers on the popular room-sharing site. By Ainsley Di Duca Just days before the arrival of his very first Airbnb guests—two couples from Germany who he’d never met, and who’d be spending the next four days living in a spare bedroom on the top floor of his four-story Levering Street row home—Derek Krucelyak was wondering what the hell he had just gotten himself into.

The message on his Airbnb account that he was trying to decipher was from one of the 20-something German girls, and it went something like this: “Hi Derek, we’re planning on renting video cameras while we’re there. Can you help us return them once we’re finished?”

Krucelyak recalled. “And I’m thinking, hmm.

Let’s see. Two couples. One room. Video cameras? Is this going to be questionable?”

He laughs about it now. “It turned out,” he said, “that one of the guys is a German music producer, and the reason they were coming to 10

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the U.S. was to film a music video for a song called ‘Philadelphia.’ So they needed Philly footage.” A few weeks later, the song was up on YouTube and near the end of the video, the producer gave a nod to his Manayunk stay: “Levering Street is in it. My house is even in it,” Krucelyak said. “The first guests I had were definitely the craziest, in the best way.

Airbnb (airbnb.com), the room-sharing site that can turn anyone with an air mattress and box of Pop-Tarts into a novice bed and breakfast owner, launched back in 2008. But just this year, a surge of Manayunk homeowners have joined the site as buzz of the Pope’s September visit, and talk of leaving town and renting out your home to visitors, began.

That’s what sparked Krucelyak’s interest. He joined the site in May. N ow, just 3 months later, he’s hosted more than 10 guests, boasts

a solid five-star rating, and has earned considerable additional income.

Part of the ease of his success, he said, is that Airbnb travelers are of a unique variety: many are looking to travel cheaply, live among locals, and immerse themselves in the city’s culture. Manayunk becomes the “perfect little village” for this type of guest, he said, with its old row homes, cobblestone streets, al fresco dining, and easy access to Center City. Suddenly, with no hotels in town to have done so in the past, Airbnb hosts are introducing a brand new market of tourists to this historic district.

“My guests have looked up Philadelphia and ended up in Manayunk not knowing the area.

And what ends up happening is, they’ll see Main Street and never leave,” Krucelyak said.

“My first renters from Germany had breakfast at the crepe place [So Crepe] every morning.

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“People love Manayunk—that’s a story in and of itself.”

They brought back bread [from Breakin’ Bread Bakery]. People love Manayunk—that’s a story in and of itself.”

So, if you’ve been thinking of riding the room-share wave, here’s your guide. For starters, listing your room or home on Airbnb is simple: just submit your license to verify your identity, upload photos, and write a detailed and honest description of your place. What takes significantly more effort is earning that five-star rating from guests, which—for a service that hinges solely on the trust of strangers—is crucial, especially as the site gets more congested. Whether you plan to list a couch, room, or home on Airbnb, Manayunk hosts share some considerations to make first.

Listing A Couch Or Spare Room If you’re thinking of opening your house to strangers, “you have to ask yourself whether you have the right space,” Krucelyak said. He offers guests an entire third floor suite (www. airbnb.com/rooms/6206483), complete with a

private room with two queen beds and a personal bathroom. “You want a space, if you’re having people live with you, that’s separate but connected,” he said. “I’ll hang out with guests in the living room, but then at night, they can go to their own zone on the third floo . I almost don’t even know they’re there.”

Guests staying in his home have the added pleasure of touring a mini art gallery: his walls are adorned with funky sculptures—a vintage car bumper that looks as if it’s driving out of the wall—stunning photographs, and modern paintings, all purchased at the Manayunk Arts Festival. Offering such lavish and private accommodations is the reason he can charge $89/night, while couches or shared rooms run at $10-$40/night. Then there’s Krucelyak’s entire first floo , which is clean, open, and welcoming—the final factor to consider: Your living area will become public space. Are you ready for that? “Are you tidy? Or do you have exploded mail all over your dining room table?” he asked. “And it’s probably not a good

idea to be in your boxers on the couch when guests arrive.” Letting go of your own privacy, and messy habits, are concessions to consider before joining Airbnb.

Becoming A 24/7 Host For Janet Lemmen, lodging in a city rowhome “added to the adventure” of touring historic Philadelphia with her 15-year old grandson, both from Orlando, FL. Relaxing in a comfy leather chair in Krucelyak’s living room, she reflected on what exactly drew her to his listing.

Mostly? Him. “Not knowing anything about the city, I felt like I needed an advocate,” she said, “someone who, like a friend or relative, you could ask, ‘Where do you go? What do you do?’ He seemed eager to be helpful.”

Lemmen thinks like most Airbnb travelers booking spare bedrooms: they evaluate the host as much as the accommodation. It should come as little surprise, then, that the highest-rated Airbnb homeowners are natural-born hosts. They joined this trend not for Fall 2015 | manayunk.com 11

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W the profits, but the people. “I love having different people around, and it’s been really cool to get to know new people from new ways of life,” Krucelyak shared. He revels in his role as on-call concierge: earlier in the day, he had interrupted his thoughts to field a text from Lemmen asking where to find the best burgers in town. (His recommendation? Lucky’s Last Chance.) When you ask these hosts how much time they put into this side gig, they say “not that much.” But then you find out what they do, and you realize: it just doesn’t feel like work to them.

Tricia Betcher joined the site in January, and has since rented a large room in her 2-bedroom Manayunk Avenue apartment (www. airbnb.com/rooms/4330188) for $51/night to more than 15 guests. She bakes fresh banana or pumpkin bread for her guests’ arrivals, “which is really satisfying when you’re traveling,” she said. She’s spent 2 hours per day getting to know her guests, taking them out to eat, and showing them around Center City. She once escorted two young German girls through the bus exchange to the Camden Aquarium to ensure they made it there safely. Unsurprisingly, she has a five-star rating out of eight eviews.

Given the time these hosts invest in their visitors, no, they say, it is not weird to have strangers living in their homes. By the time the guests arrive, they’ve corresponded so much through the Airbnb site, “it’s like having friends over,” Betcher said. “And by the time they leave, they’re like close relatives.”

Challenges & Cautions The most challenging element of this side job, however, is the intermittent schedule, making turnover days a “logistics mission,” Krucelyak said. If one group leaves Wednesday, and new guests are set to arrive Thursday morning, be prepared to spend all night turning over the 12

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room—washing the sheets and towels, scrubbing the bathroom, and vacuuming—before heading to your day job, as these hosts do: Krucelyak as a sales manager and Betcher as a high school music teacher.

