After the fire

Almost a year after a devastating fire on South Street, two corridor anchors will rise, like phoenixes from the ashes

Words and photos by Austin Bening

Cheese Steaks are forged on hot griddles. Ceramics and glass are baked and blown in kilns.

A Phoenix rises from its own ashes. Fire can be a force for new beginnings. It’s hard to remember that when two South Street favorites go up in smoke.

Jim’s Steaks and the Eye's Gallery are Philadelphia institutions that provided a unique combo of sensory satiation on the corner of 4th and South for decades. Sweet smells of chopped steak wafted down the block like olfactory sirens. Lines of the hungry and the feasting would file like a well oiled machine inside and out of Jim’s stainless steel doors. Meanwhile, those on a more artistic pilgrimage could follow the mosaics from the Magic Garden east to the Eye's Gallery to enjoy Julia Zagar’s curated collection of mustachioed masks, luchador adornments, specialty clothes, and other unique folk art features. Together they stood as a fitting odd couple, one chrome and one monochrome; a Cheesesteak Mecca with art deco minimalism, the other an explosion of color, light, and artistic curiosities. But it took disaster to bring them even closer.

On July 29th, 2022 an electrical fire crawled up the walls of Jim’s and smoke seeped into both buildings. The fire department put out the fire, but also covered walls and filled basements with water. Mold quickly followed. Thus, the day came where it was too much, and Julia Zagar called Ken Silver, wondering if he’d like to buy Eye’s.

“It took me several months, about three months, to realize that that building was gone. I was so sad. It was just gone. The smell was awful,” said Julia Zagar. But she looks around and smiles at their new gallery. “It’s kind of exciting, too. It’s like doing a theater set. We had a theater set at 402 South Street. It came down. The piece was over. And it took me a while to get over that. And we started a whole new theater,” just down the block at 327 South Street.

Eye’s was the Zagars gallery and shop, but was also the home to their children. It was the lab for their earliest creative work and has been an artist’s hub for over 50 years. But Julia embraces the freedom that comes with shrugging off years of previous work and expectations of a place that held so much history. At 327 South Street, there are recognizable motifs in the set design of this new performance; the curved banister of Eye’s old stairwell is stationed behind the familiar counter and register, but now there are white walls, giving the collection a new pop. Isaiah has even fashioned a new walkway to bring a touch of the old approach. While there’s less space, Julia appreciates that it’s open - everything is on display at once. And for an octogenarian artist and gallery owner, it feels like a new beginning that’s as manageable as it is earned, surrounded by all of us cheering for its success. Being less than a block away from the old spot doesn’t hurt either, but that’s under new management.

Eyes on the Jim’s Steaks and the Future

Back on 4th and South, Ken Silver takes in the now disemboweled Jim’s Steaks from behind reflective aviators. “We’d be more than full right now,” says Silver. The emptiness is resounding to the neighbors. The owner of Alyan’s, across 4th, asks when he’d see people crawling all over the street again. A nearby jewelry store owner cautiously inquires how everything’s going. They’re all anxious. Jim’s is responsible for bringing one million customers annually to South Streethungry people willing to line up and pay cash-only for Philadelphia’s premiere cu- linary attraction. Everyone feels the pain in their pocket books and store fronts.

But Silver and his team have big plans, starting with the addition of the former Eye’s Gallery as a part of their restaurant. Two buildings will become one, a merging of black, white, and infinite color. Ken is quick to point out the history: these buildings were a single warehouse at one point, later subdivided into six different units, redefined back into two and now, finally, back to one. The acquisition of Eye’s feels just as fortuitous, having been neighbors now for decades. As kids, Silver’s brother and the Zagar’s son had played together between the buildings. Ken had even said to Julia and Isaiah, years prior, something to the effect of “when you’re ready to retire, make us your first call.”

But no one’s retiring here. As we walk into the skeleton of Jim’s, the road ahead will require a lot of hard work, but Silver looks up, excited for the future. The unified buildings give him the opportunity to make the entire back room and basement a prep area. No longer will someone have to leave the storefront on South to enter the store room on 4th. Bearing beams will be replaced. Even the old grill will have a second life as a dining table. It will most certainly be a more efficient operation, all with the same aesthetic and service people have come to expect. Would he change this future for what they had if he’d been given the choice? Not in a million years. But he’s making lemonade.

Then comes the part that I’m most excited for: the walk through the old Eye’s Gallery. As he unlocks the door, Silver describes the plans to make the old storefront windows into little dining spots looking out onto south street. He points to all the things that are staying; works that will be farmed by the Magic Garden team to put back on display at that site. His reverence for the Zagars is clear as he shows off a back room walled with Isaiah’s early works. What’s changing? Well, there will be a door between the two spaces. The second story windows will be replaced to match Jim’s with chrome detail between the doors to unify the spaces. In many ways Silver has donned the mantle of this building’s former occupant, picking up the pieces and putting them back together to make something entirely new while maintaining much of what was.

But as much as I’d like to project, Silver’s pretty clear about what he’s most excited about: slinging sandwiches. There’s definitely money to be made, but it’s also about all that comes with the money. South Street is a complex ecosystem where people respect the cohesive tapestry of the offerings. Jim’s plays a definitive role, one that promises lines around the corner and intoxicating smells that go even further. It feels like everyone on the block is excited for the cheesesteaks to return, too. Silver’s hoping for later this year. We’re all keeping our fingers crossed.

The Anchors Remain

As the year mark nears, new beginnings approach. Two of South Street’s mainstays are getting another act. For Zagar and the Eye’s team, it is an unexpected encore. For Silver, it is Cheesesteak Mecca Mosaic, an addition that was always hoped for, but came quite unexpectedly. For all of us out on the sidewalk, it is a chance to have our cake and eat it too; we can mosey from Magic Gardens, grab a cheesesteak at Jim’s, and continue to the new Eye’s Gallery - a tour de force of sensory maximalism. The Zagars and Silver all want you to know that they’re not going anywhere - be patient and they’ll get there.

In this gritty city, disastrous moments lead to silver linings. You can get burned, but there’s often a neighbor to help pick up the pieces. And these broken pieces? With a little cement they become a mosaic, full of broken mirrors, defunct griddles, and an old street. South Street’s resiliency is more defined by its ability to recover than to withstand, to find new positions for old things. It’s a place whose coffers are rich with its own history rather than the ledgers of pure profit and loss. It’s a place where commerce and community align because of necessity and symbiotic simplicity. And now we all get to be part of the next chapter -I’ll have mine “wizwit”. ■