Then there’s the safety factor. Hosts should always use caution before handing their house keys to strangers. Airbnb offers Host Protection Insurance of up to $1M against accidents that occur during stays. Guests receive testimonials from hosts, too, so you can decline a guest with bad reviews. Betcher, a single female who lives alone, said, “I always pick people who have a reference and a verified ID. If they just created an Airbnb account that month, I don’t [accept them]. But 99% of my experiences have been positive.” Krucelyak agreed, adding, “What surprised me most was how nice and respectful people from Airbnb are of your place. They’re a little guarded too, because they’re in someone else’s home, so they tread cautiously: they ask before doing things, they put things away. I once came home to find my guests cleaning my picnic

table, which I never get to, in all honesty! The coolest part? I’ve had no issues with anyone.

It’s been the most fun experience.”

Turning Your Second Residence Into A Vacation Home Hosting guests in your home while you’re there to gauge how they’re doing and avert any problems is one thing. Listing your entire house for rent on Airbnb, HomeAway, or VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner)—and preparing it for visitors to live in while you’re gone—carries its own set of costs and challenges. Vittoria Schutz, owner of VSA Property Group, rents out her fully furnished vacation home, a 2,000-square-foot townhouse on Markle Street (www.vrbo.com/425791), at $200$350 per night to families of up to six people, some of whom are visiting Philly as tourists or here for a convention, others making rounds of college visits with their high school teenagers. Having a decades’ experience in the vacation rental world (her mother owns Manayunk Terrace Bed and Breakfast), Schutz offers tips

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Welcome HOME

P OMPANOOSUC M ILLS PHILADELPHIA, PA 4120 Main St. 215.508.3263 www.POMPY.com

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to homeowners thinking of turning a second residence into a short-term rental. “People think you’ll double your monthly income, but there are a lot more expenses and [there’s] a lot more work involved,” she said.

• Your monthly income fluctuates With tenants, you set your monthly rent at a price that covers or exceeds your mortgage and other expenses. With Airbnb, prices fluctuate based on supply and demand. In the winter, you may be vacant for months, so you’ll need to raise your price during the busy season and for event weekends, such as the Army-N avy Game or the Made in America concert. “It’s tricky,” she said. “You have to manage your income very closely and build a surplus to carry over into the slower months.”

• Costs of furnishing are exorbitant. Families renting homes on VRBO expect the comforts of home with the luxuries of being on vacation. Trained as an interior designer at Moore College of Art & Design, Schutz said, “I think about the décor, the upgrades, having nice finishes, having soft towels,” comfy beds, and modern furniture—all of which are substantial costs up front, and to maintain.

• You foot all of the bills. Without tenants, all utility bills will be in your name. And families will expect upgraded cable with all of the channels, high-speed Internet, a security system, and a parking spot “all of which you pay out of pocket even if you have less income that month,” she said.

• Cleaning is costly. Every time guests leave, you’ll need to hire a professional cleaning service. “Every inch of the house gets used, unlike a typical home where, say, the dining room isn’t used daily, so it only needs a light dusting—so it’s triple what a residential house14

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keeper would be,” Schutz said. If you have two rounds of visitors in one week, you could spend $300 that week on cleaning alone.

Renting Out Our Home While On Vacation Any dream of wracking in easy money by renting your home to strangers while you relax, stress free, on a tropical island can become a reality only if you prepare thoroughly beforehand. Zach Torres, an architect and co-owner with his father of StudioTorres, Ltd., listed his personal three-story Roxborough Avenue residence (www.airbnb.com/ rooms/6849746) at $875/night for the Papal Visit weekend. He plans to leave town and take his wife and 6-month-old on a vacation to Mexico. What follows are ways to prep and safeguard your home for guests.

• Lock up all valuables. To clear out space for guests’ belongings and protect their personal items, Torres intends to empty all of their closets and drawers and lock everything, including valuables, on their third floo . Also, since Torres will be handing his house key to strangers, he fully expects to eat the costs of changing the hardware of their front and back door locks upon their return.

• Leave instructions. Considering visitors won’t know how to work your finicky sink or where to find extra toilet paper, Torres aims to create a binder with house rules (are guests welcome to eat your food?), instructions (when is trash day?), and a check-out list. Schutz also advises leaving pamphlets of tourist attractions, city maps, and schedules for public transportation.

• You can’t just disappear. Guests will feel safer knowing you are a quick text or email away. If you plan to be on an island with spotty

service, you’ll need to hire a property manager or assign an emergency contact (for Torres, it’s his father) to run over at a moment’s notice if the toilet overflows or guests get locked out.

• Set aside income for taxes. If you rent your personal home for more than 14 days per year, the rent you collect must be included in your income. Airbnb sends a 1099 tax form documenting your income to the IRS (read more at www.airbnb.com/help/article/414).

Set aside at least 33% of the income you make on Airbnb in case you’re asked later to pay on unreported income.

Think Like Your Guests What becoming a five-star rated Airbnb host comes down to is this: think about what you would want if you landed with your family in an unfamiliar city and were staying in a stranger’s home. Schutz greets families on the first day to make sure they settle in comfortably. “I give the personal tour,” she said. “I tell them where the wine and spirits store is, the Dunkin’ Donuts, and the Acme. Remember, if you rent a house, and you get there, you’re wondering: Where do we get a bottle of wine? Groceries? I tell them where they can rent bikes, where the kayak tour is. I show them how close Main Street is; I tell them what a nice Sunday brunch Manayunk Brew Pub has. Manayunk is an easy sell.”

As a host, you get back what you give—mostly in the form of honorary relatives all over the globe. “People are just so nice, you have no idea,” Schutz said. “I’m Facebook friends with past guests. One works in a vineyard in Italy, and she was here traveling through town selling wine. She said, ‘Come to Italy! Stay in the vineyard!’ And you know what? I might just do that. You know, it’s not easy money. But if you really enjoy people and providing a service, like I do, it’s well worth it.”

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LIVE: EXPERT ADVICE

S L A N O I S S E F O PR

Meet The

Meet the owners of two more small businesses who call our Manayunk neighborhood home.

By Manayunk Magazine

A true vibrant community not only needs great restaurants and shops, it also needs skilled professionals to serve the local businesses and residents. This series looks to introduce our readers to some of those professionals and the faces behind these service businesses. In the second part of our series, we spoke with Attorney William J. O’Brien from Manayunk Law Office and Certified Public Accountant John ‘Jack’ McGovern from John E McGovern & Associates PC. Read on to learn about their professional stories, experience in the field, and why they love servicing Manayunk residents and businesses in our community.

Attorney William J. “Bill” O’Brien Manayunk Law Offic mnyklaw.com

Bill O’Brien has had quite an interesting career in the legal field. After graduating from college in 1976, Bill joined the staff of U.S. Senator John Heinz. There he acted as a liaison between the senator and federal agencies on behalf of constituents who were adversely affected by the bureaucratic process. This experienced inspired 16

him to go to Delaware Law School, where he graduated in 1981. After law school, Bill clerked for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Joseph T. Doyle, and worked on focusing and refining his skills on government regulation and public sector disputes.

Bill was admitted to the Bar of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1982 and opened the Manayunk Law Office in 1985. Since then, he has worked with a wide variety of clients with his practice focusing on real estate, small business planning and development, zoning, and landlord/tenant law. Bill also serves in commercial matters like business formation, shareholder and partnership agreements, purchase and sale of assets and entities, and he loves helping his clients navigate the maze of government regulations. He also provides estate planning and administration for families and individuals. In all cases, Bill strives to be an effective problem solver and is a vigorous litigator when necessary.

When asked about why he chose Manayunk as the place to hang his shingle he said, “the location is perfect: it’s convenient to City Hall and the Montgomery County Courthouse. Its business owners and residents have diverse interests, but all share a love for Manayunk.” He’s also an avid cyclist and adds that his office “offers doorstep access to the Schuylkill Trail and the Wissahickon.”

Bill is an integral part of Manayunk and has been involved for 30 years in both the business and residential community. He is proud to have offered and continued to offer excep-

tional legal service to those who seek his advice and counsel. Lastly he adds, “living, working and playing in Manayunk for the last thirty years has been extraordinary.”

Certified Public Accountan John “Jack” McGovern John E. McGovern & Associates PC cpaphilly.com

Jack McGovern always wanted to own a business. While attending college at Penn State University, he decided to study accounting.

The more he learned about the trade, the more

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he began to realize that this field could offer him the chance to start something of his own.

In 1992, Jack established McGovern and Associates in Manayunk. As a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Jack specializes in tax planning and preparation for individuals and small businesses. He also has a background in finance and serves as a director of East River Bank. Jack and his wife Annette, a partner in the fi m, own investment properties in both Roxborough and Manayunk that not only keeps them financially invested, but emotionally invested in the neighborhood as well. It also gives them unique insight and expertise to offer clients that wish to invest in real estate or their own business.

“We represent a lot of businesses and individuals in the area including both the Roxborough and Manayunk Development Corporations. What is most amazing is the diversity of the people and businesses that are our clients,” Jack said. John E. McGovern and Associates is a busy local fi m that represents manufacturing, technology, health care, non profits, retail, hospitality, real estate and even agriculture.

“I chose to open my office in the City of Philadelphia because I could see that clients wanted to deal with a CPA that operated within the city limits and had a deep knowledge of Philadelphia’s strange tax laws,” Jack said. He first looked at Main Street Manayunk because it seemed to be really centrally located. “I also knew that I wanted a place that was growing and vibrant. It was an interesting destination, and that continues to be the case today.” The fi m handles clients from throughout the Delaware Valley, “and the truth is we could be located anywhere, but Annette and I, our staff and our clients enjoy being here in Manayunk,” he said.

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SHOP: BUSINESS SAVVY

In the Mix of It All

Two sisters hunt for designer consignment and sent it around the world all from their Manayunk storefront

By Caitlin Maloney Photography By Simon Rogers (slrcg.com) It was the summer of 2009 when Ljupka (loop-kah) N educsin had an idea. She set up a pop-up consignment store in an empty storefront on Main Street during the weekend of the Manayunk Arts Festival with no expectations. “Something that was supposed to be for one weekend with one consigner has turned out six years later to be quite a successful business with over 400 consigners,” Ljupka said.

The successful business she’s talking about is her high end consignment boutique, Remix, which she owns with her sister Tanya. Though their shop is located in the heart of Manayunk, their story and love of fashion began halfway around the world in their home country of Macedonia.

The Macedonian culture that the sisters were raised in heavily focuses on fashion. “Everyone makes an effort to get dressed even if you’re going to the corner store or your neighbor’s house for coffee,” Tanya said. But high end designer items were almost impossible to find in their small country It wasn’t until their friends moved to Paris and Munich and returned with beautiful clothing and handbags that Ljupka and Tanya’s love for high end designer fashion began. “Every single time they came back to Macedonia they would bring us pieces,” Tanya said. “It was probably around 2000 when we actually bought our very first Louis Vuitton bag.”

When Ljupka left Macadonia to travel to the States in the Summer of 2005 it was then that she first saw Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Prada stores. “I got to see the pieces, to touch them and understand the fabric and the craftsmanship that goes into making them,” she said.

After returning to the States a second time, Ljupka met her now husband Derry Neducsin while bartending in Manayunk and working on a business degree. While Ljupka got married and began settling down in Manayunk, Tanya was also studying business in London. But when her sister called and told her she was pregnant, Tanya was on a plane to come help Ljupka with the store for what originally was going be just 20

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for a few months. That was 2011, and well, just like Ljupka, Tanya felt at home in Manayunk and never left.

“What makes Manayunk unique for our business is that it’s right in between the Main Line and Center City, it’s the perfect destination,” Tanya said. “It’s a vibrant neighborhood and all of our neighbors are friendly.”

Ljupka adds, “It reminds us of a European city.”

If you’re looking to consign pieces at Remix, each item has to hit a specific list of criteria. First, it has to be a high end designer item – from Hermes to Chanel and Louis Vuitton to Oscar de la Renta, Remix sells items from some of the top designers in the world. Next, it’s all about the condition of the piece, what it has to offer and if their customers would desire it. Once pieces are selected to consign, that’s when the fun begins for Ljupka and Tanya. They begin scouring the internet and reaching out to their extensive business network around the world to find the original retail price, if it’s a limited edition item and how many were made, and who collects them – that’s how they come up with the final sale price.

“The most fun part for me is doing the research and finding some pieces are so limited there are only 200 of them in the whole world yet in our small neighborhood in Manayunk, we have them,” Tanya said.

Once the items are priced, they are placed on the floor for three months, sometimes longer for higher end items, and the consigners wait to see if their beloved pieces have found new homes. Their rarest pieces are generally sold online and are sent to good homes in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and other fashion ports around the world. Some of the rarest and most valuable pieces they have ever had at Remix were Oscar de la Renta one of a kind embroidered jackets. After Tanya couldn’t find prices for the jackets anywhere online, she spoke with someone at the Oscar de la Renta office who offered to buy them back from her. “These pieces are priceless,” Tanya said. “We sold all of

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them but one, and I’m holding on to it.”

For of their consigners, the items aren’t just a piece of clothing or a simple handbag, they’re collector items that are often hard to part with.

“Most of the time it’s sentimental,” Ljupka said. Which is one of the reasons the sisters work to not only satisfy their customers, but also their conisgners. “I feel confident saying that we pay our consigners more than any other consignment store,” Ljupka said. “We know how much

they have spent for an item so the return has to be on the bigger side.

We do our research, but we like them to have a say in the pricing, no other consignment store lets their customers have a say.”

From the Main Line to N ew Jersey to N ew York, Ljupka and Tanya will travel anywhere to pick up quality consignments items. They even made a trip down to Florida to pick up items from a previous consigner who was a woman who had two of everything Ljupka said. “One black

BRIDAL + SOCIAL OCCASION BOUTIQUE

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Chanel bag with a gold chain, the same bag with a silver chain and 30 pairs of the same shoes in different colors,” she said.

Then last spring, Tanya took a drive to another consigners home to pick up what they thought was going to be two Chanel handbags. Tanya did return with two bags – two full garbage bags of over 40 Chanel vintage bags. “That’s what excited me,” Ljupka said. “I don’t even know how to explain it to you – it’s like, ‘This is it, this is what we have been working for, it’s happening.’”

As Ljupka explained, a lot of their customers can afford to go to Chanel and buy a brand new bag for $4,000, but that’s not the fun part, the fun part is finding a vintage and rate limited edition bag. “They are going to pay half for a vintage bag now, but in 10 years down the road, it will be worth three times more than they paid for it,” Ljupka said. “It’s the value that’s intriguing about the pieces.”

And don’t be fooled by the price, Remix has sold some Chanel bags for $5,000 more than the best selling bag in a Chanel store which may go for $4,000. “It’s all because it’s rare and one of a kind, because we go and we find it, and we deliver it to our customer, it’s all about the hunt,” Ljupka said.

On top of their counter sits a book, a waitlist of sorts, with a list of items their customers most desire. Ljupka and Tanya do their best trying to find these items from their over 400 reoccurring consigners and growing. “They just keep coming,” Tanya said. “Clearly out their closets seasonally and bringing us more items.” Their goal is to match their consigners items with customers who want them, and when they can’t find a match for an item on their waitlist, they’ll hunt for them.

To Ljupka and Tanya, Remix means the mergence of old and new couture. Although their high end consignment items are the star of their businesses, the sisters also sell new apparel from up and coming designers. One of those designers, RISTO, happens to be from Macedonia as well and even though you can find him selling at Neiman Marcus, you can find his clothing at Remix for a fraction of the price It might be obvious to assume that the sisters purchase most of their clothing from the consigner items in their own boutique, but they have to control their urge to not keep everything for themselves. “I know exactly when something comes into the store if I will buy it or not,” Tanya said. Ljupka keeps her focus mainly on handbags, “I do collect those,” she said. “You would die if you saw how many I have.” Over 100, I asked? They both stalled and laughed together. “We probably have one of the nicest collections of handbags there is,” Tanya said. Chanel handbags, Ljupka’s favorite, take over the majority of their collection. “I 22

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cherish those pieces, I see not only value in those, but I cherish them,” she said. “When someone calls and said they have a lot of Chanel pieces – oh my god – that’s when I have a heart attack.” Tanya laughs and adds, “Ljupka is a collector, she’s a Chanel freak.” Though her lifestyle at the moment (as a mother of two) has pushed Ljupka into carrying a Louis Vuitton diaper bag, when she goes out as the real her as she calls it, then she always carry’s Chanel.

When it comes to their personal styles Tanya describes hers as avant garde, influenced from her time spent studying in London. “High Street fashion just blows my mind every single time I go,” she said. “It’s punk and it’s rock and you never see that in Macedonia.” Tanya carries a Birkin handbag daily, but she holds her Blondie leather jacket closest.

Hysteric Glamour launched a line of limited production clothing inspired by the designs of Andy Warhol including this leather jacket, which was worn by Courtney Love during one of her tours.

Ljupka’s style on the other hand, is more classic with black and neutral colors being the base of her wardrobe. Ljupka is the kind of person that can mix a $10 shirt with a $3,000 handbag and she pulls it off perfectly. To her, mixing is the key. “If I have to choose, I will always choose well made accessories over clothing,” Ljupka said. “A wallet you can use every day for three years, but a shirt, I can’t wear it that long.”

Ljupka’s most prized possession is just that, it’s her Takashi Murakami commissioned Louis Vuitton wallet which she’s been carrying everyday for the past three years – and as you might have guessed, she bought it at Remix.

Sisters don’t always have the best working relationship, but Ljupka and Tanya seem to have it all figu ed out. “Ljupka lets me do what I do best,” Tanya said. “I pick up the consignment items and do the daily business and chores in the store, but when it comes to the business side, Ljupka, that’s her thing. She’s the business side and I’m the creative.”

For Ljupka, the ability to leave the day to day aspects of running the store in Tanya’s hands as she raises her two children is the biggest gift she has. “The biggest asset to the store is not the consigners or myself, it’s Tanya,” she said. “Tanya is what Remix is because I did step back a little bit with the kids.”

For Tanya running the store comes naturally, it doesn’t feel like work.

“It’s a pleasure to wake up in the morning, get dressed and come to work, it’s what makes me happy,” Tanya said. “If you are happy and love what you do, it goes to the customer.”

Remix has big plans in the making, but the sisters aren’t ready to disclose them yet. “You’ll have to keep up with us to find out,” Tanya said.

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COVER PROFILE

“Cooking is always something I’ve had a passion for...”

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Tangled Up In Bourbon Blue One couple’s devotion to a restaurant on Rector Street.

By Leo Dillinger Photography By Susan Beard Photography (susanbearddesign.com)

W

hat does the word “home” mean to you? Do you think of the house where you grew up or where you live today? Or maybe you recall the moments shared with family and friends.

For Brendan McGrew, home is a restaurant nestled at the bottom of Rector Street in Manayunk where he’s invested the past 13 years of his life.

As a senior at St. Joeseph’s University majoring in criminal justice, Brendan took a job as a line cook at Bourbon Blue when it first opened in October 2002. Having worked in the service industry since he was 14, Brendan found Bourbon Blue to be a pleasant change of scenery from the former restaurants he worked at.

“Cooking is always something I’ve had a passion for,” Brendan said.

“As I transitioned from working at a bunch of different corporate restaurants when I was younger to an independent restaurant like this, I could see the work that I did had a direct effect.”

By the time he graduated in 2003, Brendan excelled in the kitchen working 50 to 55 hours each week. For a time after college, Brendan considered leaving Bourbon Blue to pursue a career in the city until he was offered the position of Sous Chef.

“I just said absolutely,” Brendan said. “I wasn’t ready for a 9 to 5 world nor do I think my personality fits in a 9 to 5 world.”

As Sous Chef, Brendan and his Head Chef completely revamped the kitchen to a more traditional hierarchy among the cooks. This format allowed each staff member to showcase their talents, integrate them into their weaker areas, and ultimately reach their full potential. Past and present staff rave about Bourbon Blue being one of the best places they’ve ever worked because they were instilled with the determination to advance as both workers and individuals.

Growing tired of the kitchen’s four walls and wanting to learn more about the business, Brendan seized an opportunity to become Bourbon Blue’s Front of House Manager. He gained a deeper perspective into marketing and event planning and by 2005, owner Sean Coyle – who now owns The Goat’s Beard down the street – asked Brendan to take over as the General Manager. Despite the extra responsibility, this opportunity Fall 2015 | manayunk.com 25

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“You’ve got to learn how to live together and work together. Then the rest would just fall into place.”

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made Brendan one of the youngest GMs in the city of Philadelphia.

Brendan discovered the art of innovation and the need to balance consistency while constantly adapting to change. He studied the financial side of running a restaurant, subscribing to numerous culinary magazines and blogs to read up on the latest trends in the restaurant world.

“I think the hardest challenge in running a business is making the numbers work, finding ways to operate within your means, and knowing there are times you’re going to go over and times you’re going to be under,” Brendan said. “But it’s not just focusing on the day-to-day. You need to continue to look ahead.”

By 2008, he approached Sean to discuss his future at Bourbon Blue.

Brendan illustrated his ambition to make the restaurant a success and his desire to be an owner. After talking out the details, Sean knew Brendan would be the ideal candidate to take full control of the business.

But Sean wasn’t the only factor Brendan had to consider before buying Bourbon Blue.

One Sunday night in the winter of 2006, Brendan was working at Bourbon Blue when he met a girl sitting at the bar. Her name was Melissa Gregory. Brendan introduced himself and after talking for several hours, he asked Mel out on a date. She said no.

Brendan asked her again. The answer was still no. He asked her once more and once more, her answer was always no. After much convincing and deliberation, Mel finally accepted Brendan’s invitation and they went on their first date on January 7, 2007 Brendan and Melissa had been together for more than a year when Sean officially offered him Bourbon Blue. Knowing his decision would

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“I said to her, ‘I have a question I need to ask you. You know how we’ve talked about life together and our future. I’m going to ask you once: Do you want to have a ring or a restaurant?’”

impact Mel as well, Brendan asked for her opinion.

“I said to her, ‘I have a question I need to ask you. You know how we’ve talked about life together and our future. I’m going to ask you once: Do you want to have a ring or a restaurant?’”

“I went with the restaurant,” Melissa said. “I figu ed that was just as much of a commitment. You’ve got to learn how to live together and work together. Then the rest would just fall into place.”

“I told her I agreed because a restaurant could afford us a ring and hopefully more down the road.” Brendan laughed, his face beginning to blush. “And, we’re still working on that.”

Brendan and Mel have been together for nearly nine years and in that time, they’ve worked tirelessly to provide their guests with the optimum dining experience. From the rustic, elegant décor to the featured “New American cuisine” on the menu to the amiable wait staff, Bourbon Blue thrives on making their patrons feel at home.

Brendan told me, “I’ve always wanted this place to be the comfort level where you feel ok if you stop in and have a beer or if you stop in just to say hi. If you want to sit down for a first date or if you want to have an anniversary party, we are able to have all of that because of the comfort, the ambiance and the service that we provide.”

Ever since Brendan started at Bourbon Blue, he was taught “food comes first.” If your food is great, guests will come in and order drinks.

Once he took ownership, Brendan made sure to keep the signature dishes consistent like the Southern Fried Chicken, Cheesesteak Eggrolls, and Jambalaya. Brendan hasn’t changed those recipes in five years and for good reason. I’ve tried all three and each one made my taste buds

tremble with flavo .

Another aspect of the restaurant that Brendan and Mel emphasize is guest development. This task isn’t just getting people in the door. It’s about maintaining relationships with those who frequently come in to Bourbon Blue. Even when they aren’t actively working, you can find Brendan and Mel interacting with guests, making sure they are being treated like family.

“Guest development is the single most important part of any business,” Brendan said. “You can have the best product, but if you don’t know how to get it out to people nobody’s ever going to buy it because they don’t know about it. The best way to get people to know about it is to get to know people that are here.”

For Brendan and Mel, Bourbon Blue is their home. It’s a place where they’ve relished in the good times and endured through the bad. Out of all the perks that come with running a restaurant, the most rewarding experience for both Brendan and Mel is contributing to the happiness of their guests. Bourbon Blue has been the home to first dates, marriage proposals, rehearsal dinners, birthday parties, anniversaries, and reunions just to name a few. Watching their regulars return to celebrate the many different stages in their lives truly makes all of the hard work worthwhile.

“It is an awesome thing to be a part of so many good people’s lives,” Brendan said. “Through seeing all those changes that have happened to them and for us here as a business, that’s growing up. That’s what life is.

And as much as I would do some things differently, I wouldn’t change the end result whatsoever.”

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SHOP: DESIGN GUIDE

An Eye For Design A tour of Main Street’s furniture stores through the eyes of Harris & Tweed Interiors.

By Kathy Piccari & Taryn Rager Photography By Alexa Nahas (alexanahas.com)

Kathy Piccari and Taryn Rager met as managers in the retail industry, and quickly became a dynamic duo in retail design and visual merchandising. Feeling a bit limited in creative expression, they realized the only way to work in a more personal and flexible capacity was to create an environment with no artistic boundaries. That led them to establish Harris & Tweed Interiors in 2013.

Aside from the application of basic design principles, Harris & Tweed’s approach to interior design fosters a collaborative relationship between the client’s style and their vision. The combination of every element that 30

fills the room, from flooring to window treatments, acts as an expression of and is catered to their client’s personality. Harris & Tweed’s visual masterpieces generate responses from their clients that emotionally connect them to the final design concept and enhance the relationship they have with their environment.

Though they design spaces all throughout the Philadelphia area, they recently acquired a studio space in Manayunk. With so many furniture stores lining Main Street, we took them on a tour to get design tips from the experts themselves.

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Pompanoosuc Mills As designers, we look for pieces to satisfy our clients’ needs for beauty, practicality and sustainability. At Pompanoosuc Mills, we are able to find the best of all worlds in each and every piece! The Danville bed is a perfect example, as it offers a beautiful, sleek design and boasts practicality with the integrated night tables attached directly to the headboard. The patterned bedding from Zestt adds a little fla e to the natural tone of the bed design, and the gray and yellow color palette contributes to a soothing, yet fresh, bedroom ambience.

Dwelling Space layout and seating arrangements are popular struggles our clients face when trying to make sense of their family room spaces. Luckily for us, we have 24,000 square feet of design-solution bliss at Dwelling. Dwelling’s extensive collection of furniture, artwork and accessories provides not only a wealth of inspiration, but offers various solutions for the most complicated family room challenges. Here, we have a large area to furnish for a client who is requesting plentiful seating. Not afraid to design out-of-thebox, we decide to play on the angular lines of this contemporary sofa by pairing it with this triangular-shaped coffee table. These lines provide fluidity of movement between seating choices and offers several points of entry into the room. Designer tip: Our thoughts on mixing chair styles? Do it! Keep to a simple, cohesive color palette and create balance by choosing pieces with equal visual weight and you will create the perfect combination of traditional design and personal style.

Rowhouse Harris & Tweed’s Golden Rule of Interior Design: Have the confidence to mix and match! Gone are the days of matchy-matchy furniture.

Adding variety in genre and mood is a sure-fi e way to avoid the “complete collection” look. Our favorite design tactic is to add richness and depth to your décor by mixing antique, modern and traditional elements, all in one room. If you already own a nice collection of antiques, make them a focal point by grouping them into an odd number. Display antiques creatively or call attention to stellar pieces with accent lighting. Layer your home with sleek furniture and inherited pieces of sentimental value to add uniqueness to the room.

But most importantly, stop by Rowhouse where Linda features THE best antique, vintage, modern and resale items. From vintage garden accessories to a 1952 Blaupunkt Console Radio and Bar, Rowhouse is the perfect resource for antique enthusiasts!

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Furniture Lifestyle We believe the synergy between office function and interior design has the power to c eate a visually appealing space that speaks volumes about your business, its values and your work performance. At Furniture Lifestyles, we were able to target the necessary components of productivity and design in order to create an organized and functional office space. This set up is complete with general and task lighting, organization, storage and a privacy screen to shield distractions. We added travel-inspired accessories to compliment the etched desktop, doubling as unobtrusive conversation pieces. The price point at Furniture Lifestyles is so affordable; we were able to add a separate reading nook in the space, all within budget.

Nadeau We are currently working with a client who shares in our design obsession with Nadeau – how lucky are we? It took mere minutes to pull together some of our favorites from their inventory, but there is an art to designing a room containing all solid-wood pieces. The key to success in this design scenario is dependent on three things. Firstly, select 2-3 wood pieces with complementary color tones. This helps with creating visual balance in a room. Secondly, add brightly colored accents and textiles to the scene to break up the monotony of similar wood tones or grains. Thirdly, incorporate white accent pieces into the mix as a way of harmonizing your space. These lattice chairs are the perfect complement to the lighter-toned table and dining hutch.

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I eat dinner at my bar almost every night. From a small, hightop corner of the bar I watch and listen to everything. Analyzing the flick of a cocktail n pkin under a glass to the new bartenders foam pour.

It’s always the same routine for me. But one night stands out to me because I noticed something awesome, something that made me realize this is working. I was probably marrying manchego and prosciutto into a brioche, that’s my go to. I look down my bar and see a couple drinking wine, another couple drinking high end craft beers, and 2 friends drinking a sazzorac & Chopin martini . When I opened Craft, I pushed that we offer craft beers but didnt limit it to a beer bar. I wanted a place with diversity, but niche. Not too niche, to make people feel unwelcome. But niche enough to make those inside of the bar, feel intimate. It was that moment when I knew, I had done exactly that.

Cheers to that! ­­ – Antonio Presta

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P: 215.508.0336 E: info@craftmanayunk.com w: craftmanayunk.com 4141 Main Street Manayunk, PA 19127

“Food itself is good, food with a story is even better.”

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DINE: TASTE THIS

A e l t t Li e Of c i l S aven He

Pizza, any and every way you want it.

DEREK’S

By Shannon Geddes Photography By JPG Photography (jpgphotography.com)

Pizza (n): a food made from flat usually round bread that is topped with tomato sauce and cheese and often with meat or vegetables.

4411 Main Street Type of Pizza: Baby Spinach, Bacon & Goat Cheese Pizza Description: Just like the name says plus tomato sauce, mozzarella and roasted garlic.

Price: $16 Delivery: No Fun Fact: Their house made tomato sauce is sourced from local produce and their pizza’s are served hot right out of their wood fi ed oven.

In other words, I would simply call it heaven on a plate. A dish that comes in so many styles and variations that in some form it’s loved by nearly everyone. If you’re one of the few detractors out there, well let’s just say that you haven’t found the right slice. The variety of pizza you can find in Manayunk is eally impressive. There’s of course the classic; plain cheese, red sauce and chewy crust, but you’ll also find bu falo chicken, veggie, Greek with feta and olives or just the beloved simple tomato pie. Just my opinion, but I’ve never met a slice that I didn’t like. Got a craving for pizza? Manayunk’s got you covered from sweet sauce and extra cheese to buffalo mozzarella. We’ve got whole wheat, gluten free, flat b ead, thick crust and brick oven. Yeah, like I said, a little slice of heaven…

FRANZONES 114 Levering Street Type of Pizza: Plain Cheese Pizza Description: A homemade family recipe with cheese on the bottom and sauce on the top.

Price: $13 Delivery: Yes Fun Fact: A customer once called in an order and asked for every single topping they offered on their pizza. I’m guessing each slice was about one pound and A LOT of flavo .

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FOOD | DRINKS | MUSIC| FUN Look for our truck on the streets and our beer on the shelves

Weekly Specials | Live Entertainment Live Jazz Sunday Brunch | Sushi Private Parties 4120 Main Street Philadelphia, PA 215.482.8220 www.manayunkbrewery.com

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DINE: TASTE THIS

JAKE’S AND COOPER’S 4365 Main Street Type of Pizza: Lisa’s Pizza Description: Complete with artichoke, oven roasted tomatoes, black olives, spinach, Claudio’s mozzarella, fontina, and garlic.

Price: $16 Delivery: No Fun Fact: Chef and Owner Bruce Cooper’s wife Lisa wanted a vegetarian pizza option on the menu so Lisa’s Pizza was born. Lisa’s is now one of their most popular pizzas and a staple on their menu.

RIVERSIDE 4217 Main Street Type of Pizza: Riverside Special Description: Ground beef, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions top the Riverside Special.

Price: $16.99 Delivery: Yes Fun Fact: Riverside is a family run business that has been around for 25 years. They have been serving the same local customers from the Manayunk and Roxborough area for all those years.

MANAYUNK BREWERY

COUCH TOMATO

4210 Main Street Type of Pizza: Twister Sister Philly Cheesesteak Pizza Description: A white pizza infused with shredded mozzarella, caramelized onions, mushrooms, spinach, Wisconsin white cheddar, and drizzle of truffle oil Price: $14 Delivery: No Fun Fact: After a demand for pizza from their customers, the Brewery purchased a wood fi e oven from a company that has been in business for over 100 years.

102 Rector Street Type of Pizza: Italian Stallion Description: Homemade organic crust with crushed tomato, provolone, house fresh mozzarella, sausage, roasted fennel, and basil.

Price: $16.99 Delivery: Yes Fun Fact: Sticking to their mission, they consistently source organic and local produce and their white and wheat crust are made with organic ingredients as well. Couch Tomato can also offer a house-made gluten free pizza crust too!

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Anti-Aging Chronic Fatigue

Pain Relief Detoxification

Thermal Breast Imaging

Nutrition

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DINE: CONVERSATION WITH THE CHEF

Manayunk’s Main Squeeze The perfect blend of health and flavor at the Juice Merchant

By Noel Bartocci Photography By Matt Lewis (flickr.com/mattlewisphoto)

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I

’m sitting in the beautifully stark storefront; wide open and white with accents of teal and wood. The ceiling slopes down in the middle of the room, inviting customers to move forward towards the counter. Their eyes are drawn beyond the menu and open kitchen, and lead to a large window in the back revealing the movement of the Schuylkill Expressway on the other side of the canal. It’s like a giant aquarium that captures the random motion beyond the wall.

“It’s all about the energy customers bring in. I wanted that energy to flow to the counter and past the kitchen,” adds owner, designer, and all around entrepreneur, Lenny Bazemore. His comment confi ms my suspicions about the restaurant’s layout and how it draws you in.

I’m talking about The Juice Merchant, of course – Manayunk’s newest nutritional pit stop between the gyms, bars, and boutiques that adorn Main Street. Open since late June, the café has been serving juices, whips, smoothies, salads, and more to inquisitive passers-by with great success.

In discussing what brought the idea to life, Lenny explains quite simply that he loves cafés. “I’ve been to several different kind of cafés all over the world,” he said. “I wanted to bring a café here that was one of the best.”

The idea that would become The Juice Merchant struck him like a bolt of lightning. He conceptualized the eatery based on the notion that the community desperately needed a healthy food option. Having been a juicer himself for the last six years, it seemed like the obvious choice.

However, the process from dream to reality required more than Lenny’s vision. He needed the right kind of talent and personality to properly guide his café into fruition.

Enter Head Chef Monica Sellecchia.

“I had my feelers out, browsing around. I wanted to get back in the

city…I missed Philadelphia so much and I’ve always loved Manayunk,” explains Monica, a Temple alumna. She had spent the last decade or so since graduating honing her stumbled upon culinary passion.

“As a journalism major I remember being terrified,” she admitted.

“Teachers would say, jobs are slim, find a niche to focus on.” After graduation, Monica found herself studying in Rome for two months where she spent time talking to as many people as possible in restaurants, the department of agriculture, and the food industry in general. It ignited in her a passion for food that went beyond simply writing about it.

“Upon returning from my trip, I got a job at Horizons [which is now Vedge in Center City]. They put me on the line and I was really excelling.

I was like, wow, this is probably what I need to be doing,” she said.

She took that realization and can-do attitude to the National Gourmet Institute in N ew York. There she focused on holistic health, nutrition, and working with food as a healing tool. It was a wholesome education that organically blended with her longstanding vegetarian lifestyle (puns intended). After school, she found herself interning at a vegan resort in California, then back to the East Coast and eventually running kitchens in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to be at the forefront of opening a business, especially this; everything [at The Juice Merchant] rings true to who I am as a chef and I follow all of this in my personal life as well,” Monica said. She describes her culinary journey with an honest excitement that’s palpable. It’s impossible not to share in her enthusiasm.

“She found us through an advertisement that we put out into the world… but I had to chase Monica. She was my first round draft pick,” adds Lenny. “After going through a list of chefs, I just didn’t feel a connection with anyone, but I felt this amazing connection with her right

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DINE: CONVERSATION WITH THE CHEF

WE ARE NOW OPEN!

Planning - Coodinaaon - Styling

Photos By Becka Pillmore

a little luck and a lot of love. clovereventco.com 42

off the bat. I felt like I knew her before.” Needless to say, Lenny was sure about Monica’s talents and persistent in his acquisition of them.

“I was a little hesitant,” she explains and later elaborates, “But getting a job here really was my ultimate goal from the beginning.”

Now that the creative team was finally in place, they only had the herculean tasks of creating the menu, finis ing construction, and staffing the place. While Lenny worked on making the café come to life from his designs, Monica went to work on everything else.

“I created the entire menu. It’s my baby,” she said. Monica went to work on consulting and researching juice places and cafes from around the world. She also mined her own sensibilities and forays in creating healthy dishes. “I have some experience making these dishes in my personal life, so I figu ed, why not incorporate them into the menu?”

With the menu devised, construction completing, and local vendors lined up, one more vital ingredient still needed to be added – the right staff. Monica describes her handpicked staff as a mish-mash of the right people. “I wanted to hire people who I knew that I could build on their strengths. I didn’t want to bring people in and mold them into a certain brand or image,” she notes. What she ended up with is the perfect mix of full time, part time, young, and old, all exhibiting the qualities with which she wanted to fill the space. “I really wanted the staff to be who they are and contribute their fun, upbeat, positive personalities and just work hard to make this place incredible,” she said. The knowledgeable and effervescent people occupying the kitchen are positive proof that she succeeded in finding the right g oup.

If you ask Lenny, the Manayunk location is just the start of The Juice Merchant’s story. “I specifically designed this place to be franchised, so we’re going to pursue franchising; maybe here in Philly, maybe outside of Philly. We don’t know where we’re going to go, but we know we’re on to something good here,” he said. “The brand is great, the menu is great, and the overall concept is beyond what any community would need and benefit f om.”

Monica echoes his sentiments, with an added eye of enriching each community they may inhabit. “As a team, social responsibility is really important to us,” she said. “We donate five cents of every smoothie and juice sold to Philabundance. We’ve made it a goal to give back to the community, to fight hunger, and really make a name for ourselves as helping out.”

She also clarifies that when she says community, she means Philadelphia and beyond. “We really hope to spread that awareness to other states, and hopefully go nationwide with it someday. Why not,” she laughs. “People walk in already asking if we’re a franchise and they’re really excited about the concept. That’s what we want to do; we want to heal with food…it’s basically a dream come true for me.”

Discussing (and witnessing, since Lenny gleefully showed me pictures of the café’s construction) the hard work and passion that it’s creators have imbued it with, it’s hard not to believe that our shiny new juice bar has a bigger and brighter future ahead.

manayunk.com | Fall 2015

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Tony Luke’s (4307 Main Street) opened its first steak shop in 1992. Now 13 years and 23 locations later, they have opened a new restaurant on Main Street. They came to town with their usual fares, including their well known roast pork sandwiches and cheesesteaks. Tony Luke himself paid a visit to Manayunk for their official grand opening this summer.

The franchise extends far beyond Manayunk and its original South Philly location – from the Jersey Shore boardwalks to the Philadelphia sports stadiums, and even internationally in Bahrain.

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With a Philly classic and a two brand new restaurants on the horizon, there’s a lot in store in Manayunk this fall.

COMING SOON: Anastasi - The Anastasi seafood family is bringing their South Philly flavor to Main Street this fall. Offering a new twist on seafood and their classic raw bar, the new resturant will be located at 4161 Main Street.

Maya J – We are all eagerly awaiting the opening of Maya J, a new restaurant taking up shop in the old Chabaa Thai location, at 4371 Main Street, offering global small-plates prepared with locally sourced ingredients.

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PLAY: GET PHYSICAL

Beyond The Pole

Gain more than just confidence at Pole Awakenings.

By Alison Angelo

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t’s

hard not to stare in shock as Heather Day Slawek and her students climb and artfully turn around large metal poles in her Manayunk studio. They make it look so easy, but as you watch you can see their muscles clench and the full body strength they have is obvious. What we’re talking about is pole fitness, a growing trend in the workout industry for both women and men alike.

In modern culture the pole is most often associated with exotic dancers, but at Heather’s studio, Awakenings Pole Fitness, she brings it back to the poles long rooted history in various cultures around the world.

From the dramatic mix of Chinese or Indian pole to the traveling fair and circus performances, pole fitness is really more about strength and conditioning than anything else.

“Many people associate the exercise with sensual dancers, but more and more women are moving away from that perception and see the workout as a way to build strength, endurance, and especially confidence, Heather said.

Heather took her first pole dancing class with a friend back in 2006 and she quickly fell in love with this exhilarating workout. Soon after, she sought to combine pole dancing with her own performance-based fitness techniques to create a workout that is both a mix of art and sport.

“I began to see the traditional workout as a chore, dull and boring,” Heather said. “I wanted to remove the shame factor and let women have fun with it while also building strength.”

By 2008, Heather opened her own studio in King of Prussia, the only

pole studio in all of Montgomery County. Seeing an opportunity to become a leader in the industry, she proudly expanded by opening a studio on Main Street in Manayunk a few years later.

“There is so much going on in Manayunk. It feels alive, and Awakenings Pole Fitness definitely fits the scene,” Heather said. “There are so many young professionals in the area interested in trying an alternative new workout so I knew this would catch on.”

A pole fitness class at Heather’s studio provides a high energy cardio workout set to a great soundtrack, similar to Zumba or other aerobic workouts. But it’s not just pole fitness classes that she has, there are acrobatics and aerial fitness classes as well. In both classes, students explore hanging silks, lyra or hanging hoop, as well as single hanging silk hammocks for therapeutic body time. Heather also likes to throw in some battle ropes and resistance bands to change up the workout and make it more enjoyable.

Whether you have been poling for ten years or ten days, Heather says there are many powerful weight loss testimonials from women who have seen results from taking her classes. “See your progress, feel your progress. That’s all it takes,” Heather said.

Unlike some workout formats which may take months to see results, by the third week, Heather said students begin to feel noticeably stronger. Because pole fitness requires you to lift your own body weight, you use muscles in parts of your body that you may not have used before.

Along with the physical changes your body will make, pole fitness can improve cardio respiratory endurance and flexibility. But for some, the greatest benefit f om pole fitness is a confidence boost in their personal live “I’ve seen how the many benefits of poling can translate to other asFall 2015 | manayunk.com 49

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pects of life,” Heather said. “Time and time again, people will mention how much more confident they are about themselves after taking a pole fitness class; that they were able to release an inner power or personality they never knew existed.”

In an effort to distinguish her studio from the competition, Heather coordinates recital performances at the end of the fall and spring sessions along with photo shoots for her students. Working with her longtime student and friend Julia of Julia Lehman Photography, Heather cultivates beautiful and artistic photographs of Awakenings’ students.

Heather believes these photos and film help her students’ progress and stay motivated.

Many of Heather’s students who have progressed in their skill have gone on to become certified trainers coming back to instruct at the Manayunk studio where it all began. “I require my instructors to attend at least two workshops per year, so we can stay knowledgeable and see After talking with Heather, I knew I wanted to take a stab at pole fitness myself. He e are a few simple tips I recommend for first timers: 1. Come mentally and physically prepared. No experience or skill is required, but beginners should come with a good attitude and be dressed in shorts or long tight pants and a tank top.

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how the competition has progressed – both in performing standards and styles,” Heather said.

Heather also brings workshops and special guests directly to her Manayunk studio for her trainers and students. One of her more recent guests was the well-known performer and judge David C. Owen, a silver medalist at the American Pole Fitness Championship in 2010 and 2011 and a bronze medalist at the International Pole Dance Master’s Cup in 2012.

If you aren’t looking to become a professional but want to take a try at the pole with some friends, the Manayunk studio is the perfect place to spend a girl’s night or host a bachelorette party. Girls often schedule nail and hair appointments, an empowering working, and finish the night by going out in Manayunk Heather said.

Seven hard-workout years and several shiny poles later, Heather has no plans to stop climbing the ladder (in this case the pole) yet.

2. Break down the moves to learn them quickly, and keep practicing. You may feel discouraged that you won’t be able to do half the moves the instructor can, but if you break it down piece by piece your body will start to get used to each move.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The classes are small so the instructor can give you a lot of personal attention. The other participants were supportive and encouraging and always willing to offer advice.

4. Safety is key. Follow all of the instructions and advice from Heather, like not moisturizing before class and wiping down your pole for better gripping.

5. Bring confidence with you, and above all, have fun. Believe in yourself and stay motivated.

Your instructor and classmates will help build your confidence.

